{"id":6223,"date":"2026-08-29T15:31:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=6223"},"modified":"2026-08-29T15:31:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T15:31:15","slug":"welcome-to-night-vale-cocreator-joseph-fink-learned-storytelling-from-grim-fandango","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=6223","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Night Vale creator Joseph Fink learned from Grim Fandango\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Joseph Fink is the cocreator and cowriter of Welcome to Night Vale<\/em><\/a>, arguably the most important fiction podcast ever. He\u2019s also the creator of the noir podcast Unlicensed<\/em><\/a> and Alice Isn\u2019t Dead<\/em><\/a>, which takes some of the conspiratorial cosmic horror of Night Vale<\/em><\/a> and turns it into fodder for a more serious series about relationships, trauma, and the open road. There\u2019s also a sequel series out now called Don\u2019t Tell Alice<\/em> that takes the story down an even darker path in which protagonist Keisha is the one with a secret.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Joseph is also an accomplished author. In addition to co-writing the three Welcome to Night Vale<\/em> novels, he\u2019s also penned the Alice Isn\u2019t Dead<\/em> novel and The Halloween Moon<\/em><\/a>. His latest work is The Nudge<\/em><\/a>, which features some gorgeous illustrations from Jessica Hayworth, who also provides the art for Night Vale<\/em>, hits shelves on September 1st. It\u2019s a brief and unsettling novella about a man trying to outrun some mysterious evil.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What is the first app you install on a new phone or computer?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Podcast Addict. It\u2019s an Android-only podcast app made by one guy named Xavier, and it is so much better than any other podcast app that it\u2019s the main reason I can never switch to an iPhone. I\u2019m maybe the one guy in the entire country who chooses phones based on how they play podcasts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Which social media platform do you use the most?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I use Bluesky, which I used to like because no one was there and so no one read my posts, which is really the ideal social media for me. Now there are more people there, and sometimes people read and respond to my posts, which is a drag.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What game do you have the fondest memories of?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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My entire understanding of storytelling is probably shaped by Grim Fandango<\/em>, a 1999 adventure game about a sad sack grim reaper navigating a film noir afterlife. There are lines and images from that game that will live in my head forever, even if a lot of them were parodies or references to classic films I wasn\u2019t even aware existed when I first played that game.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What creation are you most proud of?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Our Audible show Unlicensed<\/em> was one of those few projects that turned out exactly how I wanted it to in my head. A mystery series set in the least cool parts of Los Angeles, the parts where the actual people live. I didn\u2019t want it to be \u201cgood for two writers who usually don\u2019t write mysteries.\u201d I just wanted us to write a damn good mystery, and I think we did. We got three seasons out of Audible, but then they mostly shut down their original shows department, and that was it. If I had my choice though, I\u2019d happily spend the rest of my life writing Unlicensed<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s the best piece of advice you\u2019ve ever received?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I recently watched a talk with Meshell Ndegeocello, and she described having to shush a fellow student in a guitar workshop who was noodling on his guitar while the teacher was trying to demonstrate something. Meshell said: \u201cAs a musician, it doesn\u2019t matter how well you play if you can\u2019t listen.\u201d I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the best advice I\u2019ve ever received, but I think it\u2019s damn good advice and applies to a lot of things outside of music.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s the last piece of physical media you bought?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I buy too many books, constantly. I like to hang out in bookstores, and I\u2019ve never left one without buying at least a couple of books. I\u2019m mostly not a physical media guy, I have no interest in owning records or DVDs, but I\u2019ll build an addition to my house before I get rid of any books.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What would the tagline for your biopic be?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIt turns out watching a guy write audio fiction on his computer is boring, this movie was a mistake sorry, we\u2019re sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What\u2019s the last GIF or meme you used? <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I don\u2019t really use GIFs or memes. I\u2019m very much a text guy, which is why I stick to text social media mostly, even though that doesn\u2019t really help you sell books or stuff like that.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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