Finding the Magic From Stage to Page, with Seth Panitch, novelist of "Antique"

What happens when an accomplished creative deliberately becomes a beginner again? On this episode of **YOUR WORLD OF CREATIVITY**, Mark talks with **Seth Panitch**, an award-winning actor, playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, director, and theatre educator who has added a new creative identity to his 30-year career: **novelist**. Seth's Website Seth on YouTube @sethpanitchauthor on Instagram Seth's Facebook page https://www.amazon.com/Antique-Novel-Seth-Panitch-ebook/dp/B0FBLVCVPD Seth's debut novel, ***Antique***, published by Grand Central Publishing in February 2026, follows Grace Schaffer, a once-celebrated antique appraiser whose career, marriage, and sense of identity have fallen apart. When she encounters a mysterious necklace that appears to give her an uncanny ability to predict the value of objects, her journey raises a deeper question: **What's the difference between what something is worth—and what we are worth?** ### In this conversation, Mark and Seth explore: - **Becoming a beginner again** — What writing a novel offered Seth that acting, theatre, screenwriting, and filmmaking couldn't, and what he had to learn—or unlearn—to embrace a new creative form. - **Finding the story behind *Antique*** — How antiques, appraisal, mystery, and magic became the setting for a larger exploration of value, identity, and self-worth. - **Balancing magic with emotional truth** — How Seth uses mystery and the unexplained without losing sight of the very human story at the center of the novel. - **From stage and screen to the page** — How decades of experience with dialogue, pacing, character, and performance shaped Seth's approach to fiction. - **The artist and the teacher** — How leading the MFA Acting Program at the University of Alabama influences Seth's creative practice—and how remaining an active artist shapes the way he teaches. - **Feedback, rejection, and creative risk** — Knowing when outside feedback strengthens the work and when an artist needs to trust their own instincts. - **Appraising our own creative worth** — Separating reviews, sales, awards, rankings, and other external measures from our deeper sense of value as creative people. Seth's journey is a reminder that a creative career doesn't have to be defined by a single medium. Sometimes the next chapter requires stepping away from what we already know, embracing uncertainty, and giving ourselves permission to become beginners again. And perhaps *Antique* offers a question every creative person can consider: **Who gets to determine what our work—and ultimately we ourselves—are worth?** ### Connect with Seth Learn more about Seth Panitch and ***Antique*** at [**sethpanitch.com**](sethpanitch.com). *Antique* is available from Grand Central Publishing and wherever books are sold. If you enjoyed this conversation, **follow YOUR WORLD OF CREATIVITY** on your favorite podcast app, and please rate and review the show. It helps more creative professionals discover these conversations. Until next time, keep unlocking **YOUR WORLD OF CREATIVITY**.