Podcasts about American Short Fiction

Steven Mills has reached a crossroads. His wife and son have left, and they may not return. Which leaves him determined to find out what happened to his own father, a brilliant, charismatic professor who disappeared in 1984 when Steve was twelve, on a wave of ignominy.As Steve drives up the coast of California, seeking out his father's friends, family members, and former colleagues, the novel offers us tantalizing glimpses into Steve's childhood—his parents' legendary pool parties, the black-and-white films on the backyard projector, secrets shared with his closest friend. Each conversation in the present reveals another layer of his father's past, another insight into his disappearance. Yet with every revelation, his father becomes more difficult to recognize. And, with every insight, Steve must confront truths about his own life.Rich in atmosphere, and with a stunningly sure-footed emotional compass, The Imagined Life: A Novel (Knopf, 2025) is a probing, nostalgic novel about the impossibility of understanding one's parents, about first loves and failures, about lost innocence, about the unbreakable bonds between a father and a son. Andrew Porter is the author of the short story collections The Disappeared and The Theory of Light and Matter and a previous novel, In Between Days. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he has received a Pushcart Prize, a James Michener/Copernicus Fellowship, and the Flannery O'Connor Award for short fiction. His work has appeared in One Story, Ploughshares, American Short Fiction, Narrative, and elsewhere. He currently teaches fiction writing and directs the creative writing program at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Recommended Books: Paul. Lisicky, Songs So Wild and Blue Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum, Elita Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Steven Mills has reached a crossroads. His wife and son have left, and they may not return. Which leaves him determined to find out what happened to his own father, a brilliant, charismatic professor who disappeared in 1984 when Steve was twelve, on a wave of ignominy.As Steve drives up the coast of California, seeking out his father's friends, family members, and former colleagues, the novel offers us tantalizing glimpses into Steve's childhood—his parents' legendary pool parties, the black-and-white films on the backyard projector, secrets shared with his closest friend. Each conversation in the present reveals another layer of his father's past, another insight into his disappearance. Yet with every revelation, his father becomes more difficult to recognize. And, with every insight, Steve must confront truths about his own life.Rich in atmosphere, and with a stunningly sure-footed emotional compass, The Imagined Life: A Novel (Knopf, 2025) is a probing, nostalgic novel about the impossibility of understanding one's parents, about first loves and failures, about lost innocence, about the unbreakable bonds between a father and a son. Andrew Porter is the author of the short story collections The Disappeared and The Theory of Light and Matter and a previous novel, In Between Days. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he has received a Pushcart Prize, a James Michener/Copernicus Fellowship, and the Flannery O'Connor Award for short fiction. His work has appeared in One Story, Ploughshares, American Short Fiction, Narrative, and elsewhere. He currently teaches fiction writing and directs the creative writing program at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Recommended Books: Paul. Lisicky, Songs So Wild and Blue Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum, Elita Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Mills has reached a crossroads. His wife and son have left, and they may not return. Which leaves him determined to find out what happened to his own father, a brilliant, charismatic professor who disappeared in 1984 when Steve was twelve, on a wave of ignominy.As Steve drives up the coast of California, seeking out his father's friends, family members, and former colleagues, the novel offers us tantalizing glimpses into Steve's childhood—his parents' legendary pool parties, the black-and-white films on the backyard projector, secrets shared with his closest friend. Each conversation in the present reveals another layer of his father's past, another insight into his disappearance. Yet with every revelation, his father becomes more difficult to recognize. And, with every insight, Steve must confront truths about his own life.Rich in atmosphere, and with a stunningly sure-footed emotional compass, The Imagined Life: A Novel (Knopf, 2025) is a probing, nostalgic novel about the impossibility of understanding one's parents, about first loves and failures, about lost innocence, about the unbreakable bonds between a father and a son. Andrew Porter is the author of the short story collections The Disappeared and The Theory of Light and Matter and a previous novel, In Between Days. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he has received a Pushcart Prize, a James Michener/Copernicus Fellowship, and the Flannery O'Connor Award for short fiction. His work has appeared in One Story, Ploughshares, American Short Fiction, Narrative, and elsewhere. He currently teaches fiction writing and directs the creative writing program at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Recommended Books: Paul. Lisicky, Songs So Wild and Blue Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum, Elita Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro as World Literature is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Diverse Voices Book Review host Hopeton Hay interviewed Fernando A. Flores, author of the novel Brother Brontë. Set in Texas in 2038, it is a dark tale of a future where books are burned, the libraries are closed, and your neighbor may turn you in for having books. In the interview, Flores said, "...for those of us who have traveled to the valley by car, we've been through Three Rivers many times. And it's frightening because you posit an authoritarian police city-state with people that are coopted by the city-state, with people that resist the city-state, and with people that are just trying to get by, like our protagonist, Naftali, who's just trying to get by. And I say it's, it's a little bit frightening because of, you know, if, if you look at where we are today and where we could be in 13 years...I'm hoping it's not...prescient..."Fernando A. Flores was born in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and grew up in South Texas. He is the author of the collections Death to the Bullshit Artists of South Texas and Valleyesque and the novel Tears of the Trufflepig, which was long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and named a best book of 2019 by Tor.com. His fiction has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, American Short Fiction, Ploughshares, Frieze, Porter House Review, and elsewhere. He lives in Austin, Texas.  Diverse Voices Book Review Social Media: Facebook - @diversevoicesbookreview Instagram - @diverse_voices_book_review Twitter - @diversebookshay Email: hbh@diversevoicesbookreview.com 

A Book About Motherhood and The Love That Binds a Family  Dorothy Moy breaks her own heart for a living. As Washington's former poet laureate, that's how she describes channeling her dissociative episodes and mental health struggles into her art. But when her five-year-old daughter exhibits similar behavior and begins remembering things from the lives of their ancestors, Dorothy believes the past has truly come to haunt her. Fearing that her child is predestined to endure the same debilitating depression that has marked her own life, Dorothy seeks radical help. The Many Daughters of Afong Moy was an instant New York Times bestseller and a Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick. About the Author Jamie Ford is a New York Times bestselling novelist and award-winning writer most widely known for his Seattle-based novels.  His debut, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list and won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. This multi-cultural tale was adapted by Book-It Repertory Theatre, and has recently been optioned for a stage musical, and also for film, with George Takei serving as Executive Producer.  His short story work has been published in multiple anthologies, from Asian-themed steampunk set in Seattle in the "Apocalypse Triptych," to stories exploring the universe of masked marvels and caped crusaders from an Asian American perspective in "Secret Identities: The first Asian American Superhero Anthology," and "Shattered: The Asian American Comics Anthology."  His essays on race, identity, love, heroes, and complex families have been published nationwide and his work has been translated into 35 languages. He says he's holding out for Klingon, because that's when you know you've made it. Read His Books Check out Jamie's books from the Library: https://jaxpl.na4.iiivega.com/search?query=Jamie%20Ford&searchType=agent&pageSize=10  Interviewer C.H. Hooks is the author of the novels Can't Shake the Dust and Alligator Zoo-Park Magic. His work has appeared in publications including: "The Los Angeles Review," "American Short Fiction," "Four Way Review," "The Tampa Review," "The Bitter Southerner," "Writer's Digest," and "Craft Literary." He was a Tennessee Williams Scholar at Sewanee Writers' Conference and attended DISQUIET: Dzanc Books International Literary Program in Lisbon. He teaches at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida. Did you know that all of our Lit Chat authors' books count toward your Jax Stacks Reading Challenge completion? Find out what authors we're hosting this month and join in on the fun: https://jaxpubliclibrary.libnet.info/events?term=lit+chat&n=180&r=days  --- Never miss an event! Sign up for email newsletters at https://bit.ly/JaxLibraryUpdates  Jacksonville Public LibraryWebsite: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxlibrary Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxLibrary/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxlibrary/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jaxpubliclibraryfl Contact Us: jplpromotions@coj.net 

Notes and Links to Annell Lopez's Work          Annell López is the winner of the Louise Meriwether First Book Prize and the author of the short story collection I'LL GIVE YOU A REASON from the Feminist Press. A Peter Taylor Fellow at the Kenyon Review Writers Workshops, her work has also received support from Tin House and has appeared in Guernica, American Short Fiction, Michigan Quarterly Review, Brooklyn Rail, The Common, Refinery29 and elsewhere. López received her MFA from the University of New Orleans. She is working on a novel. Buy I'll Give You a Reason   Annell Lopez's Instagram   For The Rumpus: “There's Always a Little Light, a Glimmer of Hope: A Conversation with Annell López” At about 2:05, Annell talks about her early relationship with bilingualism,  At about 4:50, Annell shouts ut the “great place” that is Newark, NJ, and recounts early memories after her immigration  At about 6:25, Annell talks about how learning English helped her develop her already burgeoning writing ability  At about 8:25, Annell highlights Garcia Marquez's work in Spanish  At about 9:35, Annell lists books and writers that were formative and transformative for her At about 13:25, Deesha Philyaw, Carlos Maurice Ruffin, Danielle Evans, and Chris Stuck, are referenced as inspiring contemporary writers At about 14:40, Annell talks about seeds for her short story collection and its makeup At about 16:10, the two discuss the collection's first story and the title character's anxiety around possible deportation   At about 19:05, Annell reflects on the dynamics of older sibling and young sibling and mother-daughter relationships, as evidenced in the “Dark Vader” At about 20:30, Annell responds to Pete's questions about colorism as shown in some of her stories  At about 22:35, from “Dark Vader,” a “problematic” Mateo is discussed, along with power dynamics, and Vanessa's reluctance to pass her GED  At about 27:00, Annell talks about a character's unnamed bipolar condition, and his son's motivations in being angry towards his father  At about 30:30, Pete asks about online news madness as referenced in the story collection   At about 32:35, Pete links two stories and the two talk about gentrification and its treatment in the collection, and Pete is complimentary of Annell's plot structure and what is “left unsaid” At about 34:35, “Love gone stale” as a theme of the book is lauded and discussed At about 37:00, Grief and depression and the bird and beautiful “Bear Hunting Season” are discussed At about 41:30, Annell talks about how her teaching did and did not inform the treatment of teachers in her collection  At about 44:30, Trauma in its many forms in the collection is discussed  At about 45:45, The two explore the title story and its focus on emotional response At about 47:50, Pete highlights a story that focuses on objectification and racism and Annell's apt second-person usage and diction; she focuses on the story's universality and realism  At about 50:05, “The Other Carmen” is explored, including ideas of body shaming, body positivity  At about 52:40, Annell explains some “Easter eggs” and “crossover characters” and Pete is complimentary of story endings At about 53:40, Pete asks Annell about the importance of staged photoshoots in a story in the collection At about 55:55, Annell talks about the importance of titles after Pete cites her prowess with same At about 57:45, Pete fanboys about the collection's last story At about 59:30, Annell responds to Pete's question about significance of the collection  At about 1:00:45, Annell gives social media and other contact info You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you're checking out this episode.       Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His latest conversation, with Episode 265 guest Carvell Wallace, is up on the website. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete's one-man show, his DIY podcast and his extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This month's Patreon bonus episode will feature an exploration of the wonderful poetry of Khalil Gibran. I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project of Pete's, a DIY operation, and he'd love for your help in promoting what he's convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.     The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 275 with Deborah Jackson-Taffa, whose 2024 memoir Whiskey Tender was a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award for Nonfiction; earned a MFA in nonfiction writing from the Univ of IA; director of the MFA creative writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM     The episode airs on March 11.

Notes and Links to Raúl Perez's Work   Raul Pérez is an Associate Professor of Sociology at University of La Verne. He is also the author of The Souls of White Jokes: How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy (Stanford University Press, 2022).    Buy The Souls of White Jokes   Raul Perez's University of LaVerne Website   Book Review from Oxford Review: The Souls of White Jokes     At about 1:50, Raúl talks about his early language and reading journeys At about 5:15, Raúl notes the greatness and importance and multi-generational pull of LAUSD's coffee cake for the Perez family At about 6:40, Raúl details his high school academic journey and some early inspiring reads-shout out, Mr. Taylor!  At about 9:05, Raúl talks about how college social scene readings and class discussions and formative and transformative professors changed his mindset  At about 12:45, Raúl shouts out Netflix's Mo as a really “engaging…springboard for discussion” At about 16:45, Raúl responds to Pete's questions about how humor and its study made its way into his reading and scholarship At about 23:00, Raúl talks about seeds for his writing about humor and race and graduate school goals At about 24:45, Raúl responds to Pete's question about being able to watch comedy without analyzing it At about 25:50, Raúl recounts stories of his experience taking an ethnography class of humor/standup comedy, including the ways in which race and racism affects standup comedy   At about 27:50, Pete asks Raúl what he might do if he had a few minutes to do standup, and Raúl talks about racialized humor foisted upon him and others in a previous standup class At about 32:00, Raúl reflects on comedians who successfully put in the work and “exercis[e] the funny bone” and “find the funny in everything” At about 33:50, The two reflect on Dave Chappelle's work and he and Bill Burr and others and how they deal with difficult/traumatic “material” At about 38:00, Raúl and Pete talk about terminology n hs book and Raúl expands on his choice to avoid using the infamous hateful epithet  At about 40:50, Raúl talks about racism “behind-the-scenes” among police officers, sometimes with officers of color targeting Black officers At about 42:15, Raúl talks about Latinos and Mexicans and conversations about anti-Blackness and Afro-Latinos role in these discussions  At about 44:35, Raúl talks about “cancelled” humor and skits on Saturday Night Live, including a legendary skit with Richard Pryor and Chevy Chase, and a pendulum effect with racial and racist humor At about 49:00, Raúl segues into talking about Tom Metzger and WAR's racist cartoons and Raúl's book censoring racist language  At about 50:40, Pete outlines the book's chapter titles and asks Raúl about licensing of racist cartoons used in his book; Raúl expands on Metzger's and others usage  At about 54:40, Raúl details a controversial NY Post cartoon that depicted President Barack Obama At about 56:15, Raúl responds to Pete's question about connections between the racist humor towards President Obama and “whitelash” from recent years to the early years of the United States as a country, with President Trump a natural consequence  At about 1:04:25, Pete notes Raúl's coined term of “amused contempt” and states his thesis of racist humor and its “social power” At about 1:05:30, Raúl discusses the significance of the book's title and connections to W.E. DuBois' famous The Souls of White Folk At about 1:10:10, Raúl reflects on the significance of minstrel and its racist legacy and ideas of shared humor at the “expensive of the racialized group” At about 1:12:20, Pete recounts the book's opening with the story of Cleon Brown and compliments Raúl's tracing such a long history with the book At about 1:15:00, Raúl talks about how sees Trump's upcoming presidency and its connections to racist “humor” and how he is an avatar for those who have tired of “wokeism” At about 1:17:00, Raúl expands on Trump 2.0 and those like Elon Musk who use meme culture and racist/”anti-PC” culture to ”weaponize humor” At about 1:21:10, Raúl gives background on the study of “disparagement humor” and its effects, as studied by Thomas E. Ford  At about 1:24:00, Raúl talks about future writing subjects, including the “weaponization of humor in warfare,” like with the IDF in Gaza    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he is @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he is @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and the podcast while you're checking out this episode.       Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. This week, his conversation with Episode 265 guest Carvell Wallace is up on the website. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete's one-man show, his DIY podcast and his extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content! This month's Patreon bonus episode will feature an exploration of the wonderful poetry of Khalil Gibran. Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project of Pete's, a DIY operation, and he'd love for your help in promoting what he's convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 274 with Annell López, winner of Louise Meriwether First Book Prize and the author of the short story collection I'LL GIVE YOU A REASON. She is a Peter Taylor Fellow at Kenyon Review Writers Workshops, and her work has appeared in American Short Fiction, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Refinery29, among others. The episode airs on March 4.

Joanne and Bernadette Fareown are raised on their family farm in rural Illinois, keenly affected by their parents' volatile relationship and mounting financial debt, haunted by the cursed history of the women in their family. Largely left to their own devices, the sisters educate themselves on Greek mythology, feminism, and Virginia Woolf, realizing they must find unique ways to cope in these antagonistic conditions, questioning the American Dream as the rest of the country abandons their community in crisis. As Jo and Bernie's imaginative solutions for escape come up short against their parents' realities, the family leaves their farm for Chicago, where Joanne--free-spirited, reckless, and unable to tame her inner violence--rebels in increasingly desperate ways. After her worst breakdown yet, Jo goes into exile in Deadhorse, Alaska, and it is up to Bernadette to use all she's learned from her sister to revive a sense of hope against the backdrop of a failing world. With her debut novel, Nora Lange has crafted a rambunctious, ambitious, and heart-rending portrait of two idiosyncratic sisters, determined to persevere despite the worst that capitalism and their circumstances has to throw at them. Nora Lange's debut novel Us Fools is a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction, named a best book of 2024 by The Boston Globe and NPR, a Los Angeles Times bestseller, and a New York Times Editors' Choice. An earlier iteration of it was shortlisted for The Novel Prize, a prize to recognize novels that explore and expand the possibilities of the form. Nora's writing has appeared in BOMB, Hazlitt, Joyland, American Short Fiction, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from Brown University and is a fellow at USC's Los Angeles Institute of the Humanities. She recently moved to Salt Lake City with her family. And look for Nora's in The Believer. Recommended Books: Miranda July, All Fours Svetlana Alexievich, Secondhand Time  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joanne and Bernadette Fareown are raised on their family farm in rural Illinois, keenly affected by their parents' volatile relationship and mounting financial debt, haunted by the cursed history of the women in their family. Largely left to their own devices, the sisters educate themselves on Greek mythology, feminism, and Virginia Woolf, realizing they must find unique ways to cope in these antagonistic conditions, questioning the American Dream as the rest of the country abandons their community in crisis. As Jo and Bernie's imaginative solutions for escape come up short against their parents' realities, the family leaves their farm for Chicago, where Joanne--free-spirited, reckless, and unable to tame her inner violence--rebels in increasingly desperate ways. After her worst breakdown yet, Jo goes into exile in Deadhorse, Alaska, and it is up to Bernadette to use all she's learned from her sister to revive a sense of hope against the backdrop of a failing world. With her debut novel, Nora Lange has crafted a rambunctious, ambitious, and heart-rending portrait of two idiosyncratic sisters, determined to persevere despite the worst that capitalism and their circumstances has to throw at them. Nora Lange's debut novel Us Fools is a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction, named a best book of 2024 by The Boston Globe and NPR, a Los Angeles Times bestseller, and a New York Times Editors' Choice. An earlier iteration of it was shortlisted for The Novel Prize, a prize to recognize novels that explore and expand the possibilities of the form. Nora's writing has appeared in BOMB, Hazlitt, Joyland, American Short Fiction, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from Brown University and is a fellow at USC's Los Angeles Institute of the Humanities. She recently moved to Salt Lake City with her family. And look for Nora's in The Believer. Recommended Books: Miranda July, All Fours Svetlana Alexievich, Secondhand Time  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Joanne and Bernadette Fareown are raised on their family farm in rural Illinois, keenly affected by their parents' volatile relationship and mounting financial debt, haunted by the cursed history of the women in their family. Largely left to their own devices, the sisters educate themselves on Greek mythology, feminism, and Virginia Woolf, realizing they must find unique ways to cope in these antagonistic conditions, questioning the American Dream as the rest of the country abandons their community in crisis. As Jo and Bernie's imaginative solutions for escape come up short against their parents' realities, the family leaves their farm for Chicago, where Joanne--free-spirited, reckless, and unable to tame her inner violence--rebels in increasingly desperate ways. After her worst breakdown yet, Jo goes into exile in Deadhorse, Alaska, and it is up to Bernadette to use all she's learned from her sister to revive a sense of hope against the backdrop of a failing world. With her debut novel, Nora Lange has crafted a rambunctious, ambitious, and heart-rending portrait of two idiosyncratic sisters, determined to persevere despite the worst that capitalism and their circumstances has to throw at them. Nora Lange's debut novel Us Fools is a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in Fiction, named a best book of 2024 by The Boston Globe and NPR, a Los Angeles Times bestseller, and a New York Times Editors' Choice. An earlier iteration of it was shortlisted for The Novel Prize, a prize to recognize novels that explore and expand the possibilities of the form. Nora's writing has appeared in BOMB, Hazlitt, Joyland, American Short Fiction, Denver Quarterly, and elsewhere. She has received fellowships from Brown University and is a fellow at USC's Los Angeles Institute of the Humanities. She recently moved to Salt Lake City with her family. And look for Nora's in The Believer. Recommended Books: Miranda July, All Fours Svetlana Alexievich, Secondhand Time  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Kaitlyn Greenidge is the author of Libertie and We Love You, Charlie Freeman, one of the New York Times Critics' Top 10 Books of 2016. Her writing has appeared in the Vogue, Glamour,the Wall Street Journal, Elle, Buzzfeed, Transition Magazine, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, American Short Fiction and other places. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University and the Guggenheim Foundation. She is currently Features Director at Harper's Bazaar as well as a contributing writer for The New York Times. Recorded October 18, 2024 at the Shapiro Center at Wesleyan University Edited by Michele Moses Music by Dani Lencioni Art by Leanne Shapton Sponsored by Alfred A. Knopf The Critic and Her Publics is a production of the Shapiro Center for Creative Writing and Criticism at Wesleyan University, New York Review of Books, and Literary Hub.

WVBR News Director Jack Donnellan sat down for a second time with author, editor, and publisher Mark Wish. Mark and his wife founded an annual short story anthology, Coolest American Stories, which pushes its contributors to make their fiction as compelling as possible, reminding them that readers crave “unputdownable” storytelling. Mark also served as the Fiction Editor of California Quarterly, was the founding Fiction Editor of New York Stories and a Contributing Editor for Pushcart, and has long been known as the freelance editor who has revised the fiction of once-struggling writers, leading it to land numerous book deals as well as publication in dozens of venues including The Atlantic Monthly, The Kenyon Review, Tin House, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Hudson Review, and Best American Short Stories.  His first novel, Confessions of a Polish Used Car Salesman, compared favorably with Huckleberry Finn by the Los Angeles Times back in 1997, went to a second printing one month after publication. Watch Me Go, his third novel, was published by Putnam and praised by Rebecca Makkai, Daniel Woodrell, Ben Fountain, and Salman Rushdie. More than 125 of Mark's short stories have appeared in print venues such as Best American Short Stories, The Georgia Review, TriQuarterly, American Short Fiction, The Antioch Review, Crazyhorse, The Gettysburg Review, Fiction, The Southern Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, New England Review, Barrelhouse, The Yale Review, The Sun, Paris Transcontinental, and Fiction International, and have won distinctions such as the Tobias Wolff Award, the Kay Cattarulla Award, an Isherwood Fellowship, and a Pushcart Prize.  The interview aired live on Talk of the Town on WVBR 93.5 FM on Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 3:00 PM. Catch the full Talk of the Town radio show on Saturdays at 3p on WVBR 93.5 FM or at wvbr.com. Follow us on social media! @WVBRFMNews on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. wvbr.com/afterhours

C.H. Hooks is the author of the novels Can't Shake the Dust (2024) and Alligator Zoo-Park Magic (2019). His work has appeared in print and online publications including: The Los Angeles Review, American Short Fiction, Four Way Review, The Tampa Review, The Bitter Southerner, and Burrow Press. He has been a Tennessee Williams Scholar and Contributor at Sewanee Writers' Conference, and attended DISQUIET: Dzanc Books International Literary Program. He teaches at Flagler College, and lives and sails in St. Augustine.Learn more at CHHOOKS.COMIntro reel, Writing Table Podcast 2024 Outro RecordingFollow the Writing Table:On Twitter/X: @writingtablepcEverywhere else: @writingtablepodcastEmail questions or tell us who you'd like us to invite to the Writing Table: writingtablepodcast@gmail.com.

Host Jason Blitman talks to author Oliver Radclyffe (Frighten the Horses) about his journey of self-discovery and the transformative power of being true to oneself, Henry Higgins, and his dating life. Jason is joined by Guest Gay Reader Roxane Gay, who discusses her role in bringing Oliver's memoir to life through her imprint, Roxane Gay Books, what she's currently reading, the pros of cable, and woes of peeling garlic. Oliver Radclyffe is part of the new wave of transgender writers unafraid to address the complex nuances of transition, examining the places where gender identity, sexual orientation, feminist allegiance, social class, and family history overlap. His work has appeared in The New York Times and Electric Literature, and he recently published Adult Human Male, a monograph with Unbound Edition Press on the trans experience under the cisgender gaze. He currently lives on the Connecticut coast, where he is raising his four children.Roxane Gay's writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, A Public Space, McSweeney's, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times. She is the author of the books Ayiti, An Untamed State, the New York Times bestselling Bad Feminist, the nationally bestselling Difficult Women and the New York Times bestselling Hunger. She is also the author of World of Wakanda for Marvel. She has several books forthcoming and is also at work on television and film projects. She also has a newsletter, The Audacity and once had a podcast, The Roxane Gay Agenda. BOOK CLUB!Use code GAYSREADING at checkout to get first book for only $4 + free shipping! Restrictions apply.http://aardvarkbookclub.comWATCH!https://youtube.com/@gaysreadingBOOKS!Check out the list of books discussed on each episode on our Bookshop page: https://bookshop.org/shop/gaysreading MERCH!Purchase your Gays Reading podcast merchandise HERE! https://gaysreading.myspreadshop.com/ FOLLOW!@gaysreading | @jasonblitman CONTACT!hello@gaysreading.com

On being okay with not knowing (it's part of being human), on listening to dreams, and on "overhearing" your book. Enjoy! Lauren Aliza Green is a novelist, poet, and musician. Her debut novel, The World After Alice, is out now from Viking (US) and Penguin Michael Joseph (UK). Her chapbook, A Great Dark House, won the Poetry Society of America's Chapbook Fellowship. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in Lit Hub, Virginia Quarterly Review, Threepenny Review, American Short Fiction, and elsewhere. Other recognitions include the Eavan Boland Award, sponsored by Poetry Ireland and Stanford University, and a spot on Forbes' 2024 30 Under 30 list.

Carlee Jensen reflects on how the American West and constructions of personal mythology shaped her writing, and how coming out “late” taught her that life has no single narrative. She also tells Jared why she avoided MFA application resources before submitting her materials, how the MFA helped her refocus on writing as an art, not just a profession, and she discusses her experience taking advantage of Hopkins's optional third year. Carlee Jensen is a fiction writer and educator, raised in Utah and California, and currently living in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned a BA from Yale University and an MS from Bank Street College of Education, and spent seven years as a classroom teacher before pursuing an MFA from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University. During her time at Johns Hopkins, she received the 2024 Benjamin J. Sankey Fellowship in Fiction. Her work has appeared in New Ohio Review and The Master's Review, where it was selected by Kristen Arnett for a 2022 Short Story Award for New Writers, and was a finalist for American Short Fiction's Short(er) Fiction Prize in 2023. Find her at carleejensen.com. MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com. BE PART OF THE SHOW — Donate to the show at Buy Me a Coffee. — Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. — Submit an episode request. If there's a program you'd like to learn more about, contact us and we'll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience. — Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out our application. STAY CONNECTED Twitter: @MFAwriterspod Instagram: @MFAwriterspodcast Facebook: MFA Writers Email: mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com

Richard Mirabella discusses his debut novel, Brother and Sister Enter the Forest, as well as sibling dynamics, the deft forward motion of the novel, the influence of Throwing Muses' album Purgatory/Paradise on the structure of the novel, writing “skeletal drafts,” fairy tales, Rachel Glaser fandom, and more! Richard Mirabella is a writer and civil servant living in Upstate New York. His stories have appeared in Story Magazine, American Short Fiction, Split Lip Magazine, and elsewhere. He's the author of the novel Brother & Sister Enter the Forest, a New York Times Editors' Choice and Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Following Venezuela's disputed presidential election, debut author Alejandro Puyana returns to the show to discuss his novel, which explores the revolutionary lives of both ordinary and extraordinary Venezuelans over the span of fifty years. He also shares insights with Jared about the rewrites he made to his MFA thesis before publication, the experience of collaborating with an editor, and the journey of securing book blurbs. Alejandro Puyana is the author of the upcoming novel Freedom Is a Feast, available from Little, Brown on August 20th. Alejandro moved to the United States from Venezuela at the age of twenty-six. In 2022, he completed his MFA at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas. His work has appeared in Tin House, American Short Fiction, The American Scholar, New England Review, and Idaho Review, among others, and his story “The Hands of Dirty Children” was selected by Curtis Sittenfeld for Best American Short Stories 2020. He lives with his wife and daughter in Austin, Texas. Learn more at alejandropuyana.com. MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com. BE PART OF THE SHOW — Donate to the show at Buy Me a Coffee. — Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. — Submit an episode request. If there's a program you'd like to learn more about, contact us and we'll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience. — Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out our application. STAY CONNECTED Twitter: @MFAwriterspod Instagram: @MFAwriterspodcast Facebook: MFA Writers Email: mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com

Jordan chats with Emma Copley Eisenberg (Housemates) about a ghostly encounter that led to her new novel, the opposing worldviews of Grace Paley and Ottessa Moshfegh, and the choice to make art in difficult times.MENTIONED:Jazz by Toni MorrisonFleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-AknerAmerican Pastoral by Philip RothTerrace Story by Hilary Leichter"Why I Write" by George OrwellEmma Copley Eisenberg is the author of the nationally bestselling novel Housemates and the narrative nonfiction book The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and was nominated for an Edgar Award, a Lambda Literary Award, and an Anthony Award, among other honors. Her fiction has appeared in Granta, McSweeney's, VQR, American Short Fiction, and other publications. Raised in New York City, she lives in Philadelphia, where she co-founded Blue Stoop, a community hub for the literary arts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma Copley Eisenberg discusses her debut novel, Housemates, Philadelphia, BODIES, the spectrum of Ottessa Moshfegh to Grace Paley, structure, road trips, the historical figures who inspired the novel, and more! Emma Copley Eisenberg is the author of the novel Housemates and the narrative nonfiction book The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia, which was named a New York Times Notable Book and was nominated for an Edgar Award, a Lambda Literary Award, and an Anthony Award, among other honors. Her fiction has appeared in Granta, McSweeney's, VQR, American Short Fiction, and other publications. Raised in New York City, she lives in Philadelphia, where she co-founded Blue Stoop, a community hub for the literary arts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason and Brett continue PRIDE 2024 with celebrated authors. They're joined in conversation with Jen Silverman (There's Going to Be Trouble), David Levithan (Wide Awake Now), and Emma Copley Eisenberg (Housemates) talking about the cyclical nature of history, queer inheritance, intersectionality of arts and queerness, and much more. Jen Silverman is a New York-based writer, playwright, and screenwriter. Jen is the author of novel We Play Ourselves, which is short-listed for a Lambda Literary Award, the story collection The Island Dwellers, which was longlisted for a PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for debut fiction, and the poetry chapbook Bath, selected by Traci Brimhall for Driftwood Press. Additional work has appeared in Vogue, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, LitHub, The Yale Review, and elsewhere. Jen's plays have been produced across the United States and internationally. Jen is a three-time MacDowell fellow, a member of New Dramatists, and the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts grant, a Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Fellowship, the Yale Drama Series Award, and a Playwrights of New York Fellowship. Jen is a 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Fellow for Prose and a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow for Drama. Jen also writes for TV and film.When not writing during spare hours on weekends, David Levithan is editorial director at Scholastic and the founding editor of the PUSH imprint, which is devoted to finding new voices and new authors in teen literature. His acclaimed novels Boy Meets Boy and The Realm of Possibility started as stories he wrote for his friends for Valentine's Day (something he's done for the past 22 years and counting) that turned themselves into teen novels. He's often asked if the book is a work of fantasy or a work of reality, and the answer is right down the middle—it's about where we're going, and where we should be.Emma Copley Eisenberg is a queer writer of fiction and nonfiction. Her first book, The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia, was named a New York Times Notable Book and was nominated for an Edgar Award, a Lambda Literary Award, and an Anthony Award, among other honors. Her fiction has appeared in Granta, McSweeney's, VQR, American Short Fiction, and other publications. Raised in New York City, she lives in Philadelphia, where she co-founded Blue Stoop, a community hub for the literary arts.**BOOKS!** Check out the list of books discussed on each episode on our Bookshop page:https://bookshop.org/shop/gaysreading | By purchasing books through this Bookshop link, you can support both Gays Reading and an independent bookstore of your choice!Join our Patreon for exclusive bonus content! Purchase your Gays Reading podcast Merch! Follow us on Instagram @gaysreading | @bretts.book.stack | @jasonblitmanWhat are you reading? Send us an email or a voice memo at gaysreading@gmail.com

Hi Everyone, I'm thrilled to host Cara Blue Adams today on the podcast. We talked about her stellar short story, "Vision," available from Joyland Magazine. I met Cara years ago at the Kenyon Writers Workshop (which I highly recommend by the way...) so it was great fun to reconnect on the podcast. Cara's work was recommended by Vincent Perrone, who is a part owner of the co-op bookstore, Book Suey, in Hamtramck, MI, so he joined us for the podcast as well. See his bio below, and please consider buying from Bookshop or even directly from Book Suey to support local bookstores! Enjoy the show and see you on April 1st! Kelly Cara Blue Adams is the author of the interlinked story collection You Never Get It Back (University of Iowa Press, 2021), named a New York Times Editors' Choice and awarded the John Simmons Short Fiction Prize, judged by Brandon Taylor, who calls it “a modern classic.” The collection was shortlisted for the Mary McCarthy Prize and longlisted for the Story Prize. Over twenty-five of her stories appear in magazines like the Granta, The Kenyon Review, Epoch, American Short Fiction, and Electric Literature, and her nonfiction appears in Bookforum and The Believer. She has received the Kenyon Review Short Fiction Prize, the Missouri Review William Peden Prize, and the Meringoff Prize in Fiction, along with a 2018 Center for Fiction Emerging Writer fellowship and selection as a Pushcart Prize Notable. She has also received support from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, the VCCA, the Lighthouse Works, the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts. Cara earned a B.A. in English Language and Literature from Smith College and an MFA from the University of Arizona. Originally from Vermont, she has lived in Boston, Tucson, Montreal, Maine, South Carolina, and Baton Rouge. She is a former coeditor of The Southern Review. Currently, she is an associate professor in the MFA program at Temple University and lives in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley. Purchase Cara's book at Book Suey (link above) or Book Shop or Amazon. My co-host: Vincent James Perrone is the author of the poetry collection, Starving Romantic (11:11 Press, 2018), the microchap, Travelogue For The Dispossessed (Ghost City Press, 2021), and a contributor to the anthology, Collected Voices in the Expanded Field (11:11 Press, 2020). His recent and forthcoming work can be found in Pithead Chapel, New Flash Fiction Review, TIMBER, Storm Cellar, and A Common Well Journal. Vincent lives in Detroit where he teaches at Wayne State University. He reads for Conduit and is a member-owner of the co-op bookstore, Book Suey. #shortstories #creativewriting #joylandmag #kenyonreview #booksuey

Venita Blackburn is the author of the debut novel Dead in Long Beach, CA, available from MCD Books.   Blackburn's other books include the story collection Black Jesus and Other Superheroes, which won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize and was a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award and the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction; and another collection called How to Wrestle a Girl, which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker online, The Paris Review, Pleiades, Bat City Review, and American Short Fiction. She is a faculty member in the creative writing program at Fresno State University and is the founder and president of Live, Write, an organization devoted to offering free creative writing workshops for communities of color. She lives in Fresno, California. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Twitter Instagram  TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 99, my conversation with author and publisher Elizabeth Ellen. This episode first aired on August 26, 2012. Elizabeth Ellen's stories have been published in American Short Fiction, HARPER'S Magazine, Muumuu House, Joyland, and numerous other magzines and journals. She is the recipient of a Pushcart Prize for her story "Teen Culture," and is the author of several books including Fast Machine and Person/a. In 2024, Clash Books will publish her novel, American Thighs. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch @otherppl Instagram  TikTok Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and cultural observer, Roxane Gay, examines the landscape of the internet and our relationship with it. We discuss the line between constructive criticism and online toxicity; how to decide when to speak up and when to stay quiet; and how to stay human and allow redemption in an online world that demands perfection. Plus, a breakdown of our shared unguilty pleasure: Naked Attraction. About Roxane:  Roxane Gay is the author of several books, including Ayiti, An Untamed State, New York Times bestsellers Bad Feminist and Hunger; and the national bestseller Difficult Women. Her writing appears in Best American Mystery Stories, Best American Short Stories, Best Sex Writing, A Public Space, McSweeney's, Tin House, Oxford American, American Short Fiction, Virginia Quarterly Review, and many others. She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times.  She also has a newsletter, “The Audacity” – and once had a podcast, The Roxane Gay Agenda. Her latest book, Opinions, is available now. TW: @rgay IG: @roxanegay74 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Holly Pelesky interviews Stephanie Austin.Holly Pelesky is the author of the essay collection, Cleave, from us at Autofocus Books. She also writes fiction and poetry and co-edits Vast Chasm literary magazine.Stephanie Austin is the author of Something I Might Say, a short essay collection now available from WTAW Press. Her work has been published in more than 25 literary journals in the United States and Canada including The Sun, American Short Fiction, Bending Genres, Wigleaf, Pithead Chapel, and others. An  essay from Stephanie's collection, Kill Floor, was originally published by us at Autofocus.____________PART ONE, topics include:-- assistant property management-- sending out a novel for 15 years-- agonizing less over writing CNF-- the short essay collection SOMETHING I MIGHT SAY-- a lot of loss in a short period of time-- health anxiety in general and especially during the pandemic-- watching a parent's body die-- caregiving for others and (not) taking care of the self-- getting (and enjoying) a low-res MFA____________PART TWO, topics include:-- growing up in a small rural town in Illinois-- things shattering after a move -- reading and writing about ghosts and vampires as a kid-- healing and whether one actually heals-- the things you've been trying to do for 20 years being possible-- a rejection that turn into publication for Something I Might Say ____________Podcast theme music provided by Mike Nagel, author of Duplex. Here's more of his project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton.

Deesha and Dawnie chat with Denne Michele Norris, editor-in-chief of Electric Literature and author of the forthcoming debut novel, When The Harvest Comes (Random House). She is also the first Black, openly trans woman to helm a major literary publication. Norris discusses her approaches to both writing and editing, sharing insights for writers on working with editors. She also talks about the ways different genres — from fiction to essay to memoir — all require their own approaches. Norris asks questions of herself and of the work, aiming to edit “ethically and responsibly and [tell] a beautiful story.” Support our show by becoming an Ursa Member: ursastory.com/join Reading List: Stories and Writers Mentioned Denne Michele Norris McSweeney's 62: The Queer Fiction Issue Food 4 Thot Podcast "An Almanac of Bones" (Dantiel W. Moniz) The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison) Everyday People: The Color of Life Anthology (edited by Jennifer Baker)  "Daddy's Boy" (Denne Michele Norris) Jade Jones Going To Meet The Man (James Baldwin) Friday Black (Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah) Milk Blood Heat (Dantiel W. Moniz) The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (Deesha Philyaw) What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky (Lesley Nneka Arimah) Difficult Women (Roxane Gay) About the Author  Denne Michele Norris is the editor-in-chief of Electric Literature, winner of the 2022 Whiting Digital Literary Magazine Prize, where she is the first Black, openly trans woman to helm a major literary publication. A 2021 Out100 Honoree, her writing has been supported by MacDowell, Tin House, VCCA, and the Kimbilio Center for African American Fiction, and appears in McSweeney's, American Short Fiction, and ZORA. She co-hosts the critically acclaimed podcast Food 4 Thot, and mentors emerging writers of color with The Periplus Collective. Her debut novel, When The Harvest Comes, is forthcoming from Random House.  More from Deesha Philyaw and Dawnie Walton: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (Deesha Philyaw) The Final Revival of Opal & Nev (Dawnie Walton) *** Associate producer: Marina Leigh Episode editor: Kelly Araja Executive producers: Dawnie Walton & Mark Armstrong Author photo: Hilary Leichter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://ursastory.com/join

The pod team is on summer vacation! While we rest, recharge, and record some fabulous Season 4 episodes, we hope you enjoy this rerelease from our first season.  With political and social unrest rocking his home country of Venezuela, Alejandro Puyana turned to writing as a way to process. He applied to MFA programs four times before landing an acceptance at the Michener Center for Writers. Now, you can read his work in The Best American Short Stories anthology for 2020. Alejandro and Jared talk rejection, revision, and reimagining the world through fiction. Alejandro Puyana is a second-year fellow at the Michener Center for Writers whose primary focus is fiction and secondary genre is screenwriting. His non-fiction pieces have been published in The Toast, Tin House Online, NPR, The Huffington Post; his fiction in Huizache, The Examined Life, and Idaho Review. His short story, "Hands of Dirty Children" was awarded the Halifax Ranch Prize by American Short Fiction, chosen as the winning story by ZZ Packer. That same story was then chosen by Curtis Sittenfeld to be included in the 2020 Best American Short Stories. Find him on Twitter @Puyana. MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com. BE PART OF THE SHOW — Donate to the show at Buy Me a Coffee. — Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. — Submit an episode request. If there's a program you'd like to learn more about, contact us and we'll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience. — Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out our application. STAY CONNECTED Twitter: @MFAwriterspod Instagram: @MFAwriterspodcast Facebook: MFA Writers Email: mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com

Jamel Brinkley is the author of a new short story collection called Witness and previously published the short story collection  A Lucky Man which was a finalist for the National Book Award, the Story Prize, the John Leonard Prize, the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize, and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award; and winner of a PEN Oakland Award and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence. His writing has appeared in A Public Space, Ploughshares, The Paris Review, American Short Fiction, Guernica, Glimmer Train,The Best American Short Stories, and many more. He was raised in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and now teaches at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.We talk to Jamel about his upcoming collection, Witness, and about what attracts him to short stories as a form. Hosted by Phillip Russell and Ben ThorpYou can learn more about Jamel Brinkley here.Visit our website: Originstory.showFollow us on Twitter @originstory_Do you have feedback or questions for us? Email us theoriginstorypod@gmail.comCover art and website design by Melody HirschOrigin Story original score by Ryan Hopper

This week is the first of a new feature on the podcast: conversations with authors about what indie bookstores mean to them and their careers. I'm joined by Richard Mirabella, whose debut novel "Brother and Sister Enter the Forest" was released earlier this year to critical acclaim. His short stories have appeared in Story Magazine, American Short Fiction online, One Story, Split Lip Magazine, and elsewhere. Richard shares his favorite bookshops and the books he'd recommend to customers. Books We Talk About: The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marissa Crane, Endpapers by Jennifer Savron Kelly, Hawk Mountain by Conner Habib, Stephen Florida by Gabe Habash, and The Turner House by Angela Flournoy.

For part 2 of Sasha's conversation with writer Rebecca Bengal and photographer Kristine Potter, Rebecca talks about her short story, Blood Harmony which is part of Kristine's book, Dark Waters co-published by Aperture with Images Vevey and The Momentary. Kristine and Rebecca discuss how a piece of fiction, in this case, a short story, can function within a photo book. Sasha and Rebecca also talk about Rebecca's new book, Strange Hours, published by Aperture, a collection of her essays on photography, and how you assemble essays written independently of one another into one book. https://www.rebeccabengal.net https://aperture.org/books/coming-soon/strange-hours-photography-memory-and-the-lives-of-artists/ http://www.kristinepotter.com https://aperture.org/books/coming-soon/kristine-potter-dark-waters/ Rebecca Bengal is a writer of fiction, essays, and documentary journalism about art, literature, film, music, and the environment. A regular contributor to Aperture, her writing has been published by the Paris Review, Vogue, Vanity Fair, the New York Times, Oxford American, Southwest Review, the Believer, the Guardian, and the Criterion Collection, among many others. She has contributed stories and essays to books by Carolyn Drake, Justine Kurland, Kristine Potter, Paul Graham, Danny Lyon, and Charles Portis. A MacDowell fellow in fiction and a former editor at American Short Fiction, DoubleTake, and Vogue, she holds an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers in Austin. Originally from western North Carolina, Bengal lives in Brooklyn. Kristine Potter (1977) is an artist based in Nashville, Tennessee, whose work explores masculine archetypes, the American landscape, and cultural tendencies toward mythologizing the past. Her first monograph Manifest was published by TBW Books in 2018. Her second monograph Dark Waters is being published by Aperture in the summer of 2023. Potter was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2018 and was awarded the Grand Prix Image Vevey for 2019-2020. Potter's work is in numerous public and private collections including that of The High Museum of Art, The Georgia Museum of Art, the Swiss Camera Museum, and Foundation Vevey. Potter is currently an Assistant Professor of Photography at Middle Tennessee State University. This podcast is sponsored by picturehouse + thesmalldarkroom. https://phtsdr.com

For part 1 of this 2 part episode, returning guest, photographer Kristine Potter, and first time guest, writer Rebecca Bengal, talk to Sasha about how they each started down their career paths, the similarities in their upbringings and how their early interest in music influenced the way they think about visual art. Sasha and Kristine discuss the history of "murder ballads" used to reference the casual violence against women in Kristine's new book, Dark Waters, published by Aperture which includes a short story by Rebecca. In part 2 of this episode, Sasha and Rebecca will talk about her short story and her new book, Strange Hours: Photography, Memory, and the Lives of Artists, also published by Aperture. http://www.kristinepotter.com https://aperture.org/books/coming-soon/kristine-potter-dark-waters/ https://www.rebeccabengal.net https://aperture.org/books/coming-soon/strange-hours-photography-memory-and-the-lives-of-artists/ Kristine Potter (1977) is an artist based in Nashville, Tennessee, whose work explores masculine archetypes, the American landscape, and cultural tendencies toward mythologizing the past. Her first monograph Manifest was published by TBW Books in 2018. Her second monograph Dark Waters is being published by Aperture in the summer of 2023. Potter was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2018 and was awarded the Grand Prix Image Vevey for 2019-2020. Potter's work is in numerous public and private collections including that of The High Museum of Art, The Georgia Museum of Art, the Swiss Camera Museum, and Foundation Vevey. Potter is currently an Assistant Professor of Photography at Middle Tennessee State University. Rebecca Bengal is a writer of fiction, essays, and documentary journalism about art, literature, film, music, and the environment. A regular contributor to Aperture, her writing has been published by the Paris Review, Vogue, Vanity Fair, the New York Times, Oxford American, Southwest Review, the Believer, the Guardian, and the Criterion Collection, among many others. She has contributed stories and essays to books by Carolyn Drake, Justine Kurland, Kristine Potter, Paul Graham, Danny Lyon, and Charles Portis. A MacDowell fellow in fiction and a former editor at American Short Fiction, DoubleTake, and Vogue, she holds an MFA from the Michener Center for Writers in Austin. Originally from western North Carolina, Bengal lives in Brooklyn. This podcast is sponsored by picturehouse + thesmalldarkroom. https://phtsdr.com

Today, Lori is interviewing Jolene Mcilwain. They'll be talking about Sidle Creek and centering a short story collection around a place. Jolene McIlwain's fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and appears in West Branch, Florida Review, Cincinnati Review, New Orleans Review, Northern Appalachia Review, and 2019's Best Small Fictions Anthology. Her work was named finalist for 2018's Best of the Net, Glimmer Train's and River Styx's contests, and semifinalist in Nimrod's Katherine Anne Porter Prize and two American Short Fiction's contests. She's received a Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council grant, the Georgia Court Chautauqua faculty scholarship, and Tinker Mountain's merit scholarship. She taught literary theory/analysis at Duquesne and Chatham Universities and she worked as a radiologic technologist before attending college (BS English, minor in sculpture, MA Literature). She was born, raised, and currently lives in a small town in the Appalachian plateau of Western Pennsylvania. You can find her on her website or follow her on Twitter and Instagram.   In this episode Jolene Mcilwain and Lori discuss: Why the length of a story doesn't equate its emotional impact. How to center a collection around a place and add enough grounding details. Taking on stereotypes and going deeper in your writing.   Plus, her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: diymfa.com/462

It's a very special “Three Ds from Duval” episode of Ursa Short Fiction! Deesha Philyaw and Dawnie Walton welcome fellow Jacksonville native Dantiel W. Moniz, author of the acclaimed 2021 short story collection MILK BLOOD HEAT.  Moniz talks about how growing up in Jacksonville informed the stories in MILK BLOOD HEAT, and how real-life experiences serve as a jumping-off point for the stories we tell.  “It's always as a seed or a starting off point because the story is a thing that allows me to get past what actually happened or what I think actually happened, and then explore what could have happened.” Reading List: Books, Stories, and Authors Mentioned MILK BLOOD HEAT, by Dantiel W. Moniz (Grove Press) “An Almanac of Bones,” by Dantiel W. Moniz (Apogee Journal) “Eula,” by Deesha Philyaw (Apogee Journal) The Office of Historical Corrections, by Danielle Evans The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, by Mariana Enríquez Manywhere, by Morgan Thomas The Getaway Car, by Ann Patchett  Dantiel W. Moniz's website About the Author Dantiel W. Moniz is the recipient of a National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” Award, a Pushcart Prize, a MacDowell Fellowship, and the Alice Hoffman Prize for Fiction. Her debut collection, Milk Blood Heat, is the winner of a Florida Book Award, and was a finalist for the PEN/ Jean Stein Award, the PEN/ Robert W. Bingham Prize, and the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, as well as longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Her writing has appeared in the Paris Review, Harper's Bazaar, American Short Fiction, Tin House, and elsewhere. Moniz is an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she teaches fiction. Read More from Deesha Philyaw and Dawnie Walton:  The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (Deesha Philyaw) The Final Revival of Opal & Nev (Dawnie Walton) *** Episode editor: Kelly Araja Associate producer: Marina Leigh Producer: Mark Armstrong *** Help us fund future episodes: https://ursastory.com/join/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://ursastory.com/join

Mai Nardone is a Thai and American writer whose fiction has appeared in American Short Fiction, Granta, McSweeney's, Ploughshares, and elsewhere. He lives in Bangkok. His collection is called Welcome Me to the Kingdom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Short story writer Jonathan Escoffery on his process for writing his linked short story collection, If I Survive You, how he thinks about world building, managing reader anticipation, how questions of identity influence his work, and tips for writing dynamic, moving short stories.*ABOUT JONATHAN ESCOFFERYJonathan Escoffery is the author of the linked story collection, If I Survive You, a New York Times and Booklist Editor's Choice, an IndieNext Pick, and a National Bestseller. His stories have appeared in The Paris Review, Oprah Daily, Electric Literature, Zyzzyva, AGNI, Pleiades, American Short Fiction, Prairie Schooner, Passages North, and elsewhere.*RESOURCESFollow Jonathan Escoffery:TwitterInstagramWebsiteOther links mentioned:Goblins in the Castle by Bruce CovilleR.L. Stine's Goosebumps seriesThe Hardy BoysGrub Street writing classes and community in BostonBoston Writers of Color GroupIf I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery*For show notes, transcripts and to attend our live podcasts visit: podcast.londonwriterssalon.comFor free writing sessions, join free Writers' Hours: writershour.com *FOLLOW LONDON WRITERS' SALONTwitter: twitter.com/​​WritersSalonInstagram: instagram.com/londonwriterssalonFacebook: facebook.com/LondonWritersSalonIf you're enjoying this show, please rate and review this show!

Mai Nardone's Welcome Me to the Kingdom (Random House, 2023) opens with two migrants from Thailand's northeast who travel to Bangkok to make a new life for themselves in the bustling city. As they enter, they pass under a sign, asking visitors to “Take Home a Thousand Smiles.” It's an ironic start to their lives in Bangkok, as the two live an unstable, hardscrabble life on Bangkok's fringes. The two are just a few of the characters that populate Mai Nardone's short story collection. From a mixed-race daughter of an American-Thai couple, to two “strayboys” jumping from job to job, Mai's characters try to carve a niche for themselves in a changing and sometimes unforgiving city. In this interview, Mai and I talk about Thailand, the divergence between its public hospitality and the unstable lives of the migrants that live there, and how authors should write about this Southeast Asian country. Mai Nardone is a Thai and American writer whose fiction has appeared in American Short Fiction, Granta, McSweeney's, Ploughshares, and elsewhere. He lives in Bangkok. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Welcome Me to the Kingdom. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Mai Nardone's Welcome Me to the Kingdom (Random House, 2023) opens with two migrants from Thailand's northeast who travel to Bangkok to make a new life for themselves in the bustling city. As they enter, they pass under a sign, asking visitors to “Take Home a Thousand Smiles.” It's an ironic start to their lives in Bangkok, as the two live an unstable, hardscrabble life on Bangkok's fringes. The two are just a few of the characters that populate Mai Nardone's short story collection. From a mixed-race daughter of an American-Thai couple, to two “strayboys” jumping from job to job, Mai's characters try to carve a niche for themselves in a changing and sometimes unforgiving city. In this interview, Mai and I talk about Thailand, the divergence between its public hospitality and the unstable lives of the migrants that live there, and how authors should write about this Southeast Asian country. Mai Nardone is a Thai and American writer whose fiction has appeared in American Short Fiction, Granta, McSweeney's, Ploughshares, and elsewhere. He lives in Bangkok. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Welcome Me to the Kingdom. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/southeast-asian-studies

Mai Nardone's Welcome Me to the Kingdom (Random House, 2023) opens with two migrants from Thailand's northeast who travel to Bangkok to make a new life for themselves in the bustling city. As they enter, they pass under a sign, asking visitors to “Take Home a Thousand Smiles.” It's an ironic start to their lives in Bangkok, as the two live an unstable, hardscrabble life on Bangkok's fringes. The two are just a few of the characters that populate Mai Nardone's short story collection. From a mixed-race daughter of an American-Thai couple, to two “strayboys” jumping from job to job, Mai's characters try to carve a niche for themselves in a changing and sometimes unforgiving city. In this interview, Mai and I talk about Thailand, the divergence between its public hospitality and the unstable lives of the migrants that live there, and how authors should write about this Southeast Asian country. Mai Nardone is a Thai and American writer whose fiction has appeared in American Short Fiction, Granta, McSweeney's, Ploughshares, and elsewhere. He lives in Bangkok. You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of Welcome Me to the Kingdom. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

We talked with:Stacey Swann holds an MFA from Texas State University and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Her fiction has appeared in multiple journals, and she is a Contributing Editor of American Short Fiction. Her first novel "Olympus, Texas" has received critical acclaim.Jennifer Vencill, Ph.D., L.P., is an assistant professor, board certified clinical health psychologist and AASECT certified sex therapist. Dr. Vencill spends the bulk of her time providing integrated sexual health care in the Menopause and Women's Sexual Health Clinic. She's currently working on her first popular press book, a guide for managing sexual desire discrepancies in relationships — to be published in summer 2023!We talked about:In this episode, Dr. Millstine and her guests discuss:Infidelity is a health issue. Infidelity is a common experience that can greatly affect interpersonal and intimate relationships — and by extension, your mental health — with collateral damage for kids, friends and communities.The definition of infidelity is personal. "Cheating" means different things to different people. A lot depends on what you've agreed to in your relationship … or what you assume your partner has agreed to.Judge not. This novel brings the complexities of affairs to life. People may not cheat (or be "the other woman" or stay with a cheating partner) for the reasons that you think. We discuss some of the characters who don't fit the mold.This concludes Season One. To sign up for emails with more information about future releases and other women's health content, click here. Can't get enough?Purchase "Olympus, Texas."From Bookshop.org.From Amazon.From Barnes & Noble.Pre-order Dr. Vencill's book: "Desire: An Inclusive Guide to Navigating Libido Differences in Relationships."From Bookshop.org.From Amazon.From Barnes & Noble.Want to read more on the topic? Check out our blog:Modeling healthy problem-solving for your kidsBuilding self-esteem is an important part of self-careTrauma and women: Untangling the complex emotional and physical consequencesGot feedback?If you've got ideas or book suggestions, email us at readtalkgrow@mayo.edu.We invite you to complete the following survey as part of a research study at Mayo Clinic. Your responses are anonymous. Your participation in this survey as well as its completion are voluntary.

Join Imani Perry and Kaitlyn Greenidge for a discussion of Claudia Tate and Black Women Writers At Work. Long out of print, Black Women Writers at Work is a vital contribution to Black literature in the 20th century. Through candid interviews with Maya Angelou, Toni Cade Bambara, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alexis De Veaux, Nikki Giovanni, Kristin Hunter, Gayl Jones, Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Sonia Sanchez, Ntozake Shange, Alice Walker, Margaret Walker, and Sherley Anne Williams, the book highlights the practices and critical linkages between the work and lived experiences of Black women writers whose work laid the foundation for many who have come after. For this launch Imani Perry will be in conversation with Kaitlyn Greenidge. Get Black Women Writers at Work from Haymarket: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1926-black-women-writers-at-work Speakers: Imani Perry is the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, where she also teaches in the Programs in Law and Public Affairs, and in Gender and Sexuality Studies. She is a native of Birmingham, Alabama, and spent much of her youth in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Chicago. She is the author of several books, including Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry. She lives outside Philadelphia with her two sons, Freeman Diallo Perry Rabb and Issa Garner Rabb. Kaitlyn Greenidge's debut novel is We Love You, Charlie Freeman (Algonquin Books), one of the New York Times Critics' Top 10 Books of 2016. Her writing has appeared in the Vogue, Glamour, the Wall Street Journal, Elle, Buzzfeed, Transition Magazine, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, American Short Fiction and other places. She is the recipient of fellowships from the Whiting Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University and the Guggenheim Foundation. She is currently Features Director at Harper's Bazaar. Her second novel, Libertie, is published by Algonquin Books and out now. Watch the live event recording: https://youtube.com/live/sYdedGXRV_g Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org Follow us on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/haymarketbooks

We're on break, creating all new episodes for season 3. In the meantime, here's one of our favorite episodes from the past year. See you soon.   “Getting people to feel angry with me makes me feel less alone, less helpless. (It) makes me feel like, okay, there's a whole team of us. We're all gonna do it.” - Writer and illustrator, Aubrey Hirsch    The world is such a hot mess: every day a new disaster, a new human rights catastrophe. It can just feel… endless. Illustrator Aubrey Hirsch joins us to talk about outrage and trauma and community building - it's like the greatest hits of modern culture. But mostly, she joins us to talk about art - specifically, the ways that storytelling helps us band together and work towards the world we all want.    PS: Listen all the way through so you don't miss Aubrey's slightly sinister but ultimately functional ideas on hope.  In this episode we cover:  The relationship between rage and creation: when there's so much wrong with the world all you can do is scream Why taking action to change things matters - even if your actions won't save everyone Women and anger: hoo boy, it's a whole thing.  Why healing inside trauma is actually kind of… boring.  Connecting through the power of storytelling   Click here for the episode webpage. Notable quotes:  “I feel very helpless and I don't wanna feel like that because I know that to be f*cked is a spectrum and we can be more f*cked than we are now or less f*cked. It's not a binary. I want us to move in the right direction (less f*cked),  and I want to be a part of that movement - even if my action comes too late for some.” - Aubrey Hirsch About our guest: Aubrey Hirsch is the author of Why We Never Talk About Sugar, a collection of short stories, and This Will Be His Legacy, a flash fiction chapbook. Her stories, essays and comics have appeared widely in print and online in places like American Short Fiction, Vox, TIME, The New York Times, The Rumpus, The Toast, and in the New York Times bestselling anthology, Not That Bad. Her essay on trauma and surviving gun violence is a must read. Find it here.    Additional resources Aubrey occasionally teaches comics for “non-artists.” Check her TW @aubreyhirsch for announcements. She publishes new comics and essays on Roxane Gay's substack, The Audacity.    Aubrey's written on so many topics relevant to human life. Find a long list of awesome essays on her website, https://aubreyhirsch.com   Get in touch: Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Here After with Megan Devine. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review, send in your questions, and share the show with everyone you know. Together, we can make things better, even when they can't be made right.    Have a question, comment, or a topic you'd like us to cover? Visit megandevine.co to get in touch.   For more information, including clinical training and consulting, visit us at megandevine.co   For grief support & education, follow us at @refugeingrief on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok   Want to talk with Megan directly? Join our patreon community for live monthly Q&A sessions. All the info at this link.    Check out Megan's best-selling books - It's OK That You're Not OK and How to Carry What Can't Be Fixed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ravi Mangla, author of The Observant, stopped by PCL recently to chat with Your Friendly Neighborhood Librarians about his 2022 novel, his writing style and favorite books, and what the Monroe County Library System has meant to him. The Pittsford native's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Nation, Jacobin, The Kenyon Review, Cincinnati Review, Mid-American Review, Salon, The Paris Review Daily, Quarterly West, American Short Fiction, Tin House Online, and the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Episode 174 Notes and Links to Allegra Hyde's Work       On Episode 174 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes  Allegra Hyde, and the two discuss, among other things, her lifelong love of reading and love for librarians (like her mom!) and libraries, her varied reading and writing genres, inspirations for her dazzling and inventive worldbuilding, dark humor, the main throughline of her story collection, ideas of climate change, “global weirding,” action and inaction, encroaching technology, misogyny and patriarch with regard to climate issues, and why she has hope for our world.      Allegra Hyde is the author of ELEUTHERIA, which was named a "Best Book of 2022" by The New Yorker. She is also the author of the story collection, OF THIS NEW WORLD, which won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award. Her second story collection, THE LAST CATASTROPHE, is out in the world as of today, March 28, published by Vintage.    A recipient of three Pushcart Prizes, Hyde's writing has also been anthologized in Best American Travel Writing, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions. Her stories, essays, and humor pieces have appeared in The New Yorker, American Short Fiction, BOMB, and many other venues.    Hyde has received fellowships and grants from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, The Elizabeth George Foundation, the Lucas Artist Residency Program, the Jentel Foundation, the U.S. Fulbright Commission, and elsewhere.    She currently teaches at Oberlin College.     Buy The Last Catastrophe   Allegra Hyde's Webpage   Our Culture Mag Profile of Allegra Hyde and The Last Catastrophe     At about 7:10, Pete compliments The Last Catastrophe, referring to Allegra's work as “prophet[ic],” and Allegra talks about her mindset with her book now entering the world   At about 9:15, Allegra talks about her childhood relationships with the library, reading, and writing; she shouts out her love for The Chronicles of Narnia and audiobooks in general   At about 10:45, Pete wonders about any childhood experiences that may have steered Allegra to particular types of reading    At about 12:10, Pete highlights a particular story from the collection that is indicative of Allegra's skill with worldbuilding; she explains her approach to worldbuilding   At about 14:10, Allegra describes the “privilege” in doing authorial research and she and Pete shout out librarians and decry the recent spate of book banning   At about 15:40, Pete asks Allegra about who/what she is reading these days; she highlights Sleepwalk by Dan Chaon and Thornton Wilder   At about 17:15, Pete references the book's blurb as “dazzling and inventive” (Alexandra Kleeman) and Allegra describes her approach in writing one of those “dazzling” stories   At about 18:55, Allegra defines “retrofuturism,” and she describes how it was guiding her in these stories; she points out her story “Democracy in América” as an example   At about 20:15, Allegra characterizes the throughline of her short story connection, defining and expounding upon the term “Global Weirding”   At about 23:05, Pete cites an important and evocative opening line of the collection and asks Allegra about the line's larger meaning and if it served as a catalyst   At about 24:45, Pete and Allegra discuss the plot and significance of the story “Mobilization”   At about 27:55, Pete references a joke from Marc Maron and inaction on climate change/global weirdness; Allegra highlights the need to approach the crisis from a communal lens   At about 29:20, Pete refers to grass and drought issues and its connection to wealth and    At about 30:05, Pete quotes from the book and he and Allegra discuss ideas of optimism and pessimism regarding the future, particularly with regard to climate change/global weirdness   At about 32:35, Pete references the story “Zoo Suicides” and Allegra speaks to the story's intent and how it was “after” Donald Barthelme and Dana Diehl   At about 35:00, The two discuss the power of the dark humor in the book, and Allegra discusses the story “Afterglow” and its connections to global weirding and a more individual story of grief   At about 38:45, Allegra discusses the gender identity of the narrator of “Democracy in América” and talk about issues particular to America, especially as seen from outside the US   At about 40:55, Allegra describes the process of “Consignment,” which speaks to ideas of consumerism and an American obsession with youth and beauty, from the above story   At about 42:25, Commodification and issues of wealth inequality are discussed with regards to her story collection, especially with regards to how wealth and global weirding are so closely linked   At about 44:40, Pete highlights “The Future is a Click Away” as a standout story and he and Allegra discuss “The Algorithm” in the story as almost “mythical” and “god-like”   At about 47:30, “Cougar” is discussed as another story that deals with encroaching technology, and Allegra talks about “merg[ing] real pieces from her life with research and imagination   At about 49:40, “Endangered” and its statements on the state of art and artists, as well as captivity and endangerment in today's world, is discussed    At about 52:30, Misogyny and what Allegra calls “the mysterious nature of ‘Chevalier' ” are discussed, as well as ideas of invisibilia, both by the world at large and by the narrator of the story, who may be more directed by love than she would let on   At about 56:00, Allegra connects her stories to patriarchy and global weirding   At about 58:00, Pete and Allegra discuss legislative action and other ways in which women and other oppressed groups are being ignored and degraded    At about 58:55, Allegra explains why she “chafe[s]” against her writing being described as “satirical”    At about 59:30, Pete laugh over the absurd and awesome story involving a woman    At about 1:00:25, Allegra explains how she finds cause for optimism despite some often dark topics that populate the world and her work   At about 1:03:15, Allegra shouts out her upcoming tour dates, and shouts out Ben Franklin/Mindfair Books as one of many places to buy her book   At about 1:04:35, Allegra highlights her exciting upcoming project-there are caves involved!    You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave me a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow me on IG, where I'm @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where I'm @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both my YouTube Channel and my podcast while you're checking out this episode.    Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl     Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting my one-man show, my DIY podcast and my extensive reading, research, editing, and promoting to keep this independent podcast pumping out high-quality content!    NEW MERCH! You can browse and buy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChillsatWillPodcast    This is a passion project of mine, a DIY operation, and I'd love for your help in promoting what I'm convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

Today, Lydia Conklin talks to us about their collection RAINBOW RAINBOW, writing humor and joy, Lorrie Moore, deciding to publish their collection before their novel, working with Catapult, and more!  Lydia Conklin has received a Stegner Fellowship, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer's Award, three Pushcart Prizes, a Creative Writing Fulbright in Poland, a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, a Creative Writing Fellowship from Emory University, work-study and tuition scholarships from Bread Loaf, and fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, Djerassi, the James Merrill House, and elsewhere. Their fiction has appeared in McSweeney's, American Short Fiction, The Paris Review, One Story, and VQR. They have drawn cartoons for The New Yorker and Narrative Magazine, and graphic fiction for The Believer, Lenny Letter, and the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago. They've served as the Helen Zell Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan and are currently an Assistant Professor of Fiction at Vanderbilt University. Their story collection, Rainbow Rainbow, was longlisted for the PEN/Robert W Bingham Award and The Story Prize.  Sign up for Krys Malcolm Belc's online class, Writing Queer Memoir! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why rewrite old tales and myths? And how best to do it? Helping us find the answers, we're joined by Nina MacLaughlin , author of Wake, Siren, a story collection retelling Ovid's Metamorphosis from the perspective of the women transformed in his tales.For a list of my fave craft books and the most recent works by our guests, go to our Bookshop page.Nina MacLaughlin is the author of Wake, Siren (FSG/FSG Originals), a re-telling of Ovid's Metamorphoses told from the perspective of the its female figures, as well as Summer Solstice (Black Sparrow). Her first book was the acclaimed memoir Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter (W.W. Norton). Formerly an editor at the Boston Phoenix, she worked for nine years as a carpenter, and is now the New England Literary News columnist for the Boston Globe. Her work has appeared on or in The Paris Review Daily, The Virginia Quarterly Review, n+1, The Believer, The New York Times Book Review, Agni, American Short Fiction, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Meatpaper, and elsewhere. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Tracey Rose Peyton is the author of the debut novel Night Wherever We Go, available from Ecco Books. Peyton received her MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. Her short fiction has appeared in Guernica, American Short Fiction, Prairie Schooner, The Best American Short Stories 2021, and other outlets.  *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Launched in 2011. Books. Literature. Writing. Publishing. Authors. Screenwriters. Etc. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch @otherppl Instagram  YouTube TikTok Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt Bell is the author most recently of the novel Appleseed (a New York Times Notable Book) and the craft book Refuse to Be Done, a guide to novel writing, rewriting, and revision. He is also the author of the novels Scrapper and In the House upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods, as well as the short story collection A Tree or a Person or a Wall, a non-fiction book about the classic video game Baldur's Gate II, and several other titles. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Tin House, Fairy Tale Review, American Short Fiction, Orion, and many other publications. A native of Michigan, he teaches creative writing at Arizona State University. Matt joined Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to talk about—what else—revision, and his new book, Refuse to be Done. For more information on Writers on Writing and additional writing tips, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. (Recorded on January 12, 2023)  Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Co-Host: Marrie Stone Music and sound design: Travis Barrett

In the inaugural episode of Craftwork, a new series from the Otherppl podcast, author Matt Bell teaches a lesson on how to write action in fiction. Bell is the author most recently of the novel Appleseed (a New York Times Notable Book) and the craft book Refuse to Be Done, a guide to novel writing, rewriting, and revision. He is also the author of the novels Scrapper and In the House upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods, as well as the short story collection A Tree or a Person or a Wall, a non-fiction book about the classic video game Baldur's Gate II, and several other titles. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Esquire, Tin House, Fairy Tale Review, American Short Fiction, Orion, and many other publications. A native of Michigan, he teaches creative writing at Arizona State University. His novel In the House upon the Dirt between the Lake and the Woods was a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award and an Indies Choice Adult Book of the Year Honor Recipient, and was selected as the winner of the Paula Anderson Book Award, among other honors. Both In the House and Scrapper were selected by the Library of Michigan as Michigan Notable Books.  *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Launched in 2011. Books. Literature. Writing. Publishing. Authors. Screenwriters. Etc. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch @otherppl Instagram  YouTube TikTok Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Escoffery is the author of the debut story collection If I Survive You, available from MCD/FSG. If I Survive You is a National Book Award Nominee, an Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence Nominee, a New York Times Editor's Choice, and an Indie National Bestseller.  Escoffery is the winner of The Paris Review's 2020 Plimpton Prize for Fiction and is the recipient of a 2020 National Endowment for the Arts (Prose) Literature Fellowship. His story “Under the Ackee Tree” was among the trio that won the Paris Review the 2020 ASME Award for Fiction from the American Society of Magazine Editors, and was subsequently included in The Best American Magazine Writing 2020. His stories have appeared in The Paris Review, Oprah Daily, Electric Literature, Zyzzyva, AGNI, Pleiades, American Short Fiction, Prairie Schooner, Passages North, and elsewhere. Jonathan has taught creative writing and seminars on the writer's life at Stanford University, the University of Minnesota, the Center for Fiction, Tin House, Writers in Progress, and at GrubStreet in Boston, where, as former staff, he founded the Boston Writers of Color Group, which currently has more than 2,000 members. He has received support and honors from Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, Aspen Words, Kimbilio Fiction, the Anderson Center, and elsewhere. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota's Creative Writing MFA Program (Fiction) and attends the University of Southern California's Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Literature Program as a Provost Fellow. He is a 2021-2023 Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Launched in 2011. Books. Literature. Writing. Publishing. Authors. Screenwriters. Etc. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch @otherppl Instagram  YouTube Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices