Bestselling authors William Bernhardt (The Superman Wars) and Lara Bernhardt discuss the latest news from the book world, offer writing tips, and interview WriterCon keynote speaker William Martin, the New York Times-bestselling author of twelve novels, a PBS documentary, book reviews, magazine articles, and a cult-classic horror movie. His most recent book is December ’41, which Steve Berry (who has also keynoted at WriterCon), called “Another masterpiece from a master, and that’s exactly what William Martin is.”

0:00 Opening Thoughts
Updates on the Commonwealth Prize controversy—and WriterCon '26!
5:11 News
1) Self-Published Book Sells Over 2.5 Million Copies!
2) AI Stories Favor Elias Thorne and Lighthouses
16:53 Craft Corner
Christina Kaye discusses how to treat your books like a business, not a hobby
20:17 Interview with William Martin
49:46 Parting Words
Bill's book The Superman Wars is about a writer, just like you, and the struggles he suffered are still with us today. Jerry Siegel, the kid who came up with the idea for Superman, was the first American writer to sue his publishers, and many other writers now benefit from what became the most important creator-rights battle of modern times.
WriterCon is September 4-7, in Oklahoma City at the historic and haunted Skirvin Hilton. Lara and I will be there, plus Jesse, plus William Martin, plus about sixty other writers, agents, publishers, and people connected to the publishing industry. You can review the schedule on our website, www.writercon.com.
If you haven’t joined the WriterCon Facebook Group yet, do it today and join this wonderful community of writers. Click here!
Until next time, keep writing, and remember: You cannot fail, if you refuse to quit.
William Bernhardt 
www.williambernhardt.com 
www.writercon.com