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Em junho de 2024, no Teatro São Luiz, Patrícia Reis interveio no programa literário DISQUIET a propósito da sua biografia de Maria Teresa Horta, "A Desobediente". O Disquiet é uma organização do CNC e da editora independente norte-americana Dzanc Books que, desde 2011, traz a Lisboa escritores norte-americanos promovendo encontros com autores lusófonos.
Suzi Ehtesham-Zadeh was born in Washington, D.C. to an Iranian father and an American mother. She moved to Iran at age 5 and grew up in Tehran under the Shah. She returned to the U.S. to attend Stanford University, and when the Islamic Revolution started brewing shortly after she graduated, she moved back to Iran and plopped herself down in it. She later received an MFA in Creative Writing from Boston University. A lifelong English teacher, she has taught in schools and universities on three continents, and she now lives in the United States. Her fiction has been published in numerous publications, including The Georgia Review, Gertrude Press, and Fiction International, and she received an honorable mention for The Best American Short Stories 2018. Her latest book, Zan, a collection of short stories, is published in 2024 by Dzanc Books and was the Winner of the 2022 Dzanc Short Collection Prize.https://www.dzancbooks.org/all-titles/p/zan
O programa literário internacional DISQUIET, organizado pelo Centro Nacional de Cultura em parceria com a editora norte-americana Dzanc Books, tem lugar em Lisboa desde 2011, com a participação anual de mais de uma centena de escritores norte-americanos. Publicamos aqui excertos da sessão sobre a obra "Novas Cartas Portuguesas", organizada na Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento a 1 de julho de 2014, com a participação (em inglês) de Vanda Anastácio, interpelada por Patrícia Reis.
O programa literário internacional DISQUIET, organizado pelo Centro Nacional de Cultura em parceria com a editora norte-americana Dzanc Books, tem lugar em Lisboa desde 2011, com a participação anual de mais de uma centena de escritores norte-americanos. Publicamos aqui excertos da sessão sobre a obra "Novas Cartas Portuguesas", organizada na Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento a 1 de julho de 2014, com a participação de Ana Luísa Amaral.
O programa literário internacional DISQUIET, organizado pelo Centro Nacional de Cultura em parceria com a editora norte-americana Dzanc Books, tem lugar em Lisboa desde 2011, com a participação anual de mais de uma centena de escritores norte-americanos. Publicamos aqui excertos da sessão sobre a obra "Novas Cartas Portuguesas", organizada na Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento a 1 de julho de 2014, com a participação da escritora Maria Teresa Horta.
George Singleton is a Southern author who has written ten books of short stories, two novels, an instructional book on writing fiction and a collection of essays. He was born in Anaheim, California and raised in Greenwood, South Carolina. In 2011 he was awarded the Hillsdale Award for Fiction by The Fellowship of Southern Writers. Singleton was inducted into the Fellowship of Southern Writers in April 2015, and was awarded the John William Corrington Award for Literary Excellence in 2016. His latest collection of short fiction is The Curious Lives of Nonprofit Martyrs from Dzanc Books of Michigan.https://www.dzancbooks.org/all-titles/p/nonprofit-martyrsAlso in this episode: we want to briefly highlight an upcoming annual event in the Windsor literary community. It's the annual book launch evening for the Publishing Practicum program at the University of Windsor. It's a unique educational program where thirty students collaborate each year to edit, publish and launch a book. This year, the Practicum is publishing two books with Black Moss Press, both poetry anthologies about our local communities. Where the Map Begins explores our roots through the neighbourhoods of Windsor. The anthology What Time Can't Touch captures the spirit of Amherstburg through its history. Look for a full episode on the Publishing Practicum and these two anthologies in an upcoming episode of All Write in Sin City. If you're looking to hear some talented local poets, the launch celebration for both books will take place on April 2nd at Mackenzie Hall, starting at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Now, we have two selections of the poetry in the books read by their authors. First, we have Peter Hrastovec. He is a Windsor-born University of Windsor law and literature grad, with three published poetry books, his most recent being There Will Be Fish (Black Moss Press, 2022). Previous books include Sidelines and In Lieu Of Flowers. He also contributed to the anthologies Because We Have All Lived Here and In The Middle Space with the University of Windsor Publishing Practicum. He is the current Poet Laureate for the City of Windsor. Peter teaches and practices law. He and his wife, Denise, have three children and four grandchildren.Peter reads his poem, Kanata House, from the Windsor anthology, Where the Map Begins. Rawand Mustafa, is a Palestinian Syrian writer living in Windsor, Ontario. She received her MA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Windsor. Rawand draws inspiration from social justice causes, and she is particularly impassioned by the struggles and resilience of Palestinians living in exile or under occupation.Rawand reads her poem, Outside In, from the Amherstburg anthology, What Time Can't Touch.
“You have to give something away to get someone in.” —Kourtney Jason For any small business, getting noticed isn't easy. Between all the noise online and in their communities, it's hard for owners to get their message heard. Hence, increasing visibility through smart PR and marketing can really help spread the word. When more potential customers learn about what the business has to offer, it leads to more opportunities for sales, growth, and success. This week, Justine chats with Kourtney Jason about getting publicity for small businesses and authors. Kourtney is the Co-Founder of Pacific & Court, a boutique book publicity and digital marketing firm based in Brooklyn. She helps small businesses and independent authors and publishers to expand their media outreach through various digital marketing services. Tune in as Justine and Kourtney discuss strategies for restaurants and startups to create buzz, the importance of following up, and tips for pitching media effectively. They also outline the PR process for hiring an agency and managing expectations as well as insights on digital advertising and maximizing publicity opportunities. Meet Kourtney: Kourtney Jason is the President and Co-Founder of Pacific & Court. With more than 13 years of experience as a publicist, she has worked with and represented celebrities, world-renowned chefs, and bestselling authors. She led the in-house publicity departments at Ulysses Press and Time Inc. Books, and further honed her strategic communications skills at Bread & Butter and Smith Publicity agencies. Since its launch in 2021, P&C's publisher clients have included Ulysses Press, KeyPress Publishing, Jesse B. Creative, The Collective Book Studio, Rocky Nook, Dzanc Books, and more. She's secured coverage for clients in top-tier national media that includes the TODAY show, Associated Press, People magazine, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNN, Oprah Daily, Salon, Reader's Digest, and much more. Her past work includes high-profile authors such as country music icon Martina McBride, actress Valerie Bertinelli, chef Todd Richards, TODAY's Siri Daly, New York Times bestselling authors Syd and Shea McGee (of Studio McGee) among others. She is the author of five non-fiction books, including Lights Camera Booze: Drinking Games for Your Favorite Movies, which was included in the Academy Awards swag bags. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. Website Facebook X Instagram LinkedIn Pinterest Connect with NextGen Purpose: Website Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Episode Highlights: 02:41 People and Perspectives 06:39 PR Strategies for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs 11:17 The Importance of a Well-Written Pitch 16:03 The Importance of Building Long-Term Relationships with Professionals 20:08 How to Make Advertising Less Intimidating
The Middle Daughter (Dzanc Books, 2023) by Chika Unigwe opens with a happy, well-to-do family living in a guarded community in Nigeria. The loving father owns a business, the formidable mother is a doctor, one daughter is at university in America and the other daughters are in private school. The story is told from the perspective of the youngest daughter, Ugo, and middle daughter, Nani, whose life in thrown off balance by the death of her father. A single bad choice leads to her giving up a college education in America to become a browbeaten mother of three married to an abusive husband who keeps her locked in a tiny apartment, chops off her hair and buys her ugly polyester dresses. Like Persephone in the underworld, she's unable to see or contact her powerful mother. When she has an opportunity to escape, she needs strength and courage that she isn't sure she possesses. Chika Unigwe was born and raised in Enugu, a hilly city in the southeast of Nigeria. Also known as the coal city because it was a significant coal mining city in the 1900s, Enugu literally means "top of the hill." In elementary school, Chika was enamored with the magazine Highlights for Children that a friend brought to school. Her parents, who encouraged reading, took out a subscription for her and her sister, and Unigwe spent years sending in stories and poems to the magazine, with no success. At the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where she earned her BA in English, she met the man who would become her husband. Right after her final exams, they moved to Belgium, and her family relocated to the United States in 2013. Unigwe has won several awards for her writing and was most recently knighted into the Order of the Crown by the Belgian government for her contributions to culture (in literature). Her previous works include On Black Sisters Street (which won the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature), Night Dancer, and a collection of short stories, Better Never than Late. Her works have appeared in The New York Times, Guernica, Aeon, The Kenyon Review, Wasafiri, Georgia Review and others. She teaches at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, and lives in Atlanta with her family and two spoilt dogs. 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
The Middle Daughter (Dzanc Books, 2023) by Chika Unigwe opens with a happy, well-to-do family living in a guarded community in Nigeria. The loving father owns a business, the formidable mother is a doctor, one daughter is at university in America and the other daughters are in private school. The story is told from the perspective of the youngest daughter, Ugo, and middle daughter, Nani, whose life in thrown off balance by the death of her father. A single bad choice leads to her giving up a college education in America to become a browbeaten mother of three married to an abusive husband who keeps her locked in a tiny apartment, chops off her hair and buys her ugly polyester dresses. Like Persephone in the underworld, she's unable to see or contact her powerful mother. When she has an opportunity to escape, she needs strength and courage that she isn't sure she possesses. Chika Unigwe was born and raised in Enugu, a hilly city in the southeast of Nigeria. Also known as the coal city because it was a significant coal mining city in the 1900s, Enugu literally means "top of the hill." In elementary school, Chika was enamored with the magazine Highlights for Children that a friend brought to school. Her parents, who encouraged reading, took out a subscription for her and her sister, and Unigwe spent years sending in stories and poems to the magazine, with no success. At the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where she earned her BA in English, she met the man who would become her husband. Right after her final exams, they moved to Belgium, and her family relocated to the United States in 2013. Unigwe has won several awards for her writing and was most recently knighted into the Order of the Crown by the Belgian government for her contributions to culture (in literature). Her previous works include On Black Sisters Street (which won the $100,000 Nigeria Prize for Literature), Night Dancer, and a collection of short stories, Better Never than Late. Her works have appeared in The New York Times, Guernica, Aeon, The Kenyon Review, Wasafiri, Georgia Review and others. She teaches at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, and lives in Atlanta with her family and two spoilt dogs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature
This week, host Jason Jefferies is joined by Farah Ali, author of The River, The Town, which is published by our friends at Dzanc Books. Topics of conversation include geographical locations with no source of water, why a mother hates her son, men who hide themselves behind television, propaganda, religion, more money more problems, poetic deaths, and much more. Copies of The River, The Town can be purchased here with FREE SHIPPING for members of Explore More+.
Elle Nash is the author of the short story collection Nudes (404 Ink and SF/LD Books) novels Gag Reflex (Clash Books) and Animals Eat Each Other (404 Ink and Dzanc Books), which was featured in the 2018 June Reading Room of O - The Oprah Magazine and hailed by Publishers Weekly as a ‘complex, impressive exploration of obsession and desire.' Her next novel, Deliver Me (Unnamed Press) is releasing this October. Her work appears in Guernica, BOMB, The Nervous Breakdown, Literary Hub, The Fanzine, Volume 1 Brooklyn, New York Tyrant and elsewhere. She is a founding editor of Witch Craft Magazine and has edited fiction at both Hobart Pulp and Expat Literary Journal.elle's websitepodcast website
Chad B. Anderson's story "The Kelley Street Disappearances" has been lodged in my brain for almost a decade, so I decided to track him down, and I was so grateful when he agreed to be on the podcast. I'm sure if you are an avid reader like me, you know how rare it is to have a story resonate for that long. I hope you feel the same way I do about this one! Thanks also to LDAS-featured writer, Robin Martin, for sending me the story many years ago. For the first time with this podcast, in the interest of fostering our community of writers, I sent the story to all of my previous guests. LDAS-featured writers, Desiree Cooper and Renee Simms weighed in with a couple of really compelling questions for Chad. You can check out my interviews. with Desiree and Renee here as well. Also, I'm grateful to Renee for mentioning the story, Recitatif by Toni Morrison, which I had not read, and the stunning New Yorker essay about the story by Zadie Smith. Salamander Magazine has kindly removed the paywall for "The Kelley Street Disappearances." Please find it here. Thanks so much to the managing editor, Katie Sticca, for helping us keep this podcast accessible. **Salamander runs a fiction contest every year that runs from May 1 - June 1, with results announced by early September. Anyone interested can find more information on the website salamandermag.org. Please check out the Let's Deconstruct a Story podcast on Spotify, Apple, Audible, or wherever you get your podcasts after you read the story, and if you have a chance to rate the show, I would really appreciate it. See you on October 1st, when we'll be talking about "I'm Down Here on the Floor" in StorySouth by George Singleton. Thanks to Dan Wickett of Dzanc Books for suggesting George's work. On November 1st, Bonnie Jo Campbell visits to talk about her short story, "Boar Taint" in The Kenyon Review. Chad has just finished editing this wonderful anthology. Check it out here. Bio: Chad B. Anderson has published fiction in Salamander Review, Black Warrior Review, Nimrod International Journal, The Best American Short Stories 2017, Clockhouse, and Burrow Press Review, and he has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. He has had residencies at the Ledig House International Writers' Colony, the Jack Kerouac House in Orlando, Florida, and the Carolyn Moore Writers House in Portland, Oregon. He has served as an acting managing editor for Callaloo: Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters and a guest editor for Burrow Press Review and is currently an associate fiction editor for Orison Books. He edited and penned the introduction for an anthology of art, poetry, and prose titled What's Mine of Wilderness?, published by Burrow Press in 2023. Born and raised in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, he earned his B.A. in American Studies and English from University of Virginia and his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Indiana University, where he served as fiction editor for Indiana Review. He currently lives in Michigan. If you would like to donate the show (and even earmark it for transcription services), you can make a donation here. Thank you so much! Kelly.
Get ready for your TBR pile to actually topple over as we discuss a truly abundant season of publishing and books. The fall publishing calendar has a lot of hype-worthy titles, and in today's episode you'll hear our pared down lists (it was a struggle!) of excellent fall fiction due to hit shelves soon. This includes big books from BIG authors, intriguing titles from small indie presses, and a smattering of assorted fiction and non-fiction we think you'll love. Plus, each title we preview in today's episode is perfectly paired with a backlist book for your consideration, giving us the option to explore additional titles while we wait for our library holds and pre-orders to come in. If you love the work of public scholarship and the mission of Novel Pairings, we'd love for you to take a moment and share a review of the show over on Apple Podcasts. These reviews greatly help our shows visibility, and mean that other readers and lifelong learners have the opportunity to join our community. Novel Pairings also offers bonus content, classes, and a virtual book club through Patreon and we'd love to have you join. Tiers start at just $5 a month, and a 10% discount on annual subscriptions is available. Head over to patreon.com/novelpairings to sign up today! Books Mentioned: The Fraud by Zadie Smith Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, American captivity narratives Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward Jubilee by Margaret Walker America Fantastica by Tim O'Brien In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien Absolution by Alice McDermott The Mountains Sing by Ngyuen Phan Que Mai Peach Pit: Sixteen Stories of Unsavory Women, edited by Molly Llewellyn & Kristel Buckely, ft. Deesha Philyaw, Lauren Groff, & more (Dzanc Books) The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite Company by Shannon Sanders The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw Bluebeard's Castle by Anna Biller (Verso) Rebecca and Jane Eyre North Woods by Daniel Mason Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell Every Duke Has His Day by Suzanne Enoch Bringing Up Baby (1938) When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting by Sophie Irwin People Collide by Isle McElroy Orlando by Virginia Woolf Starling House by Alix E. Harrow Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia One Woman Show by Christine Coulson From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler The New Naturals by Gabriel Bump This Other Eden by Paul Harding Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation by Tiya Miles End of the Rope: Mountains, Marriage, and Motherhood by Jan Redford The Loneliness Files by Athena Dixon Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
Antecipando a 11ª edição do encontro DISQUIET, programa organizado pelo CNC em parceria com a editora independente norte-americana Dzanc Books, onde participam mais de uma centena de escritores norte-americanos, publicamos a conversa (em inglês) que decorreu no Jardim de Inverno do Teatro São Luiz, há um ano, dedicada à biografia de Fernando Pessoa da autoria de Richard Zenith.
Chika Unigwe was born in Enugu, Nigeria. She was educated at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the Catholic University of Leuven prior to earning PhD from Leiden University in the Netherlands. She now lives in the United States and teaches at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia. Her work has been widely translated and has won multiple awards. Unigwe's previous publications include the poetry collections Tear Drops and Born in Nigeria, novels The Phoenix, On Black Sisters' Street, Night Dancer, and The Black Messiah, and the short story collection Better Never than Late, along with numerous other short stories, essays, and works of journalism. She has been widely anthologized and has published works in the New York Times, Guernica, Kenyon Review, the UK Guardian, Wasafiri, and Transition. She teaches at Georgia College, in Milledgeville, Georgia. Chika Unigwe's highly anticipated new novel, The Middle Daughter, will be released by Dzanc Books in April 2023.https://www.dzancbooks.org/all-titles/p/the-middle-daughter
Episode 172 Notes and Links to Robert Lopez's Work On Episode 172 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Robert Lopez, and the two discuss, among other things, growing up on Long Island, his renewed vigor for, and focus on, reading and writing in his early 20s, his inspirations in writers like Hemingway and Carver, John D'Agata, Eula Biss, ideas of erasure and assimilation that populate the book, his Puerto Rican heritage, his love of tennis as a sport and as metaphor, the idea of "dispatches" and how they inform his book, and his writing style of understatement and braided narrative. Robert Lopez is the author of three novels, Part of the World, Kamby Bolongo Mean River —named one of 25 important books of the decade by HTML Giant, All Back Full, and two story collections, Asunder and Good People. A new novel-in-stories, A Better Class Of People, was published by Dzanc Books in April, 2022. Dispatches from Puerto Nowhere, his first nonfiction book, was published by Two Dollar Radio on March 14 of this year. His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry has appeared in dozens of publications, including Bomb, The Threepenny Review, Vice Magazine, New England Review, The Sun, and the Norton Anthology of Sudden Fiction – Latino. He teaches at Stony Brook University and has previously taught at Columbia University, The New School, Pratt Institute, and Syracuse University. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Buy Dispatches from Puerto Nowhere Robert Lopez's Webpage Sara Lippman Reviews Dispatches from Puerto Nowhere for Chicago Review of Books At about 7:15, Robert describes the experience of having a book recently out in the world At about 8:20, Robert discusses his adolescent reading habits At about 9:50, Robert gives background on how a TV production class senior year of college inspired him to become an ardent reader and writer At about 11:20, Robert responds to Pete's questions about Long Island and its cultural norms At about 14:15, Pete asks Robert about writers and writing that inspired him to become a writer himself; Robert points out a few, especially Raymond Carver and Ernest Hemingway At about 16:25, The two talk about their shared preference for Hemingway's stories over his novels At about 17:00, Pete shouts out Robert's paean to Hemingway's “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place” At about 18:05, Robert speaks to the book's background and seeds for the book in response to Pete's questions about what it was like to write nonfiction/memoir At about 21:20, Pete cites a blurb by Eula Biss that trumpets the book's universality and specificity, leading Robert to define “Puerto Nowhere” At about 23:20, Pete and Robert connects a quote from the book to Robert's comment that the book is more in search of questions than answers/conclusions At about 26:05, Pete posits Sigrid Nunez's work as an analogue to Dispatches from Puerto Nowhere At about 27:15, Vivían Gornick, Maggie Nelson, Eula Biss, Ander Monson, John D'Agata are referenced as writers whose work is “in conversation” with Robert's At about 28:35, Pete asks about the structure/placing of the dispatches, and Robert describes how the book was put together with some sage advice from Eric Obenauf at Two Dollar Radio At about 30:50, Pete aska bout Robert's understanding of “dispatches” and what it was like to write in first-person/personally At about 32:25, Pete references two important lines from the book-the book's opening line and its connection to forgetting, and an important quote and its misquote from Milosz, which Robert breaks down At about 36:00, Pete and Robert highlight and analyze key quotes from the book dealing with Spanish language loss and forced and subtle assimilation and connections to cultural erasure At about 40:40, Robert discusses the parallel storyline from the book that deals with his grandfather, about whose journey to the States At about 42:20, Pete wonders if Robert still has designs ongoing to Puerto Rico and doing family research after the pandemic At about 43:40, Tennis references in the book are highlighted, and Robert talks about how and why he made connections to important topics in the book, like police violence and racism and loss in the family At about 51:35, Robert describes a good friend referenced in the book who is a great example At about 52:35, the two discuss second-generation Americans and forward and the realization that often there are many more creature comforts as the generations go in At about 55:10, Pete compliments the book's powerful understatement and a resonant image involving Robert's grandfather eating 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. Please tune in for Episode 173 and 174, TWO episodes dropping on March 28, celebrating pub days for Rachel Heng and Allegra Hyde. Rachel Heng is author of the novels The Great Reclamation-her new one-and Suicide Club, which has been translated into ten languages worldwide and won the Gladstone Library Writer-In-Residence Award. Her short fiction has been recognized by anthologies including Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize, Best Small Fictions and Best New Singaporean Short Stories. Allegra Hyde is a recipient of three Pushcart Prizes and author of ELEUTHERIA, named a "Best Book of 2022" by The New Yorker. She's also the author of the story collection, OF THIS NEW WORLD, which won the John Simmons Short Fiction Award, and her second story collection, THE LAST CATASTROPHE, is her new one. The episodes air March 28.
Local author Nina Shope joins us for Afterhours at the Radio Bookclub, along with Michelle Dotter of Dzanc Books who published Nina’s book Asylum, which was the winner of the Dzanc Prize for Fiction. Dzanc is currently accepting submissions for […]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Donna Gordon is a fiction writer and visual artist from Cambridge, Massachusetts. She graduated from Brown, and was then a Stegner Fellow at Stanford, a PEN Discovery, and Ploughshares Discovery. She received the 2018 New Letters Publication Award, and was a finalist for the 2019 Black Lawrence Press Big Moose Award, a semi-finalist for the 2019 Dzanc Books publication award, a semi-finalist for the 2019 Eludia Award, Hidden River Arts, and is currently a semi-finalist at YesYes books for her novel, What Ben Franklin Would Have Told Me. ABOUT THE BOOK - WHAT BEN FRANKLIN WOULD HAVE TOLD ME A vibrant thirteen-year-old boy who is facing premature death from Progeria (a premature aging disease); his caretaker TomÁs, a survivor of Argentina's Dirty War, who is searching for his missing wife, who was pregnant when they were both "disappeared;" and Lee's single mother, Cass, overwhelmed by love for her son and the demands of her work as a Broadway makeup artist. When a mix-up prevents Cass from taking Lee on his "final wish" trip to Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia to pursue his interest in the life of Ben Franklin, TomÁs--who has discovered potential leads to his family in both cities--offers to accompany Lee on the trip. As one flees memories of death and the other hurtles inevitably toward it, they each share unsettling truths and find themselves transformed in the process. Set during the Ronald Reagan presidency, this lyrical novel transcends an adventure story to take the reader on an unforgettable journey which explores love, family and the inevitability of change.
In this episode, author Ethel Rohan speaks to writing her short fiction collection In the Event of Contact with Booktails co-hosts Reine Dugas and Heather Fowler. She reads excerpts from the collection and discusses growing up working class in Dublin, Irish favorite authors, creating tight prose, winning a Dzanc Books fiction prize, developing her craft, and more. The recipe for this book's custom cocktail, The Jimmy Toodaloo, is on the Hot Redhead Media blog. Grab a copy of In the Event of Contact, make a drink, and have a listen.
On this episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author James Tate Hill about his new memoir BLIND MAN'S BLUFF. James Tate Hill is the author of Academy Gothic, winner of the 2014 Nilsen Prize for a First Novel, coming in fall 2015 from SMSU Press. He serves as Fiction and Reviews Editor for the literary journal Monkeybicycle, an imprint of Dzanc Books. His short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Story Quarterly, Sonora Review, The South Carolina Review, The Laurel Review, The Texas Review, and elsewhere. He holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from Hollins University and an M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he served as Fiction Editor of The Greensboro Review. Currently he lives in Greensboro with his wife, Lori. Learn more at www.jamestatehill.com
On this episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author James Tate Hill about his new memoir BLIND MAN'S BLUFF. James Tate Hill is the author of Academy Gothic, winner of the 2014 Nilsen Prize for a First Novel, coming in fall 2015 from SMSU Press. He serves as Fiction and Reviews Editor for the literary journal Monkeybicycle, an imprint of Dzanc Books. His short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Story Quarterly, Sonora Review, The South Carolina Review, The Laurel Review, The Texas Review, and elsewhere. He holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from Hollins University and an M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he served as Fiction Editor of The Greensboro Review. Currently he lives in Greensboro with his wife, Lori. Learn more at www.jamestatehill.com
On this episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author James Tate Hill about his new memoir BLIND MAN'S BLUFF. James Tate Hill is the author of Academy Gothic, winner of the 2014 Nilsen Prize for a First Novel, coming in fall 2015 from SMSU Press. He serves as Fiction and Reviews Editor for the literary journal Monkeybicycle, an imprint of Dzanc Books. His short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in Story Quarterly, Sonora Review, The South Carolina Review, The Laurel Review, The Texas Review, and elsewhere. He holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from Hollins University and an M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he served as Fiction Editor of The Greensboro Review. Currently he lives in Greensboro with his wife, Lori. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/eliot-parker/support
Emma Smith-Stevens lives & writes in Brooklyn, NY where she’s currently working on a memoir & more. Her writing has appeared in BOMB Magazine, Literary Hub, Hobart, Wigleaf, Subtropics, Conjunctions, & elsewhere. Her novel The Australian was published in 2017 by Dzanc Books. Follow Emma Smith-Stevens on Twitter @ESmithStevens & at http://EmmaSmithStevens.com
David Tromblay is the guest. His new memoir, As You Were, is available from Dzanc Books. It is the official February pick of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club. Tromblay served in the U.S. Armed Forces for over a decade before attending the Institute of American Indian Arts for his MFA in Creative Writing. He's since written and published a memoir and three novels. His other books include The Essentials: A Manifesto and The Ramblings of a Revenant. He currently works as an editor for Shotgun Honey Magazine and lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with his cat, Walter, and dogs, Bentley and Hank. *** 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. Life. Death. Etc. Support the show on Patreon Merch www.otherppl.com @otherppl Instagram 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
Rattlecast #76 features Jennifer Jean and her new book, Object Lesson. Jennifer Jean's poetry collections include OBJECT LESSON (Lily Books) and THE FOOL (Big Table). She's also released the teaching resource book OBJECT LESSON: A GUIDE TO WRITING POETRY (Lily Books). Her poetry, prose, and co-translations have appeared in: Poetry Magazine, Waxwing Journal, Rattle Magazine, Crab Creek Review, DMQ Review, Green Mountains Review, On the Seawall, Salamander, The Common, and more. She's been awarded a Peter Taylor Fellowship from the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop, a Disquiet FLAD Fellowship from Dzanc Books, and an Ambassador for Peace Award from the Women's Federation for World Peace. As well, she is the translations editor at Talking Writing Magazine, a consulting editor at the Kenyon Review, a co-translator of Arabic poetry and organizer for the Her Story Is collective, the founder of Free2Write Poetry Workshops for Trauma Survivors. Jennifer is the new Manager of the Fine Arts Work Center's 24 Pearl Street Online Writing Program; and she lives in Peabody MA with her family. Find more at: https://jenniferjeanwriter.weebly.com/ As always, we'll also include live open mic for responses to our weekly prompt or any other poems you'd like to share. For details on how to participate, either via Skype or by phone, go to: https://www.rattle.com/rattlecast/ This Week's Prompt: Dictionary.com named pandemic its Word of the Year for 2020. Users of the online dictionary elected unprecedented as the People’s Choice 2020 Word of the Year. Write a poem using both of these words. Next Week's Prompt: Write an alphabet poem, a type of acrostic poem in which the first letter of each line spells out the alphabet. If you’re up for more of a challenge, write a double alphabet: the last letter of each line also spells out the alphabet, but in reverse order. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Periscope, then becomes an audio podcast.
In this month's episode, we caught up with John Englehardt, author of 'Bloomland' (2019, Dzanc Books). John has also written for Vol.1 Brooklyn, Sycamore Review, The Stranger, Seattle Review of Books, Conium Review, Monkeybicycle, and elsewhere. Bloomland deals with the lead-up and fall-out of a college shooting through three separate narratives, told in the second person. Spanning two decades, Bloomland interrogates the social roots of the shooting and its effect on a community struggling to use violence as a catalyst for self-reflection and change. John is on Twitter: @johnenglehardt1 (https://twitter.com/johnenglehardt1) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.englehardt.7 Instagram: @john.englehardt His website is: https://johnenglehardt.com/ Find us on Twitter: @UnsoundMethods (https://twitter.com/UnsoundMethods) - @JaimieBatchan (https://twitter.com/JaimieBatchan) - @LochlanBloom (https://twitter.com/LochlanBloom) Jaimie's Instagram is: @jaimie_batchan (https://www.instagram.com/jaimie_batchan/) Thanks for listening, please like, subscribe and rate Unsound Methods wherever you get your podcasts. Our website is: https://unsoundmethods.co.uk/ We have teamed up with the Institute of English Studies at the School of Advanced Study, University of London. With the current uncertainty in the world, why not check out their Literature in Lockdown page? : https://www.ies.sas.ac.uk/about-us/ies-virtual-community/literature-lockdown
Laura Bogart is the guest. Her debut novel, Don't You Know I Love You, is available from Dzanc Books. Bogart is also a non-fiction writer who focuses on personal essays, pop culture, film and TV, feminism, body image and sizeism, and politics (among other topics). She is a featured contributor to The Week and DAME magazine; her work has also appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, SPIN, The AV Club, Vulture, and Indiewire (among other publications). She lives in Baltimore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Kyler Bingham talks with author Laura Bogart on this episode of the Salt Lake Dirt Podcast. Laura is known primarily for her non-fiction writing. Her long list of credits include contributions to The Week and DAME Magazine. Laura's much anticipated first novel Don't You Know I Love You was released by Dzanc Books in March of this year.
The Sopranos, Coronavirus, anti-heroes, really fucking well-rounded characters, male toxicity, being a working artist who has to work, and Anne Carson... a few of the things Laura Bogart and I discuss on The Situation & the Story Podcast. Her gorgeous novel, DON'T YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU, was released today by Dzanc Books. Please check it out! We need to help our community members' whose events have been cancelled due to COVID-19. This is one of my favorite conversations!Laura is a nonfiction writer who focuses on personal essays, pop culture, film and TV, feminism, body image and sizeism, and politics (among other topics). She is a featured contributor to The Week and DAME magazine; her work has also appeared in The Atlantic, The Guardian, SPIN, The AV Club, Vulture, and Indiewire (among other publications). DON'T YOU KNOW I LOVE YOU is her first novel.--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/appSupport this podcast: https://anchor.fm/situationandstory/support Get full access to situation / story at situationstory.substack.com/subscribe
When Nino Cipri entered the Dzanc Short Story Collection Contest, they had no expectation of winning, so when they won, they were shocked. The prize came with a publishing contract, and suddenly Cipri was scrambling for a literary agent, negotiating a contract, and reaching a wider audience. “I wasn't really planning on writing a short story collection for probably another decade,” Cipri says. “I don't have the kind of output that a lot of other short story writers do. I was publishing maybe one or two stories a year.” Cipri’s modestly belies the maturity of their writing. The stories in Homesick: Stories (Dzanc Books, 2019) combines science fiction and horror to create complex tales about everything from ghosts and alien seedpods to difficult mothers and falling in love. Structurally, the stories vary. In addition to using third-person narration, there’s a story built on letters, a multiple-choice quiz, and a transcript of a series of recordings. What all the stories have in common is an interest in the meaning of home, and the presence of queer and trans characters. “For me personally, as a trans person, I'm always thinking about what does home mean when I literally don't feel at home in my body, or didn't for a long time. I do now. And what does home mean for a lot of trans and queer people when home is not a safe place for us,” Cipri says. Cipri is a queer and trans/nonbinary writer, editor, and educator. They are a graduate of the 2014 Clarion Writers’ Workshop and earned their MFA in fiction from the University of Kansas in 2019. Homesick is their first book. Rob Wolf is the host of New Books in Science Fiction and the author of The Alternate Universe and The Escape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When Nino Cipri entered the Dzanc Short Story Collection Contest, they had no expectation of winning, so when they won, they were shocked. The prize came with a publishing contract, and suddenly Cipri was scrambling for a literary agent, negotiating a contract, and reaching a wider audience. “I wasn't really planning on writing a short story collection for probably another decade,” Cipri says. “I don't have the kind of output that a lot of other short story writers do. I was publishing maybe one or two stories a year.” Cipri’s modestly belies the maturity of their writing. The stories in Homesick: Stories (Dzanc Books, 2019) combines science fiction and horror to create complex tales about everything from ghosts and alien seedpods to difficult mothers and falling in love. Structurally, the stories vary. In addition to using third-person narration, there’s a story built on letters, a multiple-choice quiz, and a transcript of a series of recordings. What all the stories have in common is an interest in the meaning of home, and the presence of queer and trans characters. “For me personally, as a trans person, I'm always thinking about what does home mean when I literally don't feel at home in my body, or didn't for a long time. I do now. And what does home mean for a lot of trans and queer people when home is not a safe place for us,” Cipri says. Cipri is a queer and trans/nonbinary writer, editor, and educator. They are a graduate of the 2014 Clarion Writers’ Workshop and earned their MFA in fiction from the University of Kansas in 2019. Homesick is their first book. Rob Wolf is the host of New Books in Science Fiction and the author of The Alternate Universe and The Escape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
When Nino Cipri entered the Dzanc Short Story Collection Contest, they had no expectation of winning, so when they won, they were shocked. The prize came with a publishing contract, and suddenly Cipri was scrambling for a literary agent, negotiating a contract, and reaching a wider audience. “I wasn't really planning on writing a short story collection for probably another decade,” Cipri says. “I don't have the kind of output that a lot of other short story writers do. I was publishing maybe one or two stories a year.” Cipri’s modestly belies the maturity of their writing. The stories in Homesick: Stories (Dzanc Books, 2019) combines science fiction and horror to create complex tales about everything from ghosts and alien seedpods to difficult mothers and falling in love. Structurally, the stories vary. In addition to using third-person narration, there’s a story built on letters, a multiple-choice quiz, and a transcript of a series of recordings. What all the stories have in common is an interest in the meaning of home, and the presence of queer and trans characters. “For me personally, as a trans person, I'm always thinking about what does home mean when I literally don't feel at home in my body, or didn't for a long time. I do now. And what does home mean for a lot of trans and queer people when home is not a safe place for us,” Cipri says. Cipri is a queer and trans/nonbinary writer, editor, and educator. They are a graduate of the 2014 Clarion Writers’ Workshop and earned their MFA in fiction from the University of Kansas in 2019. Homesick is their first book. Rob Wolf is the host of New Books in Science Fiction and the author of The Alternate Universe and The Escape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The stories and fables in A Girl Goes into the Forest (Dzanc Books, 2019) twist and turn with the sorrows and challenges of family, lovers, growing up, and aging. Sometimes wry, sometimes charming, occasionally a story will make you gasp, especially the one-pagers. In 78 pieces of fiction, flash fiction and micro-fiction, Alford’s writing is soothing, sparkling, opaque or mysterious, but it always packs a punch. Peg Alford Pursell, author of Show her a Flower, A Bird, A Shadow,the 2017 Indies Book of the Year for Literary Fiction, has had work published in many journals and anthologies. Her micro-fiction, flash fiction, and hybrid prose have been nominated for Best Small Micro-fictions and Pushcart Prizes. She is the founder and director of WTAW Press, a nonprofit publisher of literary books, and of Why There are Words, the national literary reading series. Also, she enjoys walking through her neighborhood with its redwoods and Little Free Libraries. One of the most fascinating dreams she's had was creating a crossword puzzle in her sleep and being able to remember the lower left section when she awoke. If you enjoyed today’s podcast and would like to discuss it further with me and other New Books network listeners, please join us on Shuffle. Shuffle is an ad-free, invite-only network focused on the creativity community. As NBN listeners, you can get special access to conversations with a dynamic community of writers and literary enthusiasts. Sign up by going to www.shuffle.do/NBN/join G.P. Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series and a prolific baker of healthful breads and pastries. Please contact her through her website (GPGottlieb.com) if you wish to recommend an author (of a beautifully-written new novel) to interview, to listen to her previous podcast interviews, to read her mystery book reviews, or to check out some of her awesome recipes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The stories and fables in A Girl Goes into the Forest (Dzanc Books, 2019) twist and turn with the sorrows and challenges of family, lovers, growing up, and aging. Sometimes wry, sometimes charming, occasionally a story will make you gasp, especially the one-pagers. In 78 pieces of fiction, flash fiction and micro-fiction, Alford’s writing is soothing, sparkling, opaque or mysterious, but it always packs a punch. Peg Alford Pursell, author of Show her a Flower, A Bird, A Shadow,the 2017 Indies Book of the Year for Literary Fiction, has had work published in many journals and anthologies. Her micro-fiction, flash fiction, and hybrid prose have been nominated for Best Small Micro-fictions and Pushcart Prizes. She is the founder and director of WTAW Press, a nonprofit publisher of literary books, and of Why There are Words, the national literary reading series. Also, she enjoys walking through her neighborhood with its redwoods and Little Free Libraries. One of the most fascinating dreams she's had was creating a crossword puzzle in her sleep and being able to remember the lower left section when she awoke. If you enjoyed today’s podcast and would like to discuss it further with me and other New Books network listeners, please join us on Shuffle. Shuffle is an ad-free, invite-only network focused on the creativity community. As NBN listeners, you can get special access to conversations with a dynamic community of writers and literary enthusiasts. Sign up by going to www.shuffle.do/NBN/join G.P. Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series and a prolific baker of healthful breads and pastries. Please contact her through her website (GPGottlieb.com) if you wish to recommend an author (of a beautifully-written new novel) to interview, to listen to her previous podcast interviews, to read her mystery book reviews, or to check out some of her awesome recipes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Hi everyone, and thank you for tuning in to another episode of the We Make Books Podcast - A podcast about writing, publishing, and everything in between! Week Three of Submissions September and the final episode of Agents Week! For Part Three we got we spoke with three more agented authors to hear about their journey and experience in signing with their literary agent. This time we’re chatting with AJ Hackwith, Jennifer Mace, and Nino Cipri who share stories, wisdom, and anecdotes about their paths to signing with a Literary Agent. You can (and should!) check them all out on Twitter, Instagram, and their website, all of which are linked below! In case you’re just joining us, this month is Submissions September on the We Make Books Podcast, we’re doing seven (7!) episodes this month all about the process of submitting your novel. We have a lot of awesome discussions lined up and even some special guests. Here’s what will be coming your way for the month: Week 1 (9/3/2019): Is This Ready For Other People to See?- Submitting Your Manuscript Week 2 (9/10/2019): My Entire Novel in Three Hundred Words - The Dreaded Query Letter Week 3 (9/17/2019): Agents of Literature, Part 1: An Interview with Literary Agent Caitlin McDonald (9/18/2019): Agents of Literature, Part 2: Interviews with Agented Authors (9/19/2019): Agents of Literature Part 3: Interviews with Agented Authors Week 4 (9/24/2019): What is Going On Over There? - The Other Side of the Submissions Process Week 5 (9/30/2019): Now I’m Even More Confused – Submissions September Q&A Episode We Make Books is hosted by Rekka Jay and Kaelyn Considine; Rekka is a published author and Kaelyn is an editor and together they are going to take you through what goes into getting a book out of your head, on to paper, in to the hands of a publisher, and finally on to book store shelves. We Make Books is a podcast for writer and publishers, by writers and publishers and we want to hear from our listeners! Hit us up on our social media, linked below, and send us your questions, comments, concerns, and everyone, let’s be real, we’re two games into it and the Giants’ season is over. Kaelyn would appreciate your support while she waits for hockey season to start. We hope you enjoy We Make Books! Twitter: @WMBCast | @KindofKaelyn | @BittyBittyZap Instagram: @WMBCast Patreon.com/WMBCast And check out this episode’s interviewees! J. Hackwith Represented by Caitlin McDonald https://literallycait.tumblr.com/ of DMLA http://maassagency.com/ https://www.amandahackwith.com https://twitter.com/ajhackwith The Library of the Unwritten https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/608277/the-library-of-the-unwritten-by-a-j-hackwith/9781984806376/ === Jennifer Mace Represented by Kurestin Armada https://twitter.com/kurestinarmada of PS Literary https://www.psliterary.com/ https://www.englishmace.com http://twitter.com/englishmace https://www.englishmace.com/fiction/ http://betheserpent.podbean.com/ === Nino Cipri Represented by DongWon Song http://www.dongwonsong.com/ of HMLA http://www.morhaimliterary.com/ https://ninocipri.com/ https://twitter.com/ninocipri Homesick: https://www.dzancbooks.org/our-books/homesick Finna: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250245724 Kaelyn:00:00 Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of the, We Make Books Podcast, a show about writing, publishing, and everything in between. And when I say another, it's because this is the third one this week. Rekka:00:10 And I'm Rekka, I write science fiction and fantasy as RJ Theodore. Kaelyn:00:13 I think my name is just third episode. No, I am Kaelyn. I'm the acquisitions editor, Parvus Press. Why did we do this? Rekka:00:21 Hey, you know what? We're going to be so glad when it's done. Kaelyn:00:24 It is good because these were, these were great interviews. So this is the second episode, um, of interviews with. Rekka:00:29 Interviews with authors - Kaelyn:00:29 Interviews with agented authors. So, you know, first episode, if you missed that one, go back and take a listen to that. The, uh, September, Rekka:00:39 How should we even know? Kaelyn:00:39 [laughs] What day is it? Rekka:00:41 Is it September? Kaelyn:00:42 The September 17th episode. Rekka:00:43 Which was with Caitlin McDonald, the Agent. Kaelyn:00:46 Yes. Rekka:00:47 And then on the 18th, yesterday we spoke with Sam Hawk, Tyler Hayes, and Caitlin Starling. And today we are speaking with AJ Hackwith, Jennifer Mace, and Nino Cipri. Kaelyn:00:57 Yes. So, um, second episode of agented author interviews. Uh, you know, how they got them, what, Rekka:01:03 Yeah. Rounding out the experiences that we gathered of people who found agents and then those agents are helping them or have helped them find a home for their manuscript. Kaelyn:01:13 Yeah. And um, some good insights here. Yeah. I think in this set of interviews. So, um, we'll stop talking now because I don't know - Rekka:01:21 To talk. Kaelyn:01:23 Words. Um, so everyone, uh, we hope you enjoy and um, so next week will be the last episode of Submissions September and uh, we're going to be doing what is going on, on the other side of things. Rekka:01:35 Kaelyn's side. Kaelyn:01:35 My side. Rekka:01:36 Yes. Kaelyn:01:36 [laughs evily] You are in my realm now. Rekka:01:41 Well not now. Next week. Kaelyn:01:42 Next week. Yeah. Fair. All right. Well thanks everyone so much for listening and bearing with us through all of this. Enjoy the episode. Music:01:57 [music] AJ: 02:04 I'm Amanda. I write as AJ Hackworth. I have a contemporary fantasy coming out October 1st with Ace called The Library of the Unwritten, I tend to write about mythical stuff and gods and sarcastic and families and all that good kind of good staff. I also have two Scifi romances out as Ada Harper. Um, they both came out last year and the first one is a Conspiracy of Whispers. Rekka:02:29 Cool. And you are represented by an agent. Um, you want to say who and tell us, uh, how you found this agent and why you chose them. AJ: 02:40 Sure. I represented by Caitlin McDonald at the Donald Mass literary agency. I, I found Caitlin via tumbler. That's really what made me, made me reach out with her because she seemed to have a lot of the same interests in likes and fandom interests that I did. I so I thought that she would jive on my writing style and so I reached out to her, um, through the slush pile. Basically I just like queried her and was coming up through the slush. It kind of funny because she had my, full of my book, for 10 months, 11 months. It was a long process. I had actually like had like given up and thrown in the towel and it's never going to happen. And I had pitched the most ridiculous romance I could think of to a Karina Press. And then an offer from them came first, uh, just about the same. It's just about the same time that Caitlin was getting back to me about the full, I'm making an offer. So, uh, it was kind of a weird deal that the book that I queried her with, with not actually the first book that came out, but it's been fantastic. Rekka:03:44 Awesome. Very cool. Okay. When you interact with your agent versus, um, when you interact directly with the editor, with your publisher, um, how would you describe one versus the other and when do you go through Caitlin and when do you go through your editor? AJ: 04:02 I tend to go through Cait, went through Caitlin, whenever there's a disagreement, especially if it's one that's a delicate negotiations, delicate to navigate. Um, I like my relationship with the editor should, uh, is, should usually be in the positive and I cc Caitlin on everything. But if there's something that actually needs to be pushed back on or negotiated with, I definitely sometimes let Caitlin trace the language of that just so she has control of that navigation and I can just be the fun one. Rekka:04:35 She's the bad cop. That was one thing she said. So that's, it's good that you're, um, you're using all the tools you have correctly. It sounds like. AJ: 04:43 Well, you know that takes, that's something you have to learn too. Cause like when I first signed, when we were going through the first uh romances, I was more hesitant. I didn't want to bug my agent. Um, which is a common thing that new writers feel like, you know, you, it's a, it's a change in relationship. Cause when you're querying, you feel like you're trying to impress them and get them to like you and stuff. But then when you are, have signed with them, your business partners and that sometimes is a switch for a lot of writers that they are too hesitant to contact their agent when things come up. Um, and so it took a few times of Caitlin gently say, I should cc me on this. Let me, let me handle this. Um, before I understood, um, how before you look at her communication style and how to make that a real partnership. Rekka:05:28 Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Now. What about before, um, you had the book on contract to a publisher, um, editing, um, pitching, like getting the, the submissions ready. What was the process with your agent in that regard? AJ: 05:45 Um Caitlin's very nice editorial level. Um, for my, for my tastes, we did line edit, we did developmental edit and then a line edit, um, before we put it on submission. Um, and that was just about the right level for me. I think we got it in a really good place and she had, she, she had her, her touches on enough that I felt like, um, it was strong going out into submission. Um, and then when we'er on submission, you know, it's so important to know your communication style with the mission cause it's a nerve wracking process. And I like, you know, when we went on submission I asked Caitlin at the beginning of it is like, whether it's good news or bad news, I just want to update at least once a month. And it can just be a summary. I don't need the specifics because I wanted those people that the rejection language will stick in your brain forever. And you of course, you forget the good stuff people say. So that worked out really well as soon as she just, you know, gave me a monthly summary of where we were at in the process. Rekka:06:42 Okay, cool. So did you work together on um, putting the submission package together? Um, in terms of coming up with the language that you use to pitch the book to the editors? AJ: 06:54 It was pretty hands off. Caitlin came up with all of that. Um, we discussed just basically, um, she gave me a list of which houses she was going to approach in this round. Um, and and kind of the vague genre of how we're pitching this book. Um, you know, like, you know, contemporary, literary, smart commercial, all those different types. So we really had a basic discussion, but Caitlin really ran with it past that point, which is great. [laughs] This whole, you already had to query the book once. Rekka:07:25 Right. You don't want to do it again. AJ: 07:26 Well, magic in itself, the whole submission process. So I'm glad to let an expert have the final say of those things. Rekka:07:33 Okay, great. So it sounds like you feel like you're in good hands. AJ: Yeah, it's been good. Rekka:07:38 Awesome. So if you were talking to, uh, an author who was looking for an agent, what are some tips that you would give that author as far as, uh, whatever part you feel like maybe people have misconceptions with before they get into it? Um, either with the querying, with finding the agent, with negotiating, et cetera. AJ: 08:01 I think querying, um, you just, you gotta be patient, it's a long, long process and um, there's some great guides out there. I think I found, you know, after I signed as agent was the area where there's not as much information and, and resources for people for how this should go and go. I think the biggest advice I would give is to start as you intend to go on, which you know, how you want to communicate and establish that early on with an agent. And if you're wondering whether you should email your agent about something or whether, whether it's okay to email them about something, the answer is yes. Rekka:08:37 Fantastic. There's that power balance. It must be difficult to say like, okay, now, like that power balance is more like we're partners in this now and the power struggle and that you feel when you're querying doesn't evaporate inside your head. AJ: 08:56 Yeah. And it was, it was really, it was, it was a, a tough transition, especially for me because we went right from signing her representation and to negotiating a contract for the romances. Um, so we didn't have that like getting to know you build up of, of um, the editorial process. I joke with Caitlin that I knew we, we broke the ice right away when like my second email to her was, uh, talking about fanfic tropes and how my book shouldn't like have any ref- You know, my joke is like when they're in my email included en-preg in the second email, you knew it was a [laughs] Rekka:09:32 Well that's awesome because I mean, so everyone knows the Caitlin is human now, but she promises us that all agents are, and it does sound like once you get past this strange like, um, professional dance that there is a chance to just like relax and get into the relationship and get to work. AJ: 09:51 Yeah, and I, and I think also one of the things I've seen with a bunch of my friends uh getting agents as well is that your relationship is going to be unique to that agent if you're not best buddies. And tweeting memes at your agent all day, that's okay too. Like, you know, I have a pretty, I mean Caitlin and I have a great relationship but we just keep it pretty professional. You know, I'm not tweeting her about, you know, whatever the Internet's on about current time. Um, whereas other other agents I know like our, our, like our, our much more, much more of a friendship relationship with their, their clients. And so it just depends on the agent and depends on the author. And there's no wrong way to have a relationship we've had with an agent as long as it's the right way for you, Rekka:10:36 For both sides to, yeah, definitely. Awesome. Well thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. And um, why don't you give us your pitch for The Library. AJ: 10:44 Sure. The Library of the Unwritten is the story of the Librarian of the Unwritten Wing, which is the library of all the books that were never quite written. All the stories that were never quite told and it happened to be located in hell Rekka:10:57 Exactly where they go when I failed to write that book. Right? AJ: 11:02 It can feel that way for the author that it's definitely a fantasy about, um, books and writers and readers and also about regret and what happens when your story fails to start. Rekka:11:14 Awesome. So everyone get out there and grab a copy. Thank you, Amanda for joining us today. And um, good luck with everything that you're working on. AJ: 11:24 Thank you very much. It's been great to be here. Macey:11:29 I'm Jennifer Maca. I go by Macy and I am a fantasy author, short story writer, poet and podcaster based out of the Pacific northwest. Despite my accent. Kaelyn:11:42 Wait, that's not what everyone sounds like up there? Macey:11:44 It absolutely is. This is what happens when you move to Seattle. This is the secret. They don't want you to know. Kaelyn:11:49 It's because of the coffee. Macey:11:49 And the rain, I feel. I feel like the rain, helps like really get you in character. Kaelyn:11:55 Gotcha. Well thank you so much for uh, taking some time to talk to us. Macey:12:01 So I'm represented by Kurestin Armada of PA Literary and I guess I have a somewhat normal journey to getting an agent. You know, I did actually query uh, I didn't have an agent descend from the sky and pluck me from Twitter, but I guess it kind of starts with, I went to a workshop called Viable Paradise in 2016 and that was kinda my first step along the road to trying to become a professional author. Right? I had all of these books that I'd been writing for years, but I didn't really know what to do with them. And so this is a workshop that's taught by a bunch of professional authors and editors. And while I was there, they talked about, you know, the query process and that really helped me get together what I wanted to say about my book. And so I actually decided to go out querying with the book that wasn't the one I brought to Viable Paradise because I had two books in my back pocket. And you know, who doesn't? Umm - Kaelyn:13:06 It's, it's very true. I, Macey:13:10 I accidentally did NaNoWriMo every year for eight years running before I decided to try to get published. Kaelyn:13:17 Wait, how does this one accidentally do NaNoWriMo? Macey:13:20 I mean, I kind of describe what I was writing. Like back then as I wasn't trying to write books, I was kind of just like textually role-playing. Kaelyn:13:28 Okay. Macey:13:29 Just I wanted to have adventures and makeup adventures to go on, you know? Kaelyn:13:34 Okay, Gotcha. So, okay. So you were actually just consistently doing this and then certain months you were accidentally falling - okay. All right. Macey:: 13:43 Yeah, yeah. Kaelyn:13:44 That's, that's wonderful. I love it. Macey:13:47 I decided that I was going to start querying in sort of March, 2017 and I had won in an auction, a query critique with someone who used to be an agent. Yeah. It was super great. It was a Amy Boggs and she did really great work for me. But while I was waiting to hear back from her, it was actually Pit Mad. The Twitter contest. Kaelyn:14:09 Yes. Yes. I really love PitMad. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. Macey:14:14 I have so many friends who got their agents that way or at least got one of their offers that way. PitMad is a Twitter like pitch contest where you tweet a very short summary of your book and kind of some hashtags about what genre it is an agents can go through and like the tweets that they want to hear more about. Kaelyn:14:34 Yeah. So it's just, yeah, it's great because it's, it's kind of, I always think of maybe a little bit of a more low pressure situation. It's kind of like, it's like a market almost where it's just like, Hey, I'm here. I got this thing. Macey:14:46 Right. Exactly. And, uh, one of my first was actually from Kursten. Kaelyn:14:53 Oh, okay. Macey:14:54 And she'd actually already been on my list of agents to query because I am an over researcher. And so I had a very detailed list of agents Kaelyn:15:03 Listen, as an acquisitions editor, I appreciate the over researchers. I love hearing like, Hey, I looked you guys up online and I saw you're interested in this. And I'm like, yes, yes. Somebody who who's paying attention, you know? Macey:15:15 And one of the things that I did end up doing, I queried 12 different agents after Kurestin had asked for my manuscript. Um, because you, you keep trying, right? You never know. These things take time. And every one of them I would look through their manuscript wishlist or look through their profile on their agency and make sure to tweak either, you know, which comp titles did I pick or what parts of my book did I highlight? Not In the plot pitch section, but in the like little blurbs section below that in your query letter. And that's where you can kind of do really subtle, um, personalizations Kaelyn:15:51 I don't know if it helped, but it sounds like it did. And if nothing else, it sounds like it didn't hurt. Macey:15:58 Right. So that was in March, Kurestin asked for the first 50 pages from PitMad and then a month later she asked for the full manuscript. And then I think in late July it was, she reached out and said, you know, let's talk, which is the email you are waiting for. And so we had a really great conversation and I followed up with all of the other agents who had had my full and I decided that no, Kurestin is really the one for me. Kaelyn:16:26 So what made you think that Kurestin was really the one for you? This is another thing that we're seeing when we're talking to everyone that they're like, and I just knew I - Macey:16:37 I'm a very analytical person. Um, so I can probably break it down. Kaelyn:16:42 Um, which by the way, you're going to see, you're one of the only authors I know is like, I have some statistics on this. I've given a lot of thought. There's a spreadsheet with a pivot table. And if you look at the corresponding data here. Macey:16:57 Yeah, no like seriously, um, I have so many spreadsheets with so many like cell formulas. I have an entire automated poetry tracking spreadsheet that moves things in and out of the available to sub column based on where they're submitted to and where they're not. Kaelyn:17:13 That's amazing. And I love it as a, as a big fan of excel myself. That is, Yup, that's phenomenal. Macey:17:21 But um for Kurestin, so one of the things for me, I sent out a total of 12 queries over six months and that's a little bit of a low number for some people. I was being very specific when I was researching about who I wanted to query and I was only querying people who represented fantasy and YA and both adult and why a fantasy and who specifically mentioned LGBTQ or queer or gay somewhere in their profile or their manuscript wishlist and that plus, you know, targeting agencies that had a reputation for selling books kind of cut my choices down a lot. But it meant that I was already kind of confident. So I had a fairly short list of agents and so all of them would be really great choices. But for me, Kurestin had a lot of really great editorial things to say about the particular book that I'd sent to her and really understood what I, where it was going. And we also had a conversation about like longer career plans. Did we want to be in this as business partners for the long term because it's not just about will they sign this one book, but do they want to be your career partner? Kaelyn:18:30 Right. Yeah. And that's, that's really important. And I think that's something that not everyone thinks about going into this is this is a business partner. This is a business relationship. And like you both have to be on the same page about what you're expecting out of it. Macey:18:45 Absolutely. And especially since the project that she signed me for, which was a queer, silky, YA novel, it didn't sell. And so now we're moving onto the next project, which I'm super excited about. But like I asked her on the call, what do we do if it doesn't sell? And she says, you know, we keep working and we try the next thing together. And so that was really great to find or have knowledge of an advance and then not be so scared that I was going to disappoint her. Kaelyn:19:14 Do you actually, I just kind of brought up an interesting, uh, the angle that I think author, you know, authors, you guys are so in your own head. Macey:19:23 Yup. Kaelyn:19:23 So some of the most lovely but some of the most anxious people. Macey:19:30 You are not wrong. Kaelyn:19:32 I have ever met, and um, one of the things that you know is the I the self rejection and I the the not good enough. And um, so yeah, disappointing your agent. That's a whole nother level of scary now. Macey:19:46 Isn't it? Kaelyn:19:48 Sp how'd you work through that? Where you've said like? Macey:19:51 Well, so, well one of the things that really great being with Kurestin is we built this kind of community amongst all of her clients called Kurestin's Armada because her last name is Amato and we are dweebs fantastic. And so I have this community of really supportive, amazing fellow clients and we have a little Alack together. And you know, once or twice a week, one of us will go in and be like, I fucked up. She's gonna hate me. And then we're like literally never going to happen. The rest of us know that Kurestin will never hate you, will never hate any of us and we'll fix it. Kurestin still not be mad. You should talk to her and she will help you. And just having someone else who actually knows her be like, no, no, it's fine. Really fix it. Kurestin fixes everything. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm uh, she, she has done nothing to deserve being saddled with us. Kaelyn:20:57 Well, it sounds like a lovely supportive community and an army nay an armada and the rest, as they say is history. You guys are still working on upcoming projects and you know, that's, that's great. Uh, you know, the ongoing relationship with an agent is so important. Macey:21:20 Right. Kaelyn:21:20 And I think a lot of people when they sign with one are just so excited right off the bat to have their literary agent. It's like, oh, right, I'm going to be with this person for a while. Probably. Macey:21:30 I think it's really hard to get past that initial kind of gut reaction that this is just a stamp of approval. You know, you have gained this status. Kaelyn:21:40 Yeah, it is. It's like, you know, you've completed this quest, here is your - Macey:21:46 Tada. Kaelyn:21:46 Yeah. Um, here is your agent badge to add to your, your book. Um, it's, it's Mewtwo at the end of Pokemon and, but no, because then it's like no, but then you actually have Mewtwo. Macey:22:00 Yeah. You've got to have a relationship with this person who is a human with styles of working with opinions and you need to understand that and not just jump at the first opportunity because it could be a bad one. Kaelyn:22:17 You know, that's so hard. If you're really wanting to get an agent to have to walk away from something and there's no good answer to it, you just kind of have to be aware is really, I think the only way to approach that. Macey:22:34 And I think for me, one of the things that I didn't realize at the time and so kind of lucked into, um, is we were talking a little earlier about how inside our heads authors get and how anxious and I think that in order to stick it out as a writer, you really need to get to know yourself and understand the things that make you more anxious and the things that sues you. And one of the things that's super important is that the communication style of your agent works for you, not against you. I have friends who have, uh, agents that they really, really love, who don't always answer emails and have to be poked with followup things to answer the email. And I'm like, it's great that that works for you. I would have a panic attack, but I would just need curled up in a ball. Like they hate me now Kaelyn:23:27 They're figuring out how to drop contract all together. This is it. Macey:23:34 And that's fine. It's, um, there is no one perfect agent. They're puzzle pieces. Right. Kaelyn:23:41 That's, that's a really good way to describe it. Yeah. And, um, you know, agents that I know and I talked to. I know even just like in my capacity as an editor, I always kind of go to the author and go, what works best for you? If you want to text me questions, that's, that's fine. If you prefer to have like, you know, regular scheduled meetings where we talk about that all at once and that's the only time you hear from me, that's, that's great too. Like I can be flexible. So let me know what works for you because if you're unhappy it's not, this isn't going to work well for anybody. Right. Um, you know, I, the last thing I want to do is be a source of anxiety in your life, right? Yeah, exactly. Macey:24:26 Righ, I have enough of those. Kaelyn:24:27 Exactly. So tell us something, either you wish you had known, you wish other people knew, something you're surprised by about either the process or once you have an agent. Macey:24:37 Hmm. I mean, I think the big one is the communication styles. I have seen agent breakups that have been in large part caused or worsened by that by just a mismatch and just how important it is to understand your own needs before you try to make the sort of commitment. I mean it's not a marriage, but it's a longterm partnership contract. You know what I mean? Kaelyn:25:03 In some cases it's harder to get out of than a marriage. Macey:25:07 Yeah. I mean things get really tangled up once you've sold your money will be coming through that agent forever for that book. Yep. Um, it doesn't have to go away. Kaelyn:25:16 You know what, that's a good point that, uh, I think maybe again, something you don't think about. If you signed a contract for selling your book through an agent and then you and that agent go there, set your separate ways, your money still goes through that agent. Yeah. Does forever. Yup. Because even though you're no longer working with that person, they are technically still your business partner for that particular deal. Yeah. Macey:25:42 They are 15% or whatever their fee is. Kaelyn:25:46 Exactly. Yeah. That's, that's a very good thing to mention. Um, communication style. Yeah. Is very, very important for so many people. And again, I think like you just, when you get the call and you're like, oh my gosh, somebody wants me. Um, Macey:26:04 And I think the other thing is when you're getting those calls and making your decisions, you are setting a pattern for yourself in how you work with that person. And you need to think about setting up a pattern that's going to keep working for you. You need to not be scared to email your agent, right? And that can start early, you know? Um, I pester my agent on Twitter sometimes and gently troll her by suggesting I'm going to write a new book where the entire plot is one Flovence and the Machine's song. Kaelyn:26:37 Um, I mean, you're going to do that though, right? Macey:26:40 Maybe. But then she's like, Macy, that's not what plot means. I'm like, I, I'll fix it later. Kaelyn:26:45 You have some stuff you have to tell us about coming up with you and your life. You're headed to Ireland. Macey:26:52 Yes. My podcast is a finalist for Best Fan Cast at the Hugo's Be The Serpent. And so that's exciting and scary and awesome. Kaelyn:27:01 That's amazing and wonderful and just the greatest thing. Macey:27:05 Yeah, I'm honestly like we, you were completely gobsmacked and amazed just to be on the list and I'm so happy with how many new people have been brought in just to hear a few episodes of the podcast and hopefully stick with us cause I'm really fond of what we do. Kaelyn:27:21 Yeah. So do you want to tell everyone a little bit about like what the podcast is? Macey:27:24 Sure. Kaelyn:27:25 Why it's so awesome. Macey:27:27 It's called Be The Serpent and it is a podcast where three redheaded fantasy authors dissect tropes and patterns and themes in media, in literature, and in fan fiction. Kaelyn:27:40 Do you want to hear three people that just genuinely love and enjoy each other's company. Macey:27:46 And make a lot of dick jokes together. Kaelyn:27:48 And that absolutely that. Come for the friendship - . Macey:27:55 And there's one other thing that's coming up. Myself, Janeen Southard and Danielle Wexler are putting together a Kickstarter, which hopefully should be out in October sometime to fund an anthology of queer ff stories about swords, women and their princess lieges. Kaelyn:28:14 It's going to be amazing. I'm so excited when it was funny because of Rekka had mentioned like, oh, and you have to make sure to remind Macy about the Kickstarter. And so I was like, and hey, tell me about this Kickstarter. Like, oh well it's a ways off still, but here's what it is. And I was like, this is going to be awesome. Macey:28:33 It's going to be so cool. We have so much awesome artwork lined up for people as rewards and stretch goals. And one of our first stretch goals is to hopefully open slush so we can have open call and lots of people can send us their amazing weapons sapphic stories and I can't wait to read all of them Kaelyn:28:54 It's going to be fantastic. A project doesn't, doesn't have a title yet. Macey:28:58 Nope, but we've got some really cool people attached. Um, like Alliette Bardard, Kelly Robson, JY Yang. Kaelyn:29:04 Oh, awesome. That's, that's so great. So, um, yeah, where the Kickstarter is not up yet. There isn't a title yet, but when there is, we'll be sure to put in the show notes and uh, you know, hopefully, you know, you'll have something, you know, we can have put out on Twitter to the masses because that just, it sounds like it's going to be amazing. So, um, okay, well thank you so much for taking the time. Talk to us. Where can people find you? Macey:29:28 I have a website which is EnglishMace.com and I'm on Twitter @EnglishMace and the podcast is Be The Serpent on Podbean, on iTunes, on Google play or wherever you get podcasts. Thank you so much for bringing me. Nino: 29:43 I'm Nino Cipri. Um, I'm a queer and Trans Writer. I've written all kinds of different things, mostly focusing on fiction. Um, I have written screenplays, essays, um, so many angry emails, so many, uh, I have two books that are coming out in the next year. Um, my first collection of short stories is coming out in October. It's called homesick. I'm very excited about that. And then in February, I have haven't developed coming out with Tor.com that's called Finna. I write in a bunch of different genres. The like kind of main main through line is that a lot of my stories have like, they're kind of funny. They have a lot of feelings and they're pretty queer. Um, but I've written like horror, I've written science fiction, I've written like fantasy. I actually wrote a story that's like almost entirely like non genre. There's no spec- the only speculative is that there's like 3 million old or 3 million year old fossils of like intelligent weasels and that's it. Rekka:30:47 That's all you need. Nino: 30:48 That's all I needed. Rekka:30:50 Okay. So with that list of, um, of writing styles and subject matter and genre, um, who was in charge of wrangling your writing career? Nino: 30:59 Uh, I like that wrangling. Um, I am represented by DongWon Song of the Howard Morhaim Agency. Rekka:31:06 And how did you come to choose DongWon? So I actually had kind of a weird journey towards that. I wasn't planning on getting an agent until I had a novel finished, um, which I didn't actually. Um, but in sometime early in the fall, I decided kind of on a whim to enter a contest, uh, like, um, uh, what was it? It was like a short story collection contest with a small press called Dezink. Um, and I had no, like thought that I would win it and then I did and I was shocked and like appalled and I was like, what do you need? Nino: 31:40 Um, but then I had a book deal and then I needed an agent. Um, so I turned as so many millennials do to my friends. Um, and I called a bunch of different people that I knew that all had different agents that I was like, I had been kind of eyeballing them for like, okay, when I start going out and query, I'm going to, I'm going to contact these people. Um, but the fact that I had a book deal like in hand and I needed to sign a contract at some point very soon or reject it, um, kind of sped the process up a lot. So I think I ended up, I talked to a bunch of different friends. I came up with a list of I think like four people who all represented like other writers that I knew pretty well. Um, I asked those friends a lot of questions about like, what the like relationship was like, kind of like exactly like what you're doing. Nino: 32:31 Um, and then ask those friends if they would be willing to, you know, with their agent's permission, like write me a letter of introduction. Um, and I think three of the people, like three of the agents were like, yeah, sure, just like have them email me. Um, and I, one was one of them. I talked to JY Young, um, who is fabulous and awesome and I don't, I don't really know their faces right now because I'm sure everybody knows. Rekka:32:59 Yeah. Nino: 32:59 So it actually ended up coming down to, cause I was talking with a couple of other agents, um, I had to, I got two offers and then ended up going with DongWon. Um, and then almost immediately after like got another book deals. So I feel like I kind of like prove my worth, like, technically? Rekka:33:15 Well no regrets. Right? Nino: 33:18 Yeah. Rekka:33:20 So, um, that's an interesting way to come about having an agent is having the contract first. Um, yeah, which is funny because we think about like the, the power dynamic between the author who is querying and the agent who must, you know, judge and, and accept or, or you know, there's several stages of acceptance with the agent and um, it feels like you kind of get to skip ahead in line a little bit because like, um, not only do you have a book deal, but you also have a little bit of a time pressure that you can leverage to say like, Hey, um, there's a bit of a of a time crunch on this. Could you just let me know real quick? So did, um, so normally when an agent replies to a query, they are requesting a full or a partial or, or some, um, step forward from whatever has been queried. So what were you querying with and what was the next step from there? Nino: 34:15 Like what I sent to DongWon, like the other agents that I was talking to, I sent them like the manuscript for the, um, for the short story collection. Okay. And just be like, this is what is getting published. I think I sent them the contract that was on offer as well. Um, and then I also sent them like, I think the first 10 pages of the novel in progress that I had, which was a young adult horror novel. Um, and it was just like, this is not finished. Just so you know, like just when I tried to be like very, very transparent with that. Like, here's what I've got, here's the first chapter of it, or like the first half of the first chapter. Um, so you can get like an idea of like what I'm, what I'm working on next. Okay. And then I am working on something. Rekka:34:59 And so the contract was an offer for that future novel? Is that what it was or is it the contract for the short story? Nino: 35:05 The contract was for the short story. Rekka:35:06 Okay. Gotcha. Okay. So now you have an agent, you already have a contract, you've already sold a short story. Um, so the agent and you, I'm sorry DongWon and you began to work on that novel together. Is that what the next step is? Nino: 35:22 I should mentioned that all of this was happening when I was in my last year of an MFA program. Yeah. This was, it was like the last six months of it. Rekka:35:30 Okay. Nino: 35:32 So there was like a bunch of different things going on. Um, so on the heels of this offer for the short story collection, um, the novella that was in there was originally in that short story collection. Um, I had also submitted to Tor and Tor.com like novella submission window. Rekka:35:49 Right. Nino: 35:49 Um, and which was like, I double check to make sure that I could do simultaneous submissions and I did. Um, but the thing that people say might happen but never ever will actually happen, happened to me where like I had the offer and I had withdrawn it, um, from Tor immediately. And then like Carl Anglay was just like, I want that. Nino: 36:14 Yeah. So he ended up calling DongWon, DongWon called me. We both called my publisher at the, at Dezink. Just be like, um, so this awkward thing is happening. Yeah. Um, so that was the next thing we actually started working on was something else that like was already the kind of like fell into our lap. Um, which was really nice. And so now, um, like all of that had to be kind of like taken care of. I edited, finished up. Um, so now I'm trying to finish up like revisions on my novel. Um, I finished the first draft. I think this was also my like masters thesis. So I finished the first draft sometime in April I think, and then sends it on to him and like we made a revision plan and yeah, that's what we're working on now. Rekka:37:01 Okay. Alright. So the novels that you have, the books, um, I didn't catch the length that you have coming out in the future. Are these different? Nino: 37:11 Yeah, the short story collection, one novella. And I'm trying to work on a novel and like also there's like a screenplay that's like way over there that I think I was just going to be like, can you just make it fiction? Rekka:37:23 So, um, how is working with DongWon on your novel versus working on the contracts and all the business like communications. Nino: 37:32 So with the other two manuscripts, he was fairly hands off. Um, when we were talking about like, uh, trying to like maneuver one Novella into Tor's hands and then like another novella to this to, to Dezank. Um, he read the like replacement novella cause I was like, you know, this is a pretty rough draft. I didn't, you know, it needs another couple of revisions for sure. Do you want to read it and let me know what you think of it? Like here's my thoughts about it. Um, so he gave me like, he was mostly just like, yeah, I think I agree with basically everything that you, you know, all of your instincts on what through revise are good in my opinion. Um, but he also knew that like, uh, the editor at design would have like a lot more, um, specific feedback. Nino: 38:19 So he was like, here's like the kind of like big picture stuff that I think too you need to work on. Um, the novella, like, because it was already thought, like he was just like, you know, didn't really have any, anything to really say about that one I don't think cause you knew like Carl would be Carl Anglered at Tor would have, you know, his own feedback that he would want implemented. Um, with the novel. He read it and he like, we met for drinks and he was like, okay, we've got like basically one of four ways that you can revise this. Like, and was really good at just trying to figure out first like, what was my vision of this book? Like what did I actually think this was about? And ones that I want it to be. Um, you know, he's like, is this an adult horror novel? Is this young adult or is this about trauma? Um, and it was like we figured out there's like, we like what it was and then how to get it closer to that. Rekka:39:11 Okay, great. So that was all over drinks. You just like hashed it out in person? Nino: 39:15 Pretty much. Yeah. I mean, I, and he said that because he said he wanted to do that because he could tell like there was different directions that it could be, it could go, um, like, and that is easier to figure out in person rather than like over email. Sure. And you don't really appreciate cause yeah, yeah. Email him that. Rekka:39:35 Well plus the back and forth, the time lag and then trying to phrase things correctly without the context of facial expression and volume and enthusiasm is, is different. Okay. Nino: 39:47 When I first signed with him, I was living in Kansas. I'm attempting to move to New York. I have, I'm trying to find a job here. Rekka:39:54 Oh, okay. Nino: 39:55 - permanently, but yeah. Um, even before my partner Nibs lives here, so I was here pretty regularly, like every, I've maybe every other month. Rekka:40:04 Okay. So it wasn't, it wasn't out of your way. It wasn't like come to this expensive conference and then we'll meet and have this, have this meeting. So that's good. Awesome. How often would you say you check in with DongWon? Nino: 40:17 Hmm. He's good at like telling me the things that I need to know. But he also, I think respects the fact that I'm like, you know, we're both very busy people. I'm trying to find a job. He has a bunch of, he's got like several other clients and travels a lot. Yeah. Um, we check in like fairly regularly. I would say like maybe once a month, twice a month, something like that. And he'll send me updates on things like, you know, oh, there was film interest in this thing. Um, I'm just going to let you know. And also here's what you should maybe expect out of that. Which of course was not much, but it's nice. Consider it a complement. Rekka:40:54 Yeah, definitely. Definitely. So if someone you knew was in your position where you were after you won this contest or, um, in the position of somebody who hadn't won anything for, um, their writing yet, but was looking for an agent to represent their work, would you have any tips for that person, what they could expect or what, what you would recommend they do? Nino: 41:15 So in this, I would say like definitely if you have a community like if you know other writers like talk to them about their agents, talk to them about, um, like what are the reasons like that I signed with them. Like what were their expectations going in versus what, um, you, they've learned since then. Like what the reality actually is. Um, and like I and I, I actually have like talked to some people like who are going out, like starting to query it and I'm just like, you should absolutely do what I did. Absolutely. Get your friends for at you like introduction. Rekka:41:49 Yeah. Nino: 41:50 Your friends are willing to and their agents are okay with it. Like right there. Right. Get them to write you introductions. Like, I feel like anything that can kind of like put you a little bit ahead is helpful. Um, and I don't think it's like breaking the rules at least as far as I know. Maybe there are rules, but like, like nobody told me that when I was starting. Rekka:42:10 So, so your tip is, um, no, no rules and just go forward. Nino: 42:15 Well, and I think too, like agents, especially ones that are trying to find like build their client base are really good at like trying to make themselves accessible in various ways with DongWon, like I know that he's really active and like going to cons and like, um, talking to new writers and doing all of these things. So if that opportunity presents itself to like talk to an agent, then yeah, absolutely. Do that. Like go to go to a conference or a convention if that's something that's available to you. Rekka:42:43 Awesome. All right, cool. So community basically is, is the center of the universe for making this happen? Nino: 42:49 That is absolutely, yeah. That's like the, all the advice I ever have about writing comes down to just like just to build, build better in larger communities. Rekka:42:57 Awesome. Nino: 42:58 Yeah. Hunger communities. Rekka:42:59 Yes. 100%. All right. So um, you'll give us the names of the two books before. Just remind us before we let you go. Nino: 43:08 Okay. Yeah, so in October the my short story collection Homesick is going to be released from Dzanc Books. You can preorder it now. Yes, you can absolutely preorder it now. Um, and then Finna, which is a novella is going to be up from tour.com in February. Rekka:43:25 Okay, great. And we will include links to that in our show notes and thank you so much for your time and we really appreciate you coming on and sharing your experience. Cause like you said, learning from your friends, learning from others in the writing community is, is like such a great resource. Nino: 43:38 It is. It is. Oh God. Yeah. I would not be anywhere without my friends. Rekka:43:42 Absolutely. Awesome. Well thank you so much. I really appreciate your time. Nino: 43:46 Thanks you too. Rekka:44:04 Thanks everyone for joining us for another episode of we make books. If you have any questions that you want answered in future episodes or just have questions in general, remember you can find us on Twitter @wmbcast, same for Instagram or WMB cast.com if you find value in the content that we provide, we would really appreciate your support@patreon.com/WMBcast. If you can't provide financial support, we totally understand and what you could really do to help us is spread the word about this podcast. You can do that by sharing a particular episode with a friend who can find it useful. Or if you leave a rating and review at iTunes, it will feed that algorithm and help other people find our podcast too. Of course, you can always retweet our episodes on Twitter. Thank you so much for listening and we will talk to you soon.
Peter Stenson is the guest. His new novel Thirty Seven is available from Dzanc Books. It is the official February pick of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club. Stenson received his MFA from Colorado State University in 2012. His first novel, Fiend, was an Amazon Best Book of the Month for July 2013. His stories and essays have been published in The Bellevue Literary Review, The Greensboro Review, Confrontation, Blue Mesa Review, and elsewhere. He lives with his wife and family in Denver, Colorado. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode #18 of The Talking Book Podcast featuring the amazing Elle Nash and her book Animals Eat Each Other from Dzanc Books. Go check out the audiobook right flippin now! www.thetalkingbooks.com/animals-eat-each-other
Brad Listi talks with Daniel A. Hoyt, author of the novel THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU, available from Dzanc Books. It is the recipient of the Dzanc Fiction Prize and the official December pick of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club. Hoyt's first short story collection, THEN WE SAW THE FLAMES, won the 2008 Juniper Prize for Fiction. He teaches creative writing, mainly fiction, and lit classes, at Kansas State University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Brad Listi talks with Jarret Middleton, author of the debut novel DARKANSAS, available now from Dzanc Books. It is the official November selection of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club. Middleton's other book is a novella entitled "An Dantomine Eerly." He was the founding editor of Dark Coast Press and the classics library Pharos Editions, an imprint of Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press. His fiction, essays, and reviews have appeared in a number of online and print publications. He lives in Seattle, WA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dead Girls and Other Stories (Dzanc Books) With lyric artistry and emotional force, Emily Geminder’s debut collection charts a vivid constellation of characters fleeing their own stories. A teenage runaway and her mute brother seek salvation in houses, buses, the backseats of cars. Preteen girls dial up the ghosts of fat girls. A crew of bomber pilots addresses the ash of villagers below. And from India to New York to Phnom Penh, dead girls both real and fantastic appear again and again: as obsession, as threat, as national myth and collective nightmare. Praise for Dead Girls “An eerie convergence of female identities and experiences across time and space. [...] Startling, far-reaching tales of women who haunt and are haunted.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Geminder’s stories are refreshing, surprising, and evocative.”—Publisher's Weekly “Geminder showcases an acute sensitivity to worlds both inside and out. There’s real delicacy to the craft but underneath all the skill is a shaking sense of purpose, and a great love of the brokenness and beauty of humanity. This is a substantive, memorable debut.”—Aimee Bender, author of The Color Master and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake “An electrifying read. Written in dreamy prose, these stories take the world we know and turn it inside out, making us question everything we think we know about our places in it. But don’t let the dream-like quality fool you: These stories have teeth. Seductive but fierce, full of keen insights and tenacious questions, Geminder’s fearless and utterly original debut collection will haunt and nourish you.”—Dana Johnson, author of In the Not Quite Dark and Elsewhere, California “The stories in Geminder’s mesmerizing Dead Girls seamlessly weave gender and geopolitics and the dreamlike worlds of characters struggling to find hope and reason within their near apocalypses. The thread of unease that runs through the collection is insightful, rebellious, and righteous.”—Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and Disappearance at Devil’s Rock “Emily Geminder’s stirring collection explores death-haunted scenarios from unexpected angles. Whether the characters are caught in the currents of Cambodian history or the private mythologies of an American summer, they’re often plunged into moments that dissolve all certainties about identity, consciousness, and the body. Etched with a matter-of-fact lyricism, Dead Girls will haunt you, sure, but that’s barely half the story.”—Jeff Jackson, author of Mira Corpora Emily Geminder’s short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in AGNI, American Short Fiction, Mississippi Review, New England Review, Prairie Schooner, Tin House Open Bar, Witness, and elsewhere. She is the recipient of an AWP Intro Journals Award and a Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Award, and her work was noted in Best American Essays 2016. She has worked as a journalist in New York and Cambodia, and is a Provost’s Fellow in creative writing and literature at the University of Southern California. Brandi Wells is the author of This Boring Apocalypse (Civil Coping Mechanisms), Please Don’t Be Upset (Tiny Hardcore Press), and Poisonhorse (Dzanc Books). Her writing appears in Denver Quarterly, Sycamore Review, Paper Darts, Folio, Chicago Review and other journals. She has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Alabama, where she served as editor of the Black Warrior Review.
Very happy to have Elle Nash on the show. Her novel, Animals Eat Each Other, will be out from Dzanc Books in 2018. She's the fiction editor over at Hobart Pulp, and the founding editor of Witch Craft Magazine. In this episode we talk about her pregnancy, life in Arkansas, her time as a follower of Islam, the necessity of spiritual practice, living your best life, corporate drone-ism, politicians, and Marilyn Manson. Enjoy!!! P.S. A few of the ideas I express in this one (particularly the stuff about the current failure of scientific materialism) is cribbed entirely from the work of Gordon White, who explains these things WAY better than I do on the recent episode of Against Everyone with Conner Habib. So check that out, after you listen to this one.
Interview: Steve Humble – We really can build a time travelling machine! Main Fiction: “Beyond the Visible Spectrum” by Axel Taiari Originally published in Fantasy Scroll Magazine Issue #7 Axel Taiari was born and raised in Paris, France. Publishing credits include Abyss & Apex, Fantasy Scroll, The Big Click, and other magazines and anthologies. He is the co-author of The Soul Standard, to be released by Dzanc Books in 2016. Read more at www.axeltaiari.com Narrated by: Jonathan Danz Jonathan Danz exists in a parallel dimension that looks suspiciously like West Virginia. When he’s not trundling over rock and root on his velocipede, he labors to... See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Carmiel Banasky is the guest. Her debut novel, The Suicide of Claire Bishop, is now available from Dzanc Books. It is the official September selection of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club. Carmiel and I talked about Los Angeles and New York and Judaism and her dad. We also talked about Portland; she grew up in Portland (Oregon). Of particular interest to me was the fact that she lived on the road, housesitting and working odd jobs for (if I recall correctly) four years. She wrote much of Claire Bishop during this time. A very admirable resourcefulness. And quiet tenacity. I think writers have to be tenacious. And disciplined. Carmiel is also a meditator. She does TM. We talked about that, too. A regular writing practice and a regular meditation practice: they seem of a piece. You have to be willing to sit down and sit still and be quiet and watch your thoughts. You have to be disciplined. You have to be quietly tenacious. Quietly tenacious. In the monologue, I talk about being up all night with my eight-week-old son, and how recently, after a 2 a.m. feeding, rather than fall back asleep, he stayed awake and stared at me for two solid hours. My point, if there is one, is that it's weird to have someone, anyone, even your own infant child, stare at you for that long in the middle of the night. Especially when conversation isn't possible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jac Jemc is the guest. Her new story collection, A Different Bed Every Time, is due out from Dzanc Books this fall. Jesse Ball says "To Jemc the world is a place where each person, every human cypher, must devour another. What then can we do, if we are devoured, if we are overcome with our own devouring? Her escape plan is inspired and ancient -- to become protean, to dwell in costume after costume, parcelling away the truth that can be found in each. But where is it hid? Ask her, though she may not say." And Lindsay Hunter says "Jac Jemc is an artisan. A Different Bed Every Time stays with you long after you've finished reading. Every story is painstakingly crafted with words and imagery that are honed and placed just so, creating a mosaic you feel grateful, exhilarated, thrilled to experience." Monologue topics: awards shows, the word "lil," humanity, world peace, fuckedness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Roy Kesey is the guest. His latest story collection, Any Deadly Thing, is now available from Dzanc Books. Elizabeth Crane says "Roy Kesey's stories in Any Deadly Thing are perfect, masterful portraits of an international cross-section of wise, broken souls—hopeful, brutal, funny as hell, and heart-crushing, every last one." And San Diego City Beat raves "Most short-story writers are like baseball pitchers. The really good ones have four or five different pitches, but most only have two or three that they've perfected and go to over and over again. Kesey is more like a five-tool outfielder: He can do it all. In Any Deadly Thing, he collects stories about lovable losers, tales of hardscrabble redemption, experimental fiction, Bosnian war stories and expat tales set in Beijing apartments and Peruvian jungles. There's no limit to the man's imagination." Monologue topics: mail, focusing the podcast on writing, Molly Ringwald, digressions, fame, voicemail, rapping, blushing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Welcome to Cold Reads, Episode 22. Cold Reads is a weekly podcast read by Nathaniel Tower. Each week, Nathaniel invites an author to send his or her wildest, funniest, most twisted story. Without reading the story ahead of time, Nathaniel records an audio version, trying to maintain his composure as the author takes the audience on a wild ride. Week 22 brings you "Moths" by Elizabeth Kadetsy. Elizabeth Kadetsky's personal essays have appeared in the New York Times, Guernica, Santa Monica Review, Antioch Review, Post Road, Agni and elsewhere, and her short stories have been chosen for a Pushcart Prize, Best New American Voices and Best American Short Stories notable stories. She has been a fellow at MacDowell Colony, Ucross Foundation, Djerassi Resident Artists Program and the St. James Centre for Creativity in Malta. She began studying yoga in college, and went on to live in India as a Fulbright scholar in creative writing while studying with the yogi BKS Iyengar. Her experiences became the subject of her first memoir, published with Little Brown in 2004 and scheduled for rEprint with Dzanc Books. She is assistant professor of fiction and nonfiction at Penn State.
Jennifer Spiegel is the guest. In 2012, she published two books: The Freak Chronicles, a story collection, now available from Dzanc Books; and Love Slave, a novel out from Unbridled Books. About The Freak Chronicles, bestselling author Lauren Groff says "The Freak Chronicles is a miracle of a story collection: passionately political and a shout of ambivalence about political passion, intensely personal and furiously global. We readers are lucky to find Jennifer Spiegel, a writer who is self-satirizing and vulnerable and elegant as hell." About Love Slave, Publishers Weekly says "Spiegel's novel evokes the psychic angst of Manhattanites presumptuous enough to describe themselves as struggling artistes, yet entitled enough to melt down when they can't order breakfast in a diner after 11am...the writing is fresh and witty, and Sybil is a sympathetic character worthy of rooting for as she searches for something to believe in." Monologue topics: the gym, stress, running, the woman with magazines, stopping, Lawn Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Steven Gillis is today's guest. He's the author of several books and the co-founder of Dzanc Books. His latest story collection, The Law of Strings, is now available from Atticus Books. Stephen Dixon raves [T]his story collection hooked me from ... Continue reading → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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