Joseph Fink, the cocreator and cowriter of Welcome to Night Vale, points to a 1999 adventure game as the foundation of how he approaches storytelling. Widely regarded as one of the most influential fiction podcasts, Night Vale established Fink as a leading voice in audio drama, but his creative work extends well beyond it.
Fink also created the noir podcast Unlicensed and Alice Isn’t Dead, a series that channels the cosmic horror of Night Vale into a more grounded story about relationships, trauma, and life on the road. A sequel, Don’t Tell Alice, pushes the narrative into darker territory, this time centering on protagonist Keisha as the character holding a secret.
An Author Across Podcasts and Print
Beyond audio, Fink is a published author. He cowrote the three Welcome to Night Vale novels and wrote the Alice Isn’t Dead novel as well as The Halloween Moon. His most recent book, The Nudge, is a short, unsettling novella about a man trying to escape a mysterious evil. The release features illustrations by Jessica Hayworth, who also provides artwork for Night Vale, and arrived on September 1st.
When it comes to technology, Fink has strong preferences. The first app he installs on a new device is Podcast Addict, an Android-only podcast player built by a single developer named Xavier. Fink says it is the main reason he stays with Android rather than switching to an iPhone, describing himself as someone who chooses a phone based on how well it handles podcasts. For social media, he uses Bluesky, which he originally valued for its small audience and limited engagement.
The Game That Taught Him to Tell Stories
Fink credits Grim Fandango, the 1999 adventure game about a grim reaper navigating a film-noir afterlife, with shaping his entire understanding of narrative. He says lines and images from the game have stayed with him permanently, even though many were parodies or references to classic films he had not yet encountered when he first played.
Asked about the creation he is most proud of, Fink names the Audible show Unlicensed, a mystery series set in the overlooked, everyday neighborhoods of Los Angeles. He wanted it to stand as a strong mystery on its own terms, not merely a competent effort from writers working outside their usual genre. The show ran for three seasons before Audible largely shut down its original programming department, ending the series. Fink says he would gladly continue writing it indefinitely.
On advice, Fink points to a talk by musician Meshell Ndegeocello, who described quieting a fellow student who kept noodling on a guitar during a workshop demonstration. Her point, that it does not matter how well a musician plays if they cannot listen, resonated with Fink as guidance that applies far beyond music. As for physical media, he admits to buying books constantly, noting that he rarely leaves a bookstore without purchasing at least a couple.
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Image: theverge.com
