Podcasts about iowa short fiction award

Notes and Links to Maggie Sheffer's Work           Marguerite (Maggie) Sheffer is a writer who lives in New Orleans. She is a Professor of Practice at Tulane University, where she teaches courses in design thinking and speculative fiction as tools for social change. Formerly, she taught English at the East Oakland School of the Arts, Castlemont High School, Life Academy, and GW Carver High School.    Her debut short story collection, The Man in the Banana Trees, was selected by judge Jamil Jan Kochai for the Iowa Short Fiction Award, was published in Fall 2024.     Maggie is a founding member of Third Lantern Lit, a local writing collective, and the Nautilus and Wildcat Writing Groups. She received her MFA from Randolph College. She was a 2023 Veasna So Scholar in Fiction at The Adroit Journal, and was selected as a top-twenty-five finalist for Glimmer Train's Short Story Award for New Writers.  Her story “Tiger on My Roof” was a finalist for the 2024 Chautauqua Janus Prize, which awards emerging writers' short fiction with “daring formal and aesthetic innovations that upset and reorder readers' imaginations.”    Her position on semicolons (for) is noted in an Australian grammar textbook (pg. 16). Buy The Man in the Banana Trees     Maggie's Website   From LitHub: "Marguerite Sheffer on Crafting a Collection of Century-Spanning Speculative Fiction"   "Marguerite Sheffer: These Stories Are an Intimate Map of What Scares Me" from Writer's Digest At about 0:45, Maggie shares a fun story about being published with George Bernard Shaw At about 2:15, Maggie talks about her early reading life At about 3:20, The two reflect on the evolving reputation of Star Wars and Star Wars fans At about 4:45, Maggie shares how wine bottles led to writing an early and pivotal short story  At about 5:40, Maggie describes a gap in “actively writing” while teaching and interacting differently with writing At about 6:50, Maggie lists texts and writers that helped her “reorder [her] brain” At about 8:55, Pete and Maggie stan Tillie Olsen's “I Stand Here ironing”   At about 10:45, Pete recounts a story about how he happened upon the great story by Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” At about 11:30, Maggie responds to Pete asking about what drew and draws her to science and speculative fiction At about 12:30, Maggie highlights past guest Jamil Jan Kochai, Ken Liu, E. Lily Yu, Sofia Samatar, Clare Beams, Maurice Carlos Ruffin, the book The Safekeep, and others as contemporary writers who thrill and inspire At about 13:45, Pete asks Maggie how teaching has inspired her writing At about 15:25, Maggie cites Octavia Butler's and Sandra Cisneros' work and The Things They Carried and other texts that were favorites of her students  At about 16:50, The two discuss the epigraph and seeds for the short story collection  At about 18:30, The two discuss the collection's first story and connection to Tillie Olsen's idea of being “imprisoned in his own difference” and students being “othered” At about 22:40, Maggie reflects on an important truth of fiction At about 23:20, Maggie discusses famous unicorn tapestries that inspire a story of hers At about 24:40, Pete compliments Maggie's “delightfully weird” stories and “soft endings” and she responds to his questions about allegory/plot and “cool stories” At about 26:20, Maggie talks about realizing the throughlines in her collections At about 27:50, Maggie responds to Pete's questions about writing in Covid times At about 28:20, Pete cites examples of misogyny in the collection and asks about Joycleyn Bell and Maggie expands upon the story “The Observer's Cage”-its genesis and connections to Jocelyn Bell Burnell At about 31:00, Pete notes the use of animals as stand-ins for humanity and Maggie expands on deas of resistance as seen in the collection At about 32:00, The two discuss ideas of redress and reclaiming the past through stories in the collection, especially “The Observer's Cage” At about 34:40, the two discuss a story with ghosts and ideas of “unfinished business” and capturing past natural greatness At about 36:40, Maggie talks about sadly learning that an idea that she thought was original was not, as the two discuss a few stories about commercialism, dystopia, and climate change At about 40:20, the two discuss middens, and themes of reclaiming what has been lost  At about 42:30, Pete notes an interesting story that deals with memory and AI, and Maggie talks about writing from a interesting-placed narrator  At about 44:20, Pete draws connections between a title character, Miriam Ackerman, and Truman Capote's wonderful “A Christmas Memory”, while Maggie discusses the relationship between the title character and the narrator  At about 47:10, The two discuss violence and parental lack of control, especially in “Tiger on the Roof” and its memorable ending and creative plot  At about 50:25, Pete highlights the poignant and resonant closing line for the above story and connects the ending to Alice Elliott Dark's classic, “In the Gloaming” At about 52:00, The two discuss the collection's title story and Maggie discuses inspiration from Carmen Maria Machado At about 53:00, The two discuss the way the above story is “gutting” in its portrayal of the “banality of loss” At about 56:10, Maggie reminds that the book is not just a “downer!” At about 56:50, Maggie reads from “En Plein Aire” At about 1:00:30, Maggie gives information on places to buy her book and social media and contact information At about 1:01:20, Maggie shares information on some exciting new projects         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 this and 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.       I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting 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!    This month's Patreon bonus episode features segments from conversations with Jeff Pearlman, Matt Bell, F. Douglas Brown, Jorge Lacera, Jean Guererro, Rachel Yoder, and more, as they reflect on chill-inducing writers who have inspired their own work.    I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    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 265 with Carvell Wallace. He is a writer and podcaster who has contributed to GQ, New York Times Magazine, Pitchfork, MTV News, and Al Jazeera, among others. His debut memoir, Another Word For Love, is a 2024 Kirkus Finalist in Nonfiction, and one of Pete's all-time favorite memoirs.    The episode airs on December 10.    Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

Notes and Links to Fernanda Trías' Work    Fernanda Trías was born in Uruguay and is the award-winning author of three novels, two of which have been published in English. She is also the author of the short story collection No soñarás flores and the chapbook El regreso. A writer and instructor of creative writing, she holds an MFA in creative writing from New York University. She was awarded the National Uruguayan Literature Prize, The Critics' Choice Award Bartolomé Hidalgo, and the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz International Prize in Mexico for her novel Pink Slime. Both The Rooftop and Pink Slime were awarded the British PEN Translates Award, and Pink Slime was chosen by The New York Times in Spanish as one of the ten best books of 2020. Translation rights for her work have been sold in fifteen languages. She currently lives in Bogotá, Colombia, where she is a teacher at the creative writing MFA program of Instituto Caro y Cuervo. In 2017, she was selected as Writer-in-Residence at the Casa de Velázquez in Madrid, where she started writing her latest novel, Pink Slime. Buy Pink Slime   Fernanda Trias' Publisher Page for Simon and Schuster   Review of Pink Slime from Reactor Mag At about 2:00, Pete and Fernanda discuss the book's Spanish and English titles and different subtleties of each; Fernanda details how she decided to title the book as she dd At about 3:20, Annie McDermott, Episode 91 and Mario Levrero shout outs! At about 4:00, Fernanda discusses her reading life growing up, the ways in which better translations slowly came to Uruguay, and reading  At about 6:45, Fernanda talks about respect for Garcia Marquez, though not being a huge fan, and cites Juan Rulfo as “perfección” At about 8:15, Pete expands on a Rulfo favorite of his, “No Oyes Ladrar los Perros,” and Fernanda expands on her love of Rulfo's Pedro Paramo  At about 10:05, Fernanda talks about favorite contemporary authors, like Herta Muller and Olga Tokarczuk  At about 12:00, Pete shouts out Jennifer Croft, and Fernanda responds to Pete's questions about why there is such a affinity for Eastern European writing in Latin América, and she specifies the Río Plata region as connected  At about 14:55, Fernanda describes her familial connections to Europe-particularly Italy and Spain At about 17:15, Fernanda responds to Pete's question about seeds for her writing life At about 19:05, Fernanda references The Stranger and El Lugar by Levrero as chill-inducing books At about 21:30, Pete is complimentary of Fernanda's worldbuilding, and she expands on what she loves about it At about 23:00, Pete and Fernanda discuss translation in her book, especially of colloquialisms like “ni fu ni fa” At about 26:25, Fernanda responds to Pete's question about climate change and other stimuli for Mugre Rosa/Pink Slime At about 28:50, Pete mentions the book's interesting dialogues that complement the action, and Fernanda expands on the evolving dialogues   At about 30:50, Fernanda talks about the book's opening and the “first image” in her mind of a foggy port that creates an ambience for the book At about 33:45, Pete shares laudatory blurbs for the book, especially about the book's “envelop[ing]” world built by Fernanda At about 34:25, Fernanda describes the book's opening, including a pivotal scene involving a possible last fish At about 37:05, Pete wonders about nostalgia, and Fernanda talks about her interest and lack of interest in certain ideas of what has been lost  At about 39:40, Fernanda discusses the relationship between the narrator and Max and its significance in the novel, especially in charting changes in the narrator as the book continues At about 44:20, Pete points out a funny saying/joke from the book and Fernanda outlines her conversations with Heather Cleary in the translating of the joke At about 46:05, The two discuss “surrendering and letting go” and connections to the novel and specifically, the narrator and Max's relationship  At about 47:30, Pete lays out some basics on the relationships between the narrator and her mother, as well as her work situation with Mauro; Fernanda talks about how Covid's social dynamics have mirrored so many parts of her novel and the ways in which the rich were able to move to safety    At about 51:45, the two discuss the differing relationships between the narrator's two mother figure-Fernanda talks about the key questions of “What is a mother?” At about 55:50, Fernanda and Pete discuss Mauro and his health condition and his memories of the time outlined in the book At about 58:00, Pete and Fernanda reflect on ideas of community and if there is optimism/hope that comes with the book  At about 1:01:50, The two discuss ideas of systems and individuals' culpability  At about 1:04:00, Fernanda gives social media info, and places to buy her book      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 this and 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.       I am very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting 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!    This month's Patreon bonus episode features segments from conversations with Jeff Pearlman, Matt Bell, F. Douglas Brown, Jorge Lacera, Jean Guererro, Rachel Yoder, and more, as they reflect on chill-inducing writers who have inspired their own work. I have added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    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 264 with Maggie Sheffer. She is Professor of Practice at Tulane University, where she teaches courses in design thinking and speculative fiction as tools for social change. She is a founding member of Third Lantern Lit, a local writing collective, and her debut short story collection, The Man in the Banana Trees, was selected by judge Jamil Jan Kochai for the Iowa Short Fiction Award, and is published as of November 5.    The episode airs on December 3.    Lastly, please go to ceasefiretoday.com, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

This week, host Jason Jefferies is joined by award-winning author Marguerite Sheffer, who discusses her new collection The Man in the Banana Trees, which is published by our friends at University of Iowa Press. Topics of discussion include writing groups, the Iowa Short Fiction Award, student behavior, sequencing, the difference between workshopping a story and talking about one in an interview, resiliency, rain theft, being the first at something, lost snakes, sacrifice, and much more.  Copies of The Man in the Banana Trees can be preordered here (and purchased here after 11/5/24).  Happy reading!

Happy Monday, Fabulous Listener! Welcome to Inside the Minds of Authors. Happy Memorial Day to everyone in the US who is honoring this day. If you are new to the podcast, we are dedicated to bringing you passionate authors with exciting books. This evening, we have the pleasure of chatting with the award-winning author, Gary D. Wilson. We are discussing his recent novel, The Narrow Window, released this year.   Gary D. Wilson is also the author of the novels Sing, Ronnie Blue and Getting Right. Although his short fiction has appeared in numerous national literary magazines, For Those Who Favor Fire is his first published collection of stories. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and named a finalist for the Iowa Short Fiction Award and the Drue Heinz Literary Prize. Gary has taught fiction writing at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Chicago Graham School. He currently lives in Chicago. To learn more about Mr. Gary and his books, stop by his website at garydwilson.com. If you are enjoying the podcast and would like to stay in touch, subscribe. You don't want to miss a single episode. Happy Listening, DC

Edward Hamlin is the author of the short story collection Night in Erg Chebbi: Stories and the novel Sonata in Wax.  His writing has been published widely and recognized with a number of awards, including the Nelson Algren Award and the Iowa Short Fiction Award.  He lives in Colorado. We talked about writing family history, research for the historical novel, classical music, the power of creation and redemption, music recording, the possibility of a lost masterpiece, and serendipity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the moment when Voyager 1 is launched into space carrying its famous golden record, a baby of unusual perception is born to a single mother in Philadelphia. Adina Giorno is tiny and jaundiced, but she reaches for warmth and light. As a child, she recognizes that she is different: She possesses knowledge of a faraway planet. The arrival of a fax machine enables her to contact her extraterrestrial relatives, beings who have sent her to report on the oddities of Earthlings. For years, as she moves through the world and makes a life for herself among humans, she dispatches transmissions on the terrors and surprising joys of their existence. Then, at a precarious moment, a beloved friend urges Adina to share her messages with the world. Is there a chance she is not alone? Marie-Helene Bertino's Beautyland (FSG, 2024) is a novel of startling originality about the fragility and resilience of life on our Earth and in our universe. It is a remarkable evocation of the feeling of being in exile at home, and it introduces a gentle, unforgettable alien for our times. Marie-Helene Bertino is the author of the novels PARAKEET (New York Times Editors' Choice) and 2 A.M. AT THE CAT'S PAJAMAS (NPR Best Books 2014), and the story collection SAFE AS HOUSES (Iowa Short Fiction Award). Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Electric Literature, Tin House, McSweeneys, and elsewhere. She has been awarded The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Fellowship in Cork, Ireland, The O. Henry Prize, The Pushcart Prize, fellowships from MacDowell, Hedgebrook Writers Colony, The Center For Fiction NYC, and Sewanee Writers Conference. Her work has twice been featured on NPR's “Selected Shorts” program. She currently teaches in the Creative Writing program at Yale University. Recommended Books: Tea Obreht, The Morning Side Diana Khoi Nguyen, Root Fractures Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is under contract with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marie-Helene Bertino is the author of the novel Beautyland, available from Farrar, Straus, & Giroux. Bertino's other books include the novels Parakeet and 2 A.M. at The Cat's Pajamas, and the story collection Safe as Houses. She was the 2017 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Fellow in Cork, Ireland. She has received the O. Henry Prize, the Pushcart Prize, the Iowa Short Fiction Award, the Mississippi Review Prize, and fellowships from MacDowell, Sewanee, and New York City's Center for Fiction, and her work has twice been featured on NPR's Selected Shorts. She teaches creative writing at New York University and Yale University and lives in Brooklyn. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Twitter Instagram  TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sohrab Homi Fracis's new book of North Florida and elsewhere stories, True Fiction, won the 2023 International Book Award for story collections. American Book Award winner Rilla Askew says of it: "True Fiction is a tour de force." Fracis is the first Asian American author to win the Iowa Short Fiction Award, described by the New York Times Book Review as "among the most prestigious literary prizes America offers," for his first book, Ticket to Minto: Stories of India and America. Publishers Weekly called it "A reminder of how satisfying the short story form can be...the work of an impressive new talent."  His novel, Go Home, was shortlisted by Stanford University Libraries for the William Saroyan International Prize. Singapore Poetry described it as “newly poignant and even heartbreaking.” He taught literature and creative writing at University of North Florida. He was Twin Cities Visiting Writer in Residence at Augsburg College and Artist in Residence at Yaddo. He received the Florida Individual Artist Fellowship in Literature/Fiction. The South Asian Literary Association bestowed on him its Distinguished Achievement Award. Interviewer Michelle Lizet Flores is a graduate of FSU and NYU creative writing programs. She currently works as a teacher and co-hosts the What's in a Verse Poetry Open Mic in Jacksonville, FL. She has previously been published in magazines and journals such as The Miami Rail, Chircú Journal, and Travel Latina. A finalist for the Juan Felipe Herrera Award for Poetry, she is the author of the chapbooks Cuentos from the Swamp and Memoria, as well as the picture book, Carlito the Bat Learns to Trick or Treat. Her short fiction can be found in the anthology, Places We Build in the Universe through Flowersong Press. Her first full-length collection of poetry, Invasive Species, is forthcoming through Finishing Line Press. Find out more at michellelizetflores.com. READ Check out Sohrab's work from the library! https://jkpl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=sohrab+homi+fracis&te= SOHRAB RECOMMENDS In addition to books and movies, I also love music and sports. Lately my Spotify playlists center around contemporary folk rock by such musicians as The Paper Kites, Birdtalker, Plains, Ondara, Bonny Light Horseman, and River Whyless. Some of my characters are aspiring musicians, as in "Open Mic," the first story in True Fiction. Playing college sports in India taught me to hang in there when things were going wrong and then to turn them around. I still follow professional tennis and not long ago watched stars such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Venus Williams live at the Miami Open. I'm excited about the resurgent Jacksonville Jaguars. Go Jags! I see sportsmen as contemporary gladiators. Having been one helped me write the battlefield combat scene in True Fiction's concluding/signature novelette, "The Legend of Rostam and Sohrab," based on my ancient-Persian naming legend. --- Never miss an event! Sign up for email newsletters at https://bit.ly/JaxLibraryUpdates  Jacksonville Public LibraryWebsite: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxlibrary Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxLibrary/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxlibrary/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jaxpubliclibraryfl Contact Us: jplpromotions@coj.net 

Kathryn Ma is the author of the widely praised novel The Year She Left Us, which was named a New York Times Editors' Choice and an NPR “Great Read” of the year. Her short story collection, All That Work and Still No Boys, won the Iowa Short Fiction Award and was named a San Francisco Chronicle “Notable Book” and a Los Angeles Times “Discoveries Book.” She is also a recipient of the David Nathan Meyerson Prize for Fiction and has twice been named a San Francisco Public Library Laureate. Her new book is called The Chinese Groove. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Iowa Short Fiction Award winner Sohrab Homi Fracis shares how contests and competitions helped shape his writing career. In addition to the Iowa, Sohrab's work has been shortlisted and decorated by a long list of festivals and associations, including the South Asia Literary Association. He is warm, gracious, and intelligent and I appreciated the insight he shared on how novels and scripts can have much longer "legs" than just publication. Sohrab's timely novel on the immigrant experience, Go Home, is a perfect example of such long legs: it was recently shortlisted by Stanford for the William Saroyan International Prize. I'm excited to share my friend and his wisdom with you, my fellow working writers! A review of Go Home from Sohrab's website: "At the heart of Sohrab Homi Fracis's poignant new novel, Go Home, is the question of one's place in the world, the answer never more ambiguous or fragile than for the immigrant or exile, when a person's condition of homelessness is in transition, neither here nor there. Given the cultural moment, I'm grateful to Fracis for his highly topical reexamination of the American Dream, a still reliable but never easy remedy for all those yearning to reinvent themselves beyond the constrictions of tribe and nation. And in Go Home, assimilation, sometimes a wretched exercise, can also be a hilarious and uplifting affair." - Bob Shacochis, author of The Woman Who Lost Her Soul (Dayton Literary Peace Prize) and Easy in the Islands (National Book Award) Photo credit: Madison Gross --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/working-writer-podcast/support

In Sari Rosenblatt’s collection, Father Guards the Sheep, (University of Iowa Press, 2020), by turns tender and hilarious, we see fathers who are bullies and nervous watchdogs, haunted by their own pasts and fear of the future they may never see. And who do their daughters become? A substitute teacher who encounters mouthy students who believe she’s not real. Another lands a job on her city’s arson squad, researching derelict properties their owners might want to burn. A beleaguered mother, humiliated by the PTA’s queen bee, finds solace in an ancient piece of caramel candy. “I keep sucking,” she says, “until some flavor, no longer caramel, comes out.” In the end, this is what all these finely wrought characters want: to wring sweetness from what’s been passed down to them. Rosenblatt’s comic sensibility, so present in these stories, entertains and consoles, while seeming to say to her readers: you might as well laugh. Sari Rosenblatt earned an MFA (1984) from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has won awards for her stories from Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry, Glimmer Train, New Millenium Writings, and Ms Magazine. She has been published in the Iowa Review and has taught fiction writing at several schools, most recently the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven. Her first book of short stories, Father Guards the Sheep, was winner of the 2020 Iowa Short Fiction Award. Sari has also completed a novel, "Daughter of Retail", based on the first short story in Father Guards the Sheep. 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). 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

In Sari Rosenblatt’s collection, Father Guards the Sheep, (University of Iowa Press, 2020), by turns tender and hilarious, we see fathers who are bullies and nervous watchdogs, haunted by their own pasts and fear of the future they may never see. And who do their daughters become? A substitute teacher who encounters mouthy students who believe she’s not real. Another lands a job on her city’s arson squad, researching derelict properties their owners might want to burn. A beleaguered mother, humiliated by the PTA’s queen bee, finds solace in an ancient piece of caramel candy. “I keep sucking,” she says, “until some flavor, no longer caramel, comes out.” In the end, this is what all these finely wrought characters want: to wring sweetness from what’s been passed down to them. Rosenblatt’s comic sensibility, so present in these stories, entertains and consoles, while seeming to say to her readers: you might as well laugh. Sari Rosenblatt earned an MFA (1984) from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has won awards for her stories from Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry, Glimmer Train, New Millenium Writings, and Ms Magazine. She has been published in the Iowa Review and has taught fiction writing at several schools, most recently the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven. Her first book of short stories, Father Guards the Sheep, was winner of the 2020 Iowa Short Fiction Award. Sari has also completed a novel, "Daughter of Retail", based on the first short story in Father Guards the Sheep. 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). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Marie-Helene Bertino is the author of the novels PARAKEET (New York Times Editors’ Choice) and 2 A.M. AT THE CAT’S PAJAMAS (NPR Best Books 2014), and the story collection SAFE AS HOUSES (Iowa Short Fiction Award). Her fourth book, the novel BEAUTYLAND, is forthcoming from FSG. Her work has been translated into eight languages, and has received The Frank O’Connor International Short Story Fellowship in Cork, Ireland, The O. Henry Prize, The Pushcart Prize and two special mentions, fellowships from The MacDowell Colony, Hedgebrook Writers Colony, The Center For Fiction NYC, and Sewanee Writers Conference, where she was the Walter E. Dakin fellow. Her work has twice been featured on NPR’s “Selected Shorts” program. A former editor for One Story and Catapult, she teaches fiction in the MFA programs of NYU and The New School. In Spring 2020 she was the Distinguished Kittredge Visiting Writer in University of Montana’s MFA. She has worked as a biographer for people living with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). For more Thresholds, visit www.thisisthresholds.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ruvanee Pietersz Vilhauer has worked as a science writer for NASA, a biology researcher and a therapist in various settings, including a jail. For many years, her day job has been as an academic psychologist. She has a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Chicago and teaches at New York University. She grew up in Sri Lanka and lived in India, Thailand, Canada and Australia before settling in the United States. Her short fiction has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4, and her essays and short stories have appeared in The Kenyon Review, The Massachusetts Review, Notre Dame Review, The Summerset Review, Quiddity, Michigan Quarterly Review, Stand, The American Literary Review, The Examined Life, and many other venues. She won the Commonwealth Short Story Competition in 2004 and the Iowa Short Fiction Award in 2018. She lives in New Jersey with her family.    Her novels are: The Mask Collectors and The Water Diviner and Other Stories.   Learn more at her website: ruvaneevilhauer.com.   In this episode, we cover Ruvanee's unending curiosity, achieving balance, being multi-passionate, tips for choosing graduate schools, how to develop your writing skills, the role of psychology in creative writing (and the role of creativity in psychology), and much more. This episode includes audience Q&A!!!  If you still have questions,  follow @psych_mic on Instagram, where I'm always collecting questions for speakers, or visit psychmic.com!  Music by: Adam Fine

Marie-Helene Bertino is the author of 2 A.M. at the Cat's Pajamas and the story collection Safe as Houses. Her work has received The O. Henry Prize, The Pushcart Prize, The Iowa Short Fiction Award, and The Mississippi Review Story Prize. Her latest novel is called Parakeet. Recommended Reading Hex by Rebecca Dinerstein Knight Quotients by Tracy O’Neill These Ghosts Are Family by Maisy Card A Burning by Megha Majumdar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes it's hard to know who your friends are, even when there aren't any cultural barriers to overcome. In his work, Sohrab Homi Fracis documents his experience as an Indian immigrant adapting to American culture—the good, the bad, and the ugly—in the 1980s. Fracis, who now calls Jacksonville home, has gone on to gain recognition for his excellent work, but he walks through life with a perspective inextricably tied to his Asian roots, and the hostility of some Americans to anyone who looks or speaks differently than them.Fracis was the first Asian author to win the Iowa Short Fiction Award, which was for his 2001 collection, Ticket to Minto: Stories of India and America. The book was also a finalist for the Flannery O’Connor Award for short fiction. A novella Adaptation of Ticket to Minto was a finalist in Screencraft’s Cinematic Story Contest.Fracis’s 2017 novel, Go Home, was a finalist in the International Book Awards: Multicultural Fiction category, and it brought him the South Asian Literary Association's Distinguished Achievement Award. The novel was shortlisted by Stanford University for the 2018 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. His novel excerpt, “Distant Vision,” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.Support the show (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme2/bkuhnfl)

Editor-in-Chief Omaria Pratt talks with Leesa Cross-Smith about her book "Whiskey & Ribbons," life as a writer without a MFA, and her short fiction literary journal Whiskey Paper. Leesa Cross-Smith is a homemaker and writer from Kentucky. She is the author of Whiskey & Ribbons (Hub City Press, 2018) and Every Kiss a War (Mojave River Press, 2014) and the forthcoming short story collection So We Can Glow (Grand Central Publishing, 2020) and the forthcoming novel This Close To Okay (Grand Central Publishing, 2021.) Every Kiss a War was a finalist for both the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction (2012) and the Iowa Short Fiction Award (2012). Her short story “Whiskey & Ribbons” won Editor’s Choice in the Raymond Carver Short Story Contest (2011) and was listed as a notable story for storySouth‘s Million Writers Award. The novel Whiskey & Ribbons was longlisted for the 2018 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and listed among Oprah Magazine’s “Top Books of Summer.” She was a consulting editor for Best Small Fictions 2017. Her work has appeared in Oxford American, Best Small Fictions 2015, NYLON, Alaska Quarterly Review, Poets & Writers, The Rumpus, SmokeLong Quarterly, Little Fiction, Wigleaf Top 50, Longform Fiction, Carve Magazine, Synaesthesia Magazine, Paper Darts, Hobart, Pithead Chapel, Gigantic Sequins, Folio, American Short Fiction (online), Midwestern Gothic, Juked, Word Riot and many others. She and her husband Loran run a literary magazine called WhiskeyPaper. Find more @ LeesaCrossSmith.com and WhiskeyPaper.com.

We talk with Leesa Cross-Smith, author of the Whiskey & Ribbons, which is out now from Hub City Press! You can find the full show notes to this episode over on our website. Some links are affiliate links. Find more details here. Books Mentioned Whiskey and Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith Author Bio Leesa Cross-Smith is a homemaker and the author of Whiskey & Ribbons (Hub City Press, 2018), Every Kiss A War (Mojave River Press, 2014), and the forthcoming So We Can Glow (Grand Central Publishing, 2020) and This Close To Okay (Grand Central Publishing, 2021). Her debut novel Whiskey & Ribbons was longlisted for the 2018 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Every Kiss A War was a finalist for both the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction (2012) and the Iowa Short Fiction Award (2012). Her work has appeared in Poets & Writers, Oxford American, Best Small Fictions, and many others. Find more @ LeesaCrossSmith.com. Website | Twitter | Instagram | Buy the Book Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter to be sure you don’t miss the latest news, reviews, and furchild photos. Support us on Patreon and get insider goodies! CONTACT Questions? Comments? Email us hello@readingwomenpodcast.com SOCIAL MEDIA Reading WomenTwitter | Facebook | Instagram | Website Music “Reading Women” Composed and Recorded by Isaac and Sarah Greene Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ian talks with Marilene Phipps about her memoir Unseen Worlds: Adventures at the Crossroads of Vodou Spirits and Latter-day Saint. In this powerful memoir, we enter the lives of a family who are both descendants of European aristocrats and African slaves. We meet Phipps's godfather, the rebel leader Guslé Villedrouin, and we relive her experiences with Vodou priests and spirits, a cold-eyed pope, a charismatic Muslim astrologer, Catholic monks and exorcists, American Mormon bishops, scholars and missionaries. Her collection, The Company of Heaven: Stories from Haiti, won the Iowa Short Fiction Award. Her poetry won the 1993 Grolier poetry prize, and her collection, Crossroads and Unholy Water won the Crab Orchard Poetry Prize. Steve talks with Gail Honeyman about her debut novel Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. It has received massive praise from many outlets, including the NY Times, NPR, the Frankfurt Book Fair, and was selected by Reese Witherspoon for her book club and for the film rights. Honeyman studied French language and literature at Glasgow University. While working as an administrator, Honeyman enrolled in a Faber Academy writing course where she submitted the first three chapters of what would become Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine to a competition for unpublished fiction by female writers run by Cambridge’s Lucy Cavendish College.

After studying Spanish literature and embarking on a career as a lawyer, Matthew Lansburgh found fulfillment in writing. He won the Iowa Short Fiction Award for his linked short short story collection, OUTSIDE IS THE OCEAN. He and James discuss the spiritual fulfillment of writing, the need for dissatisfaction, the joys of close reading, and their shared love of outsiders in fiction. Plus, agent Christopher Rhodes.  - Matthew Lansburgh: http://www.matthewlansburgh.com/ Matthew and James discuss: Princeton University Middlebury College  POET IN NEW YORK by Federico Garcia Lorca  RESIDENCIA EN LA TIERRA by Pablo Neruda  WISE BLOOD by Flannery O'Connor  TOWARDS ANOTHER SUMMER by Janet Frame  92nd Street Y  "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by Alice Munro  Darin Strauss  Hannah Tinti Josh Weil  Carmen Maria-Machado  Iowa Short Fiction Award  - Christopher Rhodes: https://christopherrhodes.net/ Christopher & James discuss: Borders Books at World Trade Center  Simon & Schuster  Michael Selleck  The Carol Mann Agency  Paul Auster  University and North Carolina at Wilmington  Emily Smith  ECOTONE  James Fitzgerald  BRASS by Xhenet Aliu  Random House  Gwendolyn Knapp  The Stuart Agency  Andrew Stuart  Scottie Jones  Taylor Brown  Garth Risk Hallberg  Emma Cline  MARLENA by Julie Buntin  THE NIX by Nathan Hill  W.B. Belcher  Jared Yates Sexton  LAY DOWN YOUR WEARY TUNE by W.B. Belcher  Beth Staples   THE SCAMP by Jennifer Pashley  ONE STORY  "World's End" by Clare Beams   - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

Leslie Jamison is the author of The Empathy Exams, a New York Times bestselling essay collection, and a novel, The Gin Closet, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times First Fiction Award. Her work has appeared in Harper’s, Oxford American, A Public Space, Boston Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, and the New York Times, where she is a regular columnist for the Sunday Book Review. She was raised in Los Angeles and currently resides in Brooklyn. Will Boast is the author of a memoir, Epilogue, recently published by Norton, and a story collection, Power Ballads, which won the 2011 Iowa Short Fiction Award. He’s held fellowships from Stanford University and the University of East Anglia and his fiction and essays have appeared in Best New American Voices, Virginia Quarterly Review, Glimmer Train, The American Scholar, and The New York Times, among other publications. He currently divides his time between Brooklyn and Chicago, where he teaches at the University of Chicago.

Leesa Cross-Smith is the guest. Her debut story collection Every Kiss a War is now available from Mojave River Press.  It was a finalist for the Flannery O'Connor Short Fiction Award and the Iowa Short Fiction Award. Roxane Gay says “Leesa Cross-Smith is a consummate storyteller who uses her formidable talents to tell the oft-overlooked stories of people living in that great swath of place between the left and right coasts. She offers thrilling turns of phrase like, 'His mouth tasted like thousand-page Russian novels I’d never read,' or 'let your smeary mouth be his question mark.' Where she is most stunning is in the endings of each of the 27 stories in Every Kiss a War, creating crisp, evocative moments that will linger long after you’ve read this book’s very last word.” Monologue topics:  mail, friends, IRL communities, fostering connectivity, being social.      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pulp and Paper (University of Iowa Press) by Rolnick If You're Not Yet Like Me (Flatmancrooked) by Lepucki Josh Rolnick, winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award, will read and sign his new short story collection Pulp and Paper, joined by Edan Lepucki, a staff writer for The Millions, reading and signing her novella-with-stories collection If You're Not Yet Like Me. “Josh Rolnick is a wonderful observer and a beautiful storyteller. Each story in Pulp and Paper is a path to the hearts of Rolnick's characters, who, like you and me, strive to be their true, honest selves despite follies and weaknesses. A truly compassionate collection.” --Yiyun Li, author of The Vagrants "If You're Not Like Yet Like Me tells quite a few damn good jokes before it decides to twist your heart apart. Gracefully written, barbed and biting; a touching meditation on the mistakes we make before meeting the ones who truly deserve our love." --Victor LaValle, author of Big Machine Josh Rolnick's short stories have won the Arts & Letters Fiction Prize and the Florida Review Editor's Choice Prize. They have also been published in Harvard Review, Western Humanities Review, Bellingham Review, and Gulf Coast, and have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best New American Voices. A reporter, editor, and journal publisher, he grew up in New Jersey, spent summers camping his way through Upstate New York, and has lived in Jerusalem, London, Philadelphia, Iowa City, Washington, D.C., and Menlo Park, California. He currently lives with his wife and three sons in Akron, Ohio. Edan Lepucki is a staff writer for The Millions. She is a fiction writer and instructor living in Los Angeles, and her stories have been published in McSweeney's, Narrative Magazine, Meridian, and the Los Angeles Times Magazine, among others. She has an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and an excerpt of her recently-completed novel, The Book of Deeds, won the 2009 James D. Phelan Award. Her novella, If You're Not Yet Like Me, was published last fall. Learn more about her writing classes at writingworkshopsla.com. Photo of Rolnick by Nancy Williams. THIS EVENT WAS RECORDED LIVE AT SKYLIGHT BOOKS SEPTEMBER 13, 2011.