Podcasts about Virginia Quarterly Review

Part 1:We talk with Jeet Heer.Jeet Heer is a national affairs correspondent forThe Nationand host of the weeklyNation podcast,The Time of Monsters. He also pens the monthly column Morbid Symptoms. The author ofIn Love with Art: Francoise Moulys Adventures in Comics with Art Spiegelman(2013) andSweet Lechery: Reviews, Essays and Profiles(2014), Heer has written for numerous publications, includingThe New Yorker,The Paris Review,Virginia Quarterly Review,The American Prospect,The Guardian,The New Republic,andThe Boston Globe.We discuss the adoption of crypto currency funds, first, by Trump, for the nation, and by the governor of New Hampshire for New Hampshire. More states will likely follow.We note that most of the crypto investment is from the Middle East. It may destabilize the US dollar, and has many other problems. Unfortunately, both Republicans and Democrats are buying into crypto. We discuss the implications for the future.Part 2:We talk with Professor Peter Rutland.Peter Rutland has taught at Wesleyan since 1989. Before that he taught at the University of Texas at Austin, and at the University of York and London University in the UK. He has a BA from Oxford and a D. Phil from York. He has also been a visiting professor at Columbia University, and is an associate of the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University. His research interests focus on all things Russian and places where the Russian boot has trod (Nicholas II) in the former Soviet Union and the former East Europe. He started off studying workers and the Communist Party, moving on to broader questions of economic policy in the socialist and post-socialist economies. Along the way he developed an interest in nationalism and ethnic conflict. Since 2013 he has been editor in chief of Nationalities Papers, the journal of the Association for the Study of Nationalities along with serving as associate editor of Russian Review.We discuss the image that Putin is creating of himself in Russia. His control of all media in Russia allows him to present whatever facet he likes to give the Russians the image of a 'humble man of the people', and his propaganda is framed in such a way to make him seem to be 'defending' Russia. We also look at how Trump has also adopted this strategy to present himself to US voters. WNHNFM.ORG  productionMusic: David Rovics

Corey Flintoff reads his short story "Beulah Land" from our current Spring issue.Corey Flintoff is a former foreign correspondent for NPR. His fiction has appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Glimmer Train, Ploughshares, and other journals.

On the heels of Mother's Day, tune into Memoir Nation this week for a conversation about *mother as character*—among many other potential characters any one of us might be on the page. Guest Nicole Graev Lipson explores the idea of where fiction ends and truth begins when you're a woman through this fascinating conversation prompted by her recent memoir-in-essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters. If you've ever thought about the boundaries between truth and fiction as a writer or a reader, or the confines certain roles limit women to or within—girl, mother, wife—you won't want to miss this episode. Nicole Graev Lipson is the author of the memoir-in-essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters. Her writing has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, selected for The Best American Essays anthology, and shortlisted for a National Magazine Award. Her work has appeared in The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Gettysburg Review, Creative Nonfiction, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, Alaska Quarterly Review, LA Review of Books, The Millions, Nylon, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe, among other publications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 150: Writing, Play, and the Power of Creative Connection with Michelle Ringle & Alyssa Jewell Have you ever felt the quiet nudge to write something down, even if just for yourself? In this heartwarming and deeply thoughtful episode, I sit down with two gifted educators and writers, Michelle Ringle and Alyssa Jewell, to explore the transformative power of creative writing. This conversation was one I truly looked forward to—and it didn't disappoint. Michelle and Alyssa bring so much depth, honesty, and encouragement to the question so many of us carry: What might open up if we let ourselves write? We cover so much ground: how writing can be a form of self-connection and healing, how creative practice doesn't have to look like rigid daily routines, and how society's productivity obsession often blocks our creative energy before we even begin. Whether you've been writing for years or feel creatively stuck, this one's for you. In this episode, we explore: ✨ Why writing is for everyone—not just “writers”✨ How creative writing can help us heal grief, rage, and burnout✨ What happens when we write with no agenda (and why that's powerful)✨ Why play is essential for adult women—and how Michelle created a whole Secret Society around it✨ Bridging the gap between language learning and creative expression✨ The real reasons many of us feel creatively blocked—and how to unblock✨ The power of story to reconnect us with ourselves and others Meet the Guests: Writers, Educators, & Creative Facilitators Michelle Ringle is a mother, educator, adventure facilitator, and poet currently pursuing her MFA in Poetry at Western Michigan University. With over two decades of teaching experience, Michelle brings her trauma-informed, feminist lens to creative and educational spaces. She's also the founder of the Secret Society of Ladies Uniquely Trying Stuff—a playful initiative encouraging women, especially mothers, to re-engage with physical play and joy. Alyssa Jewell holds a Ph.D. in Creative Writing and Poetry, and her work explores the connection between creative writing and English as a Second Language (ESL) education. She teaches college-level ESL, English composition, and creative writing in Grand Rapids, MI. Alyssa's poetry has appeared in Cherry Tree, Poetry Daily, Virginia Quarterly Review, and more, and she's passionate about using writing to heal and connect across differences. Writing as a Life-Giving Practice For both Michelle and Alyssa, writing is less about producing something for others—and more about tuning into their own inner worlds. Michelle shares how morning pages and nature walks help her process emotions and stay grounded, while Alyssa opens up about writing her grandfather's eulogy and the healing power of naming truth through story. Writing doesn't need to look like publishing a novel. It can be 10 minutes in the morning. It can be one sentence you write down while walking in the woods. It can be a eulogy, a journal entry, or a line of poetry that cracks you open. “Our bodies often know before we do,” Michelle reflects. “Writing gives those feelings space to live.” From Burnout to Creativity: Permission to Choose What's Life-Giving Michelle shared how pursuing an MFA while raising three children was a radical act of reclaiming joy. After years of teaching others how to write, she realized she wasn't making space for her own creative voice—and that needed to change. Alyssa describes the journey of bridging her two worlds—ESL education and poetry—and why giving ESL students space to tell their stories is not just powerful, but essential. “I think we're meant to create,” Alyssa says. “We heal through it. We grow through it. And sometimes, we even find our people through it.” A favorite quote from this episode: “We are in a culture that values logic—and I believe that's a patriarchal ideal. Emotional knowing is just as important, but it takes practice.

Nicole and Rachael talk about what success might look like on any given (changing) day, as well as how to find trust in ourselves as writers, accessing solitude, and how taking ourselves seriously is a deep kindness. NICOLE GRAEV LIPSON is the author of the memoir-in-essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters. Her writing has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, selected for The Best American Essays anthology, and shortlisted for a National Magazine Award. Her work has appeared in The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Gettysburg Review, Creative Nonfiction, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, Alaska Quarterly Review, LA Review of Books, The Millions, Nylon, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe, among other publications. Nicole holds a BA from Cornell University and an MFA from Emerson College. Originally from New York City, she lives outside of Boston with her family.Books mentioned: John Kenny - I See You've Called in DeadBrenda Ueland - If You Want to Write

This week, we discuss McSweeney's new quarterly issue: McSweeney's 78: The Make Believers, featuring writers of the Vietnamese diaspora. We are joined by contributors and guest editors of the issue, Thi Bui and Vu Tran, as well as McSweeney's Quarterly Editor Rita Bullwinkel. You can learn more about their work in the episode description below.During the episode, Thi, Vu, and Rita mention upcoming events in celebration of this issue. You can learn more about these special events at the links below. We hope to see you at one of these!Asian Art Museum | San Francisco | May 1 | 3:45 pm Natasha Reichle, Associate Curator of Southeast Asian Art, leads a special curator's choice discussion with McSweeney's 78: The Make Believers co-guest editor Vu Tran and contributing author Doan Bui.Tenderloin Museum | San Francisco | May 1 | 6:00 pm A block party in the heart of Little Saigon. Readings by Vu Tran and Doan Bui, plus a DJ set by Topazu.University of Chicago | Chicago | May 15 | 5:00 pm Co-editors Vu Tran and Thi Bui will be joined by fellow contributor Isabelle Pelaud for a reading and celebration of the issue's publication.This conversation originally took place April 7, 2025 and was recorded via Zoom. We hope you enjoy entering the Mind of a Writer.AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOMEMore about The Make Believers:In McSweeney's 78: The Make Believers (guest edited by Thi Bui and Vu Tran), ten writers of the Vietnamese diaspora write from the eclectic hodgepodge that is their shared imagination of what it means to be "Vietnamese." Packaged in a beautiful foil-stamped cigar box (with art by Bui on each and every surface), and including two booklets, one menu, and a glossary of broken Vietnamese, the work in this issue spans from highbrow to lowbrow, proper to naughty, logical to absurd, and painful to funny. Published on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, its contributors work across perspectives and multiple languages. In this completely singular, nothing-else-of-its-kind anthology, these artists write (and illustrate!) from a place of collective loss and joy.Featuring work by: Doan Bui, Thi Bui, H'Rina DeTroy, Anna Moï, Hoài Huong Nguyen, Vaan Nguyen, Isabelle Thuy Pelaud, Bao Phi, Paul Tran, and Vu Tran. Order your copy of McSweeney's 78: The Make Believers here.About our guests:THI BUI is a writer and artist from Viet Nam, California, and New York, now planting roots in New Orleans. Best known for her graphic memoir, The Best We Could Do, she has also been a longtime educator in public high schools, a professor of comics, an organizer and artist-activist, an ambivalent sculptor and puppeteer, and a fledgling screenwriter. She received a Caldecott Honor as the illustrator of her first children's book, A Different Pond, by Bao Phi.VU TRAN is the author of Dragonfish and a forthcoming novel, Your Origins. His other writing has appeared in publications like The O. Henry Prize Stories 2007: The Best Stories of the Year, The Best American Mystery Stories, Ploughshares, and Virginia Quarterly Review. He is the recipient of a Whiting Award and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, MacDowell, Yaddo, and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. Born in Sài Gòn, Việt Nam, and raised in Oklahoma, Vu received his MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and his PhD from the Black Mountain Institute in Las Vegas, and he is an associate professor of practice in the arts at the University of Chicago, where he directs undergraduate studies in creative writing.RITA BULLWINKEL is the author of Headshot and Belly Up, a story collection that won the Believer Book Award. She is a 2022 recipient of a Whiting Award, the editor of McSweeney's Quarterly, a contributing editor at NOON, the creator of Oral Florist, and a Picador Guest Professor of Literature at Leipzig University in Germany, where she teaches courses on creative writing, zines, and the uses of invented and foreign languages as tools for world building.

Jeff talks to Jon Hickey about his debut novel, Big Chief. Jon Hickey earned his MFA at Cornell University and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. He has received scholarships from the Bread Loaf Writers Conference and the Sewanee Writers Conference, and he is an enrolled member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. His short fiction has appeared in Massachusetts Review, Gulf Coast Online, Virginia Quarterly Review, Meridian, and The Madison Review. Jon lives in San Francisco with his wife and two sons. Subscribe to First Edition via RSS, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. For episode extras, subscribe to the First Edition Substack. This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Notes and Links to Kevin Nguyen's Work       Kevin Nguyen is the features editor at The Verge, previous senior editor at GQ; has written for New York Magazine, The New York Times, The Paris Review and elsewhere the author of New Waves and the novel Mỹ Documents, which has today, April 8, as Pub Day. Buy My Documents   Kevin Nguyen's Website Book Review for My Documents in Los Angeles Times   At about 1:20, Kevin talks about his mindset and feedback around My Documents as the book nears Pub Day At about 3:00, Kevin provides info on his publishing company, places to buy his book, and book launch events, as well as social media/contact info At about 6:15, Kevin gives background on his language and reading history  At about 9:50, Kevin charts the reading and writers who put him on the path to becoming a writer himself  At about 13:15-Tracy O'Neill and Alexander Chee shout outs! At about 14:55, Kevin shouts out some beloved contemporary writers like Vauhini Vara, Jon Hickey, Darrell Campbell,  At about 17:25, Kevin gives a summary of the book and describes seeds for his book, with “echoes” of Japanese incarceration during WWII, among other catalysts  At about 19:05, Kevin responds to Pete's questions about John McCain's connections to the book and its epigraph At about 21:35, The two trace the book's exposition and the narrator's grandmother's choices in emigrating from Vietnam At about 24:20, Kevin talks about Ursula's experiences in the book and connections to second-generations from immigrant families and passing down family stories  At about 26:05, Kevin waxes poetic on Babe: Pig in the City, and its connections to the book At about 30:00, Kevin talks about building characters who are well-rounded At about 31:10, the two trace Jen and Alvin and formative experiences in the book, including Alvin's being pushed into learning more Asian-American history At about 34:20, Kevin responds to Pete's questions about expectations subverted   You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he's @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he's @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and podcast while you're checking out this episode.       Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Episode 265 guest Carvell Wallace is up on the website this week. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete's one-man show, 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 will feature an exploration of the wonderful poetry of Khalil Gibran. Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project of Pete's, a DIY operation, and he'd love for your help in promoting what he's convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 279 with Jon Hickey, a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa Indians, whose short stories have appeared in numerous journals such as Virginia Quarterly Review and the Massachusetts Review, among others. His highly-anticipated novel, Big Chief, is out today, April 8.  The episode airs today, April 8.  

Notes and Links to Jon Hickey's Work        Jon Hickey is a writer from Minnesota. He earned an MFA from Cornell University and was a Stegner Fellow in fiction at Stanford University. His short stories have appeared in numerous journals such as Virginia Quarterly Review, Gulf Coast, and the Massachusetts Review, among other places. He is a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa Indians (Anishinaabe). He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two sons. Buy Big Chief   Jon Hickey's Website   Book Review for Big Chief in San Francisco Chronicle   At about 1:35, Jon talks about his mindset and early feedback for his novel as Pub Day approaches  At about 3:25, Jon gives out social media and contact info and talks about book events that are upcoming  At about 5:15, “Midwest/Minnesota Nice” is discussed  At about 8:45, Jon mentions exciting advance praise for Big Chief At about 9:45, Jon gives background on language loss in his family, as his grandparents were the “boarding school generation” At about 11:30, Jon talks about how Anishinaabe functions as a language, and how it is both in his DNA and “mysterious”  At about 13:15, John traces his childhood reading, including Stephen King as a transformative writer At about 17:20, John chronicles inspiring and thrilling writers and works and the wonderful writing programs he was part of At about 18:20, Jon charts the huge imprint that Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man has left on him At about 22:00, Kyle Edwards and his Small Ceremonies, as well as Kate Folk and her Sky Daddy , are mentioned as contemporary works/writers who thrill and challenge Jon At about 24:20, Pete lays out some of Big Chief's exposition At about 25:55, Jon responds to Pete asking about how Jon pictures the book's narrator and protagonist At about 29:00, Mack, the tribal president in the book, is described At about 30:00, Jon responds to Pete wondering about motivations for Mitch related to bullying and feelings of being an outsider from his childhood At about 32:15, Ideas of power in politics are discussed At about 34:10, Ideas of authenticity and genuineness and morality are discussed, in connection to politics and voting in the book and beyond, especially regarding Joe Beck At about 35:40, Jon riffs on what he kept in mind while writing the book, with regard to moralizing as an author At about 39:00, Jon responds to Pete's question about blood quantum and similar ideas and how the discourses have changed or not At about 42:40, Jon talks about tropes and irony and “outward signs” of being indigenous, and how that is reflected in his book's cover and in society at large At about 43:40, The title and its inspiration is discussed   At about 45:50, Jon reads a representative excerpt that speaks of themes of belonging, and Pete and Jon further discuss ideas of childhood's impacts on adulthood At about 47:15, Jon discusses the significance of Mack's protection of Mitch, and Mitch's self-esteem and power's connection to cynicism At about 51:10, Mack and his bearing and his motivations are discussed At about 52:00, a pivotal and tragic event-Mitch's mother's death-and the subsequent fire vigil is discussed  At about 55:45, The book's upcoming election and sabotage and Gloria are discussed, with a tip of the cat to Harvey Keitel in calling Mitch a “fixer” At about 1:00:20, Mitch and his cynicism and his work on the campaign are explored, with connections to current political climates  At about 1:02:15, the platforms of the two candidates and ideas of banishment from the tribe are considered  At about 1:05:50, Pete wonders if Mack is a Trump-ish figure, and Jon reflects on how he has tried to write about identity through tribal politics  At about 1:10:00, Pete and Jon ponder the “void” within Mitch and talk about the local political and larger political world collide  At about 1:12:05, Pete compliments the “beautiful” ending, and the two discuss the Sopranos ending, and Jon discusses his mindset in crafting his book's ending At about 1:14:40, Jon outlines changes in the book's previous permutations  At about 1:16:40, Jon defines what is what for him a “work of art” You can now subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and leave a five-star review. You can also ask for the podcast by name using Alexa, and find the pod on Stitcher, Spotify, and on Amazon Music. Follow Pete on IG, where he's @chillsatwillpodcast, or on Twitter, where he's @chillsatwillpo1. You can watch other episodes on YouTube-watch and subscribe to The Chills at Will Podcast Channel. Please subscribe to both the YouTube Channel and podcast while you're checking out this episode.       Pete is very excited to have one or two podcast episodes per month featured on the website of Chicago Review of Books. The audio will be posted, along with a written interview culled from the audio. His conversation with Episode 270 guest Jason De León is up on the website this week. A big thanks to Rachel León and Michael Welch at Chicago Review.     Sign up now for The Chills at Will Podcast Patreon: it can be found at patreon.com/chillsatwillpodcastpeterriehl      Check out the page that describes the benefits of a Patreon membership, including cool swag and bonus episodes. Thanks in advance for supporting Pete's one-man show, 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 will feature an exploration of the wonderful poetry of Khalil Gibran. Pete has added a $1 a month tier for “Well-Wishers” and Cheerleaders of the Show.    This is a passion project of Pete's, a DIY operation, and he'd love for your help in promoting what he's convinced is a unique and spirited look at an often-ignored art form.    The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.     Please tune in for Episode 280 with Jahmal Mayfield, who writes gritty crime novels that touch on large social issues. His stellar SMOKE KINGS was inspired by Kimberly Jones' passionate viral video, “How can we win?” The episode airs on April 15.  

Not Yet is the story of Gabrielle, a woman traveling to the absurdly picturesque coastline of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula with her son, their first family trip since her separation from his father. It is a place that holds many memories, and when she suddenly finds herself bleeding uncontrollably all over Tulum, the past catches up with her.It's a startling, powerful story about womanhood, family, youth and mid-life, that is undeniably topical.Joanna Hershon is the author of five novels. Her writing and short stories have appeared in The New York Times, Granta, One Story, The Virginia Quarterly Review, among others, and her work was shortlisted for the O. Henry Prize Stories. Joanna has received fellowships from Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the Edward Albee Foundation. She is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Columbia University. Joanna grew up in New York and lives in Brooklyn with her husband, and their twin sons and daughter.This show was produced by Tabitha Potts. DonateWe are a volunteer-led organisation and appreciate any donations towards our running costs.Buy us a coffeeBecome a patreonContact usVisit our our website Storyradio.orgSound effectsbeach-wave-cliff-tulum-ruins.wav by Geoff-Bremner-Audio -- https://freesound.org/s/667331/ -- License: Creative Commons 0Airy wind chimes quintet at Hunter's Tor, Teign Gorge by Philip_Goddard -- https://freesound.org/s/700528/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0Podcast Cover ImageSource Tulum Archaeological Site - Quintana Roo - Mexico - 01Author Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Maggie Smith returns to Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about letting imposter syndrome go, fiercely guarding your interior life, getting back to the core place where creativity thrives, rewriting a book from scratch, how writing feels in the body, swerving out of your creative lane, battling the sophomore slump, what it feels like to be watched, when ego gets in the way, fears of paralyzing failure, playing the long game, the best advice she ever got, staying agile and awake in the creative process, and her new book Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life.   Ronit's first interview with Maggie Smith: https://ronitplank.com/2023/04/11/lets-talk-memoir-episode-38-ft-maggie-smith/   Also in this episode: -the inner critic -assembling a book freestyle -tenacity and grit     Books mentioned in this episode: Meander, Spiral, Explode by Jane Allison The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr Truth is the Arrow, Mercy is the Bow by Steve Almond Greywolf Press series “The Art of…” books   Maggie Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of eight books of poetry and prose, including You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir (One Signal/Atria, 2023); My Thoughts Have Wings, illustrated by Leanne Hatch (Balzer+Bray/Harperkids, 2024); Goldenrod: Poems (One Signal/Atria, 2021); Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change (One Signal/Atria, 2020); and Good Bones (Tupelo Press, 2017). Smith's next book is Dear Writer: Pep Talks & Practical Advice for the Creative Life, forthcoming from One Signal/Atria in April 2025. Her poems and essays have appeared in the New York Times, The New Yorker, Poetry, The Nation, The Best American Poetry, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, AGNI, Ploughshares, Image, the Washington Post, Virginia Quarterly Review, American Poetry Review, The Southern Review, and many other journals and anthologies. In 2016 her poem "Good Bones" went viral internationally; since then it has been translated into nearly a dozen languages and featured on the CBS primetime drama Madam Secretary. Smith has received fellowships and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Academy of American Poets, the Ohio Arts Council, the Sustainable Arts Foundation, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Mary Hunter Austin was a U.S. writer known for walking throughout the American Southwest. But her life of activism was far more complicated than brief bios usually mention. Research: "Mary Hunter Austin." Encyclopedia of the American West, edited by Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod, Macmillan Reference USA, 1996. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/BT2330100082/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=6a4f821e. Accessed 26 Feb. 2025. "Mary Hunter Austin." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, vol. 23, Gale, 2003. Gale In Context: U.S. History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/K1631008133/GPS?u=mlin_n_melpub&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=ceca42e0. Accessed 26 Feb. 2025. #0840: Willa Cather to Mary Hunter Austin, June 26 [1926]. https://cather.unl.edu/writings/letters/let0840 Austin, Mary Hunter. “Earth Horizon.” Houghton Mifflin. 1932. Austin, Mary Hunter. “Experiences Facing Death.” Bobbs-Merrill Company. 1931. Blend, Benay. “Mary Austin and the Western Conservation Movement: 1900-1927.” Journal of the Southwest , Spring, 1988, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Spring, 1988). https://www.jstor.org/stable/40169782 Davis, Lisa Selin. “The Loneliest Land.” National Parks Conservation Association. Spring 2015. https://www.npca.org/articles/942-the-loneliest-land Egenhoff, Elizabeth L. “Mary Austin.” Mineral Information Service. November 1965. https://npshistory.com/publications/deva/mis-v18n11-1965.pdf Fink, Augusta. “I-Mary: A Biography of Mary Austin.” University of Arizona Press. 1983. Hoffman, Abraham. “Mary Austin, Stafford Austin, and the Owens Valley.” Journal of the Southwest , Autumn-Winter 2011, Vol. 53, No. ¾. Via JSTOR. http://www.jstor.com/stable/41710078 Lanzendorfer, Joy. “Searching for Mary Austin.” Alta. https://www.altaonline.com/dispatches/a8713/searching-for-mary-austin-joy-lanzendorfer/ Online Archive of California. “Austin (Mary Hunter) Papers.” https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c85t3ppq/ Richards, Penny L. “Bad Blood and Lost Borders: Eugenic Ambivalence in Mary Austin’s Short Fiction.” Richards, Penny L. “Disability History Image #3.” 8/30/2005. https://disstud.blogspot.com/2005/08/ Romancito, Rick. “The Image Maker and the Writer.” Taos News. 10/2/2024. https://www.taosnews.com/opinion/columns/the-image-maker-and-the-writer/article_7805f16a-8ab9-5645-9e84-4a189e18ac23.html Siber, Kate. “The 19th-Century Writer Who Braved the Desert Alone.” Outside. 1/22/2019. https://www.outsideonline.com/culture/books-media/mary-austin-mojave-nature-writer/ Stout, Janis P. “Mary Austin’s Feminism: A Reassessment.” Studies in the Novel , spring 1998, Vol. 30, No. 1. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/29533250 The Ansel Adams Gallery. “Visions of Taos: The Making of “Taos Pueblo” by Ansel Adams and Mary Austin.” https://www.anseladams.com/visions-of-taos-the-making-of-taos-pueblo/ Viehmann, Martha L. “A Rain Song for America: Mary Austin, American Indians, and American Literature and Culture.” Western American Literature , Spring 2004, Vol. 39, No. 1. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43022288 Wynn, Dudley. “Mary Austin, Woman Alone.” The Virginia Quarterly Review , SPRING 1937, Vol. 13, No. 2. Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26433922 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today my guest is author Nicole Graev Lipson, whose work has appeared in The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, LA Review of Books, The Millions, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe, among other venues. Her work has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, nominated for a National Magazine Award, and selected for The Best American Essays anthology. She is the author of the just-out memoir in essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters, published by Chronicle Books. Listen in as we talk about the fine art of the persoanl essay, writing essays and how to write a book-length collcetion of them. The QWERTY podcast is brought to you by the book The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life. Read it, and begin your own journey to writing what you know. To learn more, join The Memoir Project free newsletter list and keep up to date on all our free webinars and instructive posts and online classes in how to write memoir, as well as our talented, available memoir editors and memoir coaches, podcast guests and more.

How can women grapple with society's unattainable standards for beauty, femininity, and motherhood? Nicole Graev Lipson, author of the new book MOTHERS AND OTHER FICTIONAL CHARACTERS, discusses how she has started to divorce herself from these ideas and get more comfortable with uncertainty. Nicole Graev Lipson's essays have appeared in The Best American Essays 2024, The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Gettysburg Review, River Teeth, Fourth Genre, The Boston Globe, and more. Nicole, Amy, and Margaret discuss: The role that mothers are expected to play How society treats aging women as invisible How Nicole learned to sit with her own uncertainty about parenting Here's where you can find Nicole: nicolegraevlipson.com @nglipson on IG and @NicoleGLipson on X Buy MOTHERS AND OTHER FICTIONAL CHARACTERS: https://bookshop.org/a/12099/9781797228563 We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://www.whatfreshhellpodcast.com/p/promo-codes/ What Fresh Hell is co-hosted by Margaret Ables and Amy Wilson. mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid's behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent, Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a deployment in the Iraq War dually defined by threat and interminable mundanity, Joseph Thomas is fighting to find his footing. Now a doctoral student at The University, and an EMS worker at the hospital in North Philly, he encounters round the clock friends and family from his past life and would-be future at his job, including contemporaries of his estranged father, a man he knows little about, serving time at Holmesburg prison for the statutory rape of his then-teenage mother. Meanwhile, he and his best friend Ray, a fellow vet, are alternatingly bonding over and struggling with their shared experience and return to civilian life, locked in their own rhythms of lust, heartbreak, and responsibility. Balancing the joys and frustrations of single fatherhood, his studies, and ceaseless shifts at the hospital as he becomes closer than he ever imagined to his father, Joseph tries to articulate vernacular understandings of the sociopolitical struggles he recounts as participant-observer at home, against the assumptions of his friends and colleagues. GOD BLESS YOU, OTIS SPUNKMEYER is a powerful examination of every day black life—of health and sex, race and punishment, and the gaps between our desires and our politics Joseph Earl Thomas is the author of Sink, a memoir, longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, and shortlisted for the Patrick Saroyan International Writing Prize; the novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Literary Excellence, winner of the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize; and the forthcoming story collection Leviathan Beach. His prose and poetry has been published or is forthcoming in The Kenyon Review, The Paris Review, Harper's, Virginia Quarterly Review, Vanity Fair, The Yale Review, The Massachusetts Review, and Dilettante Army. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame's MFA program in prose, he earned his PhD in English from The University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the writing faculty at Sarah Lawrence College, and teaches courses in Black Studies, Poetics, Video Games, Queer Theory and more at The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research. Recommended Books: Nell Irving Painter, Old in Art School Yoko Towada, Scattered All Over the Earth Alison Mills Newman, Francisco  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a deployment in the Iraq War dually defined by threat and interminable mundanity, Joseph Thomas is fighting to find his footing. Now a doctoral student at The University, and an EMS worker at the hospital in North Philly, he encounters round the clock friends and family from his past life and would-be future at his job, including contemporaries of his estranged father, a man he knows little about, serving time at Holmesburg prison for the statutory rape of his then-teenage mother. Meanwhile, he and his best friend Ray, a fellow vet, are alternatingly bonding over and struggling with their shared experience and return to civilian life, locked in their own rhythms of lust, heartbreak, and responsibility. Balancing the joys and frustrations of single fatherhood, his studies, and ceaseless shifts at the hospital as he becomes closer than he ever imagined to his father, Joseph tries to articulate vernacular understandings of the sociopolitical struggles he recounts as participant-observer at home, against the assumptions of his friends and colleagues. GOD BLESS YOU, OTIS SPUNKMEYER is a powerful examination of every day black life—of health and sex, race and punishment, and the gaps between our desires and our politics Joseph Earl Thomas is the author of Sink, a memoir, longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award, and shortlisted for the Patrick Saroyan International Writing Prize; the novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer, longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Literary Excellence, winner of the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize; and the forthcoming story collection Leviathan Beach. His prose and poetry has been published or is forthcoming in The Kenyon Review, The Paris Review, Harper's, Virginia Quarterly Review, Vanity Fair, The Yale Review, The Massachusetts Review, and Dilettante Army. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame's MFA program in prose, he earned his PhD in English from The University of Pennsylvania. He is a member of the writing faculty at Sarah Lawrence College, and teaches courses in Black Studies, Poetics, Video Games, Queer Theory and more at The Brooklyn Institute for Social Research. Recommended Books: Nell Irving Painter, Old in Art School Yoko Towada, Scattered All Over the Earth Alison Mills Newman, Francisco  Chris Holmes is Chair of Literatures in English and Associate Professor at Ithaca College. He writes criticism on contemporary global literatures. His book, Kazuo Ishiguro Against World Literature, is published with Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the co-director of The New Voices Festival, a celebration of work in poetry, prose, and playwriting by up-and-coming young writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Nicole Graev Lipson joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about our culture's fascination with reducing women to readymade templates and archetypes, performing fictional versions of ourselves, finding our way back to who we are, the essay as a place where writers can grapple with confusion, working sentence by sentence, finding the most precise microscopic truth, embracing our particularities, focusing on we're enthralled with, what it means to be a woman today, writing about children, attention as a loving act, drawing from the mess, writing as our own form of protest, how writing can be a shame eraser, and her new book Mothers and Other Fictional Characters. Also in this episode: -finding your genre -the architecture of the sentence -finding community with other writers   Books mentioned this episode:  The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland Any Person is the Only Self by Elisa Gabbert Spilt Milk by Courtney Zoffness The Leaving Season by Kelly McMasters “The Seam of the Snail” essay by Cynthia Ozick    NICOLE GRAEV LIPSON is the author of the memoir-in-essays Mothers and Other Fictional Characters (Chronicle Books, March 2025). Her writing has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, selected for The Best American Essays anthology, and nominated for a National Magazine Award. Her work has appeared publications such as The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Gettysburg Review, LA Review of Books, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and more. Born and raised in New York City, she lives outside of Boston with her husband and children.  Connect with Nicole: Website: www.nicolegraevlipson.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nglipson X: http://x.com/@NicoleGLipson Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.g.lipson   – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Writer Michael Croley, author of the book Any Other Place: Stories, veered into the world of golf with a revelatory profile on Tom Doak in 2017 in the Virginia Quarterly Review, hardly the place you'd expect to find an expose on a golf course architect. Now fully entrenched in the golf writing world while teaching… Read More Read More The post Episode 93: Michael Croley appeared first on Feed The Ball.

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

We're continuing to focus on the experience of trans children and their parents this week with this reading of the exquisite essay As They Like It: Learning To Follow My Child's Lead, by the author, Nicole Graev Lipson. The piece — about gender in Shakespeare and Nicole's journey of watching her child let go of girlhood — was originally published in the Virginia Quarterly Review and then included in The Best American Essays, 2024, edited by Wesley Morris. It's also part of Nicole's upcoming collection, Mothers and Other Fictional Characters, which will be published on March 4th. Links:* Order Nicole's book Mothers and Other Fictional Characters* Read As They Like It: Learning To Follow My Child's Lead* Check out Nicole's book events and other great work This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit motherofitall.substack.com/subscribe

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

Listen to Joesph Earl Thomas talk with host Matt Sawyer about his award-winning book, God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer. Joseph Earl Thomas - Joseph Earl Thomas is an American writer and educator known for his memoir "Sink", which was longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and shortlisted for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. His work has appeared in publications such as The Kenyon Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Dilettante Army, and The New York Times Book Review.Matt Sawyer: Matt is an educator, podcaster, writer, and hip-hop artist based in Macon County, North Carolina. He is the creator of the Story Made Project, an exploration for and of stories that make a difference in our world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode Notes With the Virginia Quarterly Review's 100th Anniversary approaching Executive Director Allison Wright and Senior Editorial Intern Michael Newell-Dimoff, reflect on the magazine's last hundred years, their own experiences with VQR and the celebration for the magazine's 100th anniversary!

Paula Whyman joins Let's Talk Memoir for a conversation about getting out of our comfort zone,  her attempt to restore native meadows in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, becoming obsessed with subjects and deep diving, writing about science and nature, controlling and selecting details for impact, being attentive to what readers need, writing tangentially, the need for deadlines, when your editor calls you a meanderer, leaning into exploration and not shutting ourselves down, allowing our writing to reflect the way our minds work, and her new memoir Bad Naturalist.   Also in this episode: -jumping from fiction to nonfiction -talking with experts -reading work aloud   Books mentioned in this episode: The Leaving Season by Kelly McMasters H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl A Buzz in the Meadow by Dave Goulson The Boys of My Youth by Jo Ann Beard The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy  Things I Don't Want to Know by Deborah Levy  Real Estate by Deborah Levy    Paula Whyman's new book, Bad Naturalist: One Woman's Ecological Education on a Wild Virginia Mountaintop, is forthcoming from Timber Press/Hachette Book Group in January 2025. It's a blend of memoir, natural history, and conservation science, a chronicle of her attempts to restore retired farmland to natural habitat and what she discovered along the way. Her first book, the linked short story collection You May See a Stranger, won praise from The New Yorker and a starred review in Publishers Weekly, and won the Towson Prize for Literature. Her stories have appeared in journals including McSweeney's Quarterly, Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, The Hudson Review, and The Southampton Review. Her fiction was selected for the anthology Writes of Passage: Coming-of-Age Stories and Memoirs from The Hudson Review. Her nonfiction has been featured on NPR, and in the Washington Post, The American Scholar, and The Rumpus. She is co-founder and editor in chief of the literary journal Scoundrel Time.   Whyman has taught in writers-in-schools programs through the Pen/Faulkner Foundation in Washington, DC, and the Hudson Review in Harlem and the Bronx, New York. Her fiction is part of the curriculum at The Young Women's Leadership School in Harlem.   Whyman's work has been supported by fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, The Studios of Key West, and VCCA. She was a Tennessee Williams Scholar in Fiction at the Sewanee Writers Conference. She served two terms as Vice President of the MacDowell Fellows Executive Committee.   Whyman is the recipient of grants from the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. She was awarded an MSAC Creativity Grant and 2023 and 2024 Oak Spring Garden Foundation residencies and grants to support her work on Bad Naturalist.  Connect with Paula: Website: paulawhyman.com Instagram: @paulawhymanauthor Bluesky: @paulawhym  Mastodon: @paulawhyman@writing.exchange  – Ronit's writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The Rumpus, The New York Times, Poets & Writers, The Iowa Review, Hippocampus, The Washington Post, Writer's Digest, American Literary Review, and elsewhere. Her memoir WHEN SHE COMES BACK about the loss of her mother to the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and their eventual reconciliation was named Finalist in the 2021 Housatonic Awards Awards, the 2021 Indie Excellence Awards, and was a 2021 Book Riot Best True Crime Book. Her short story collection HOME IS A MADE-UP PLACE won Hidden River Arts' 2020 Eludia Award and the 2023 Page Turner Awards for Short Stories.  She earned an MFA in Nonfiction Writing at Pacific University, is Creative Nonfiction Editor at The Citron Review, and teaches memoir through the University of Washington's Online Continuum Program and also independently. She launched Let's Talk Memoir in 2022, lives in Seattle with her family of people and dogs, and is at work on her next book. More about Ronit: https://ronitplank.com Subscribe to Ronit's Substack: https://substack.com/@ronitplank Follow Ronit: https://www.instagram.com/ronitplank/ https://www.facebook.com/RonitPlank https://bsky.app/profile/ronitplank.bsky.social   Background photo credit: Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash Headshot photo credit: Sarah Anne Photography Theme music: Isaac Joel, Dead Moll's Fingers

Paula Whyman's journey from bug-obsessed city kid to mountaintop conservationist is an inspiring environmental tale. Now the owner of a 200-acre Virginia mountaintop, she's traded her childhood fascination with cicadas for an ambitious ecological restoration project. Her new book Bad Naturalist chronicles this transformation. Despite the self-deprecating title, Whyman is dead serious about her mission. She's working to restore native plants and wildlife to her Virginia mountaintop, fighting invasive species, and challenging the notion that nature only exists in national parks. With 85% of American grasslands privately owned, she argues that individual landowners have a crucial role in conservation. Though she finds the concept of land ownership "weird" – questioning if she really owns the beetles and lichens – Whyman embraces her responsibility as a steward. Her regenerative agricultural project might seem idealistic, but each small victory, from a patch of restored meadow to the call of a bog quail, fuels her optimism for America's environmental future.Paula Whyman's first book of nonfiction is Bad Naturalist. Her earlier book, You May See a Stranger, is an award-winning linked short story collection. Her writing has also appeared in The Washington Post and The American Scholar, and in journals including McSweeney's Quarterly, Virginia Quarterly Review, Ploughshares, and The Hudson Review. She was awarded residencies by MacDowell, Yaddo, VCCA, The Studios of Key West, and Oak Spring Garden Foundation. Her work on this book was supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council. She spends her time on a mountain in Virginia with her husband and a mercurial standard poodle. Visit Paula online at paulawhyman.comKeen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Boyce Upholt is a journalist and essayist whose writing has appeared in the Atlantic, National Geographic, the Oxford American, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among other publications. He is the winner of a James Beard Award for investigative journalism, and he lives in New Orleans, Louisiana.  His book is called The Great River: The Making & Unmaking of the Mississippi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this instant classic episode, Wilson M. Sims and Jared talk about the step-by-step process of getting an agent, what they do (or know they shouldn't do) when a story isn't working, how MFA programs are like basketball drills, and approaching craft discussions in ways that are more flexible and time-varying than declarative and concrete. Plus, Wilson discusses making lasting connections with faculty and visiting writers and shares the realities of living on an MFA stipend and pivoting to part-time to maintain a day job. Wilson M. Sims is a behavioral-health worker and policy strategist in the final year of his MFA program at Florida Atlantic University. His work is published in Longreads, The Florida Review, Witness Magazine, and Virginia Quarterly Review. He is the winner of the 2021 Lascaux Prize in Creative Nonfiction, and his essay “Unknown Costs,” received a special mention in the 2025 Pushcart Anthology. Find him at wilsonmsims.com. MFA Writers is hosted by Jared McCormack and produced by Jared McCormack and Hanamori Skoblow. New episodes are released every two weeks. You can find more MFA Writers at MFAwriters.com. BE PART OF THE SHOW Donate to the show at Buy Me a Coffee. Leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. Submit an episode request. If there's a program you'd like to learn more about, contact us and we'll do our very best to find a guest who can speak to their experience. Apply to be a guest on the show by filling out our application. STAY CONNECTED Twitter: @MFAwriterspod Instagram: @MFAwriterspodcast Facebook: MFA Writers Email: mfawriterspodcast@gmail.com

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

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

In his 1979 Whole Earth Catalog, Stewart Brand wrote, “We are as gods, so we might as well get good at it.” Based on his time on the Mississippi River, however, Boyce Upholt concludes “that we do not make very good gods.” In the final pages of The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi, Upholt reflects, “The river is an unappeasable god, and to react to it with fear and awe is not wrong. . . . Perhaps what people learn after thousands of years of living along one of the world's greatest rivers is that change is inevitable, that chaos will come. That the only way to survive is to take care–of yourself and of everyone else, human and beyond.”Boyce Upholt is a “nature critic” whose writing probes the relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world, especially in the U.S. South. Boyce grew up in the Connecticut suburbs and holds a bachelor's degree from Haverford College and an MFA from the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. His work has been published in the Atlantic, National Geographic, the Oxford American, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among other publications, and was awarded the 2019 James Beard Award for investigative journalism. His stories have been noted in the Best American Science & Nature and Best American Nonrequired Reading series. Boyce lives in New Orleans.Book photo courtesy of Boyce Upholt.

“Everybody's doing it, but nobody's talking about it because it's so secretive.” Alrighty, curious people, we're getting spicy & kicking off Queer History Month with a smash (not a pass) - it's all about gay cruising this week with professor & author, Alex Espinoza. We're asking hard hitting questions like: Where was the first gloryhole? Were gays cruising during the Renaissance? Can U host? JK - but we do also talk about what apps like Grindr have done to this age old practice, and why the taboo of a sexual gathering space has been “a thing” all throughout history. Alex Espinoza is a queer writer born in Tijuana, Mexico and raised in Southern California. He is the author of “Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical Pastime” and has written essays, reviews, and stories for the New York Times Sunday Magazine, Virginia Quarterly Review, the Los Angeles Times, LitHub, and NPR. He is also the recipient of awards and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Macdowell Foundation. Alex is the chair of the Creative Writing department at the University of California. His latest novel, “The Sons of El Rey” came out earlier this year. You can follow Alex on Instagram @ae_espinoza and on his website. Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Find books from Getting Curious and Pretty Curious guests at bookshop.org/shop/curiouswithjvn. Our senior producer is Chris McClure. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this week's Terra Verde episode, host and producer Hannah Wilton interviews author Manjula Martin about her recently-published memoir, The Last Fire Season; A Personal and Pyronatural History, out now from Pantheon Books. Set during the catastrophic 2020 wildfire season and the compounding crises of the pandemic and political upheaval, Martin tells the story of evacuating from her home in West Sonoma County and her journey of healing from a personal health crisis. Tracing the contours of hope, healing, and despair, The Last Fire Season explores what it means to live on a dynamic, changing planet and how we might shift our relationship to the keystone process of fire. Manjula Martin is coauthor, with her father, Orin Martin, of Fruit Trees for Every Garden, which won the 2020 American Horticultural Society Book Award. Her nonfiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Cut, Pacific Standard, Modern Farmer, and Hazlitt. She edited the anthology Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living; was managing editor of Francis Ford Coppola's literary magazine, Zoetrope: All-Story; and has worked in varied editorial capacities in the nonprofit and publishing sectors. She lives in West Sonoma County, California. The post A Personal Chronicle of California's Wildfire Crisis appeared first on KPFA.

Today I talked to Stephen Schottenfeld about his new novel This Room Is Made of Noise (U Wisconsin Press, 2023). Don Lank is a newly divorced handyman who spots an imitation Tiffany lamp in the front window of a house and offers the elderly owner $800 for it. He's shocked by the price he gets and returns to give 95-year-old Millie most of the money. While he's there, he offers to do a couple of repairs in her deteriorating house, and over the course of the next few weeks and months, spends more and more time with her fixing her house, taking her to doctors' appointments, buying her grocers, and slowly beginning to oversee her care. He's also trying to repair his relationships with his father, his ex-wife, and his stepchildren. He's not sure why he's helping Millie, but struggles to focus on being altruistic and not merely greedy. Stephen Schottenfeld is the author of two Bluff City Pawn (Bloomsbury USA, 2014). His short stories have appeared in The Gettysburg Review, TriQuarterly, StoryQuarterly, The Virginia Quarterly Review, New England Review, The Iowa Review, and other journals, and have received special mention in both the Pushcart Prize and Best American Short Stories anthologies. He holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and was awarded a Michener/Copernicus Society of America grant, a Halls Fiction Fellowship from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Shane Stevens Fellowship in the Novel from the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. His narratives often trace the work lives of his characters—pawnbrokers, postal carriers, telephone repair people, home inspectors, police detectives, clothing manufacturers, trailer-park owners, to name a few—and explore how these professions bring an individual into a unique set of experiences and conflicts and expressions. He is a professor of English at the University of Rochester, where he teaches courses in fiction writing, screenwriting, and literature. When he is not writing or reading or teaching, he likes to walk the parks of Rochester, NY. 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

Join Ocean House owner and author Deborah Goodrich Royce for a conversation with bestselling author Dawn Tripp as they discuss her new book, Jackie. About Dawn Tripp: Dawn Tripp is the author of the novel Georgia, which was a national bestseller, a finalist for the New England Book Award, and the winner of the Mary Lynn Kotz Award for Art in Literature. She is the author of three previous novels: Game of Secrets, Moon Tide, and The Season of Open Water, which won the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction. Her poems and essays have appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Harvard Review, AGNI, Conjunctions, and NPR. Tripp lives in Massachusetts with her sons. About Jackie: Jackie is the story of a woman—deeply private with a nuanced, formidable intellect—who forged a legacy out of grief and shaped history even as she was living it. It is the story of a love affair, a complicated marriage, and the fracturing of identity that comes in the wake of unthinkable violence. When Jackie meets the charismatic congressman Jack Kennedy in Georgetown, she is twenty-one and dreaming of France. She has won an internship at Vogue. Kennedy, she thinks, is not her kind of adventure: “Too American. Too good-looking. Too boy.” Yet she is drawn to his mind, his humor, his drive. The chemistry between them ignites. During the White House years, the love between two independent people deepens. Then, a motorcade in Dallas: “Three and a half seconds—that's all it was—a slivered instant between the first shot, which missed the car, and the second, which did not. . . . A hypnotic burst of sunlight off her bracelet as she waved.” This vivid, exquisitely written novel is at once a captivating work of the imagination and a window into the world of a woman who led many lives: Jackie, Jacks, Jacqueline, Miss Bouvier, Mrs. Kennedy, Jackie O. For more information about bestselling author Dawn Tripp, please visit www.dawntripp.com. For information on Deborah Goodrich Royce and the Ocean House Author Series, visit www.deborahgoodrichroyce.com

Notes and Links to Shannon Sanders' Work      For Episode 245, Pete welcomes Shannon Sanders, and the two discuss, among other topics, her childhood love of books, Toni Morrison and her powerful and pivotal work, Shannon's writing for her job as a lawyer, rocking sneakers at a prize-winning, and salient themes and issues in her collection like generational differences, sacrifice, family bonds, motherhood, the title's connection to guests and hosts(esses), and racism and sexism and the ways in which they work on the characters' pasts and presents.      Shannon Sanders is the author of the linked short story collection Company, which won the 2024 Los Angeles Times Book Prize's Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, was named a Publishers Weekly and Debutiful Best Book of 2023, and was shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Her short fiction has appeared in One Story, Sewanee Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, Electric Literature, and elsewhere, and received a PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She lives in Silver Spring with her husband and three sons.   Buy Company   Review of Company in Washington Post   Shannon Sanders' Website   At about 1:35, Pete shouts out Shannon's stellar Twitter presence  At about 3:00, Shannon charts her childhood reading journey, and how she became an active writer from high school on At about 5:40, Shannon talks about chill-inducing writing and writers, including Toni Morrison, Octavia Butler, Stephen King, and VC Andrews, with modern writers like Lisa Taddeo, Deesha Philyaw, Danielle Evans,  At about 9:15, Shannon responds to Pete's questions about representation in what she has read, and she shouts out Toni Morrison (including Jazz) and Octavia Butler, to whom she was introduced in Vicki Adamson's high school class At about 11:55, Shannon talks about the writing in her lawyerly life and how it informs her fiction At about 13:50, Shannon details the wonderful experience of winning her prize at the LA Times Book Festival and her unique footwear At about 16:10, Shannon talks about Company's genre and the links between stories At about 17:30, Shannon outlines the background and rationale for using a family tree at the beginning of the book At about 19:15, Pete highlights a Sebastian Maniscalco skit that has to do with the shift in the last few decades in having “company” at home, and Shannon explains her collection's stories' connections to the idea of hosts(esses) and guests At about 21:00, Pete gives background on “The Good, Good Men,” the collection's first story, and alludes to Antonya Nelson's “In the Land of Men” At about 23:30, Birds of paradise as a story and the birds themselves are discussed as Pete asks about debts and generational expectations for all women and for Black women At about 27:35, Shannon talks about a story where you uses second person, its inspirations in Jamaica Kincaid's legendary “Girl” and others, and birth order and generational differences At about 30:50, The two discuss the theme of sacrifice through a flashback story At about 34:35, Pete highlights a story based on flashback and incredible selflessness and the ways in which the collection felt “finished” At about 38:00, Ideas of “old money” and treasured memories and empathy are discussed  At about 39:15, Shannon talks about the story “Rioja” and traces the family's machinations and subtleties At about 41:35, “La Belle Hottentot” is discussed, including the sordid and tragic history, and how it is one of two stories that are different perspectives from the  At about 44:00, Opal, the family matriarch is analyzed through a pivotal story in the collection At about 47:45, Shannon responds to Pete's questions about maintaining continuity in her story collection At about 50:50, Shannon answers Pete's questions about how much she herself shows up in the collection's characters  At about 53:00, Pete quotes Ruth Madievsky about the ways in which different writers write and edit, and Shannon discusses her own style(s) At about 54:55, The two explore ghosts and their significance in the collection At about 56:00, Shannon gives interesting background on the character Lucy and her childhood friend and the storyline At about 57:30, a “literal” ghost story is probed At about 1:01:15, Shannon talks about exciting new projects and whether characters from Company will be expanded upon At about 1:02:50, Shannon gives contact info and info for buying 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 about having 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 Deesha Philyaw, Luis Alberto Urrea, Chris Stuck, and more, as they reflect on chill-inducing writing and writers that have inspired their own work.       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 246 with Ruben Reyes, Jr. He is the son of two Salvadoran immigrants, completed his MFA in fiction at the Iowa Writers' Workshop; and is a graduate of Harvard College. His writing has appeared in Audible Originals, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Acentos Review, Strange Horizons, Poynter, and other publications. His debut story collection, There is a Rio Grande in Heaven, is out as of today, August 6, along with our wonderful conversation. Happy Pub Day, Ruben! Lastly, please go to https://ceasefiretoday.com/, which features 10+ actions to help bring about Ceasefire in Gaza.

(This podcast was recorded live on June 22, 2024 at Arvida Book Co in Tustin, California.) Dawn Tripp is the author of the novel Georgia, a national bestseller. She is the author of three previous novels: Game of Secrets, Moon Tide, and The Season of Open Water, which won the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction. Her poems and essays have appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Harvard Review, AGNI, Conjunctions, and NPR, among others. She serves on the board of the Boston Book Festival and on the board of Gnome Surf: A non-profit Surf Therapy Organization focused on creating a culture shift towards kindness, love, and acceptance for athletes of all abilities. She graduated from Harvard and lives in Massachusetts with her sons. Her new novel is JACKIE. Dawn joins Barbara DeMarco-Barrett to discuss historical fiction and the research involved, surprises in the writing of the novel, why she chose the present tense, getting down the voice, and more. For more information on Writers on Writing and extra writing perks, visit our Patreon page. To listen to past interviews, visit our website. Support the show by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. We've stocked it with titles from our guests, as well as some of our personal favorites. You'll support independent bookstores and our show by purchasing through the store. Finally, on Spotify listen to an album's worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. Look for the artist, Just My Type. Email the show at writersonwritingpodcast@gmail.com. We love to hear from our listeners. (Recorded on June 22, 2024)  Host: Barbara DeMarco-BarrettHost: Marrie StoneMusic and sound editing: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.

Ross McMeekin the author of The Hummingbirds (Skyhorse, 2018.) His short fiction has appeared in literary journals and magazines such as Virginia Quarterly Review, Shenandoah, Redivider, and X-R-A-Y. He has won fellowships from Hugo House and Jack Straw Cultural Center in Seattle. For the last ten years, he has served as editor of the literary journal, Spartan. McMeekin's Below the Falls is a collection filled with passion, tenderness, love, and peril.Two climbers in the North Cascades risk their friendship and lives ascending a frozen waterfall. The girlfriend of a famous comedian in Greenwich Village must decide whether she wants to raise a child in the spotlight of fame. A mysterious Bird of Paradise makes daily overtures to an elderly widow in the frigid Midwest. A Texas fracking mogul struggles to find the love his money prevents. The deeply rendered American landscapes of these stories emerge as a vital background for characters faced with conflicts that cannot be easily resolved, illuminating interior worlds filled with contradiction.You can find him at www.rossmcmeekin.comSRTN Website

Episode Notes Memphis goes by many names – Home of the Blues, BBQ Capital, and the Bluff City. The last one a reference to our location on the Bluffs of the Mighty Mississippi River. But how much do you know about the muddy waters flowing in our backyard? Today I'm joined by Boyce Upholt, author of The Great River: The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi. We talk about our own personal relationships to the water, some of the people and events that have shaped the river, and what the future may hold for the communities and ecosystems along its banks. Boyce Upholt is a “nature critic” whose writing probes the relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world, especially in the U.S. South. His work has been published in the Atlantic, National Geographic, the Oxford American, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among other publications, and was awarded the 2019 James Beard Award for investigative journalism. He is the founder of Southlands, a newsletter field guide to Southern nature. Previous episodes mentioned: Ep 112 Food Power Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement with Bobby J Smith II Ep 121 Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet with Ben Goldfarb

Want to join the podcast? Come together with other listeners in a deep dive into this summer's episodes, discussing ideas, asking questions, and sharing your experiences about issues brought up in our interviews. Perfect for writers at every level. Only a few spots available. Email 7amnovelist@substack.com for more info.Today, we hear from Dawn Tripp, whose latest novel, JACKIE, was released in June. We're talking to Dawn about voice and the emotional level of a story (which is to say, we're talking about interiority).Watch a recording here. This audio/video version is available for one week. Missed it? Check out the podcast version above or on your favorite podcast platform.To find Tripp's latest and many other books by our authors, visit our Bookshop page. Looking for a writing community? Join our Facebook page. Dawn Tripp is the author of the novel Georgia, which was a national bestseller, a finalist for the New England Book Award, and a winner of the Mary Lynn Kotz Award for Art in Literature. She is the author of three previous novels: Game of Secrets, Moon Tide, and The Season of Open Water, which won the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction. Her poems and essays have appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review, Harvard Review, AGNI, Conjunctions, and NPR, among others. She serves on the board of the Boston Book Festival and on the board of Gnome Surf: A non-profit Surf Therapy Organization focused on creating a culture shift towards kindness, love, and acceptance for athletes of all abilities. She graduated from Harvard and lives in Massachusetts with her sons. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

Timothy Liu (Liu Ti Mo) was born in 1965 in San Jose, California to immigrant parents from Mainland China. He is the author of twelve books of poems, including Of Thee I Sing, selected by Publishers Weekly as a 2004 Book-of-the-Year; Say Goodnight, a 1998 PEN Open Book Margins Award; and Vox Angelica, which won the 1992 Poetry Society of America's Norma Farber First Book Award. He has also edited Word of Mouth: An Anthology of Gay American Poetry. Translated into a dozen languages, Liu's poems have appeared in such places as Best American Poetry, Bomb, Kenyon Review, The Nation, Paris Review, Ploughshares, Poetry, The Pushcart Prize, Virginia Quarterly Review and The Yale Review. Liu is an intuitive reader of occult esoterica, including the Tarot and the I-Ching and the Akashic Records, and he gives readings at Mirabai (Woodstock) and the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies (Rhinebeck). He teaches at SUNY New Paltz and Vassar College. Find more on Timothy and his books here: https://www.timothyliu.net/ As always, we'll also include the live Prompt Lines for responses to our weekly prompt. A Zoom link will be provided in the chat window during the show before that segment begins. For links to all the past episodes, visit: https://www.rattle.com/rattlecast/ This Week's Prompt: Write a golden prose poem: one that includes the words from your favorite haiku but goes in a different direction. Next Week's Prompt: Pull a random card from a deck and write a poem about it. The Rattlecast livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, then becomes an audio podcast. Find it on iTunes, Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Drew Hawkins interviews Maurice Carlos Ruffin.Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the author, most recently, of the historical novel, The American Daughters. He is also the author of The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You, which was longlisted for the Story Prize and was a finalist for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and We Cast a Shadow, which was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, the PEN Open Book Award, and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and was longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and International Dublin Literary Award. A recipient of an Iowa Review Award in fiction, he has been published in the Virginia Quarterly Review, AGNI, the Kenyon Review, The Massachusetts Review, and Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas. Drew Hawkins is a writer and journalist in New Orleans. He's the producer and host of Micro, a podcast for short but powerful writing. You can find his work on NPR, The Guardian, Scalawag Magazine, HAD, and elsewhere.Today's episode is brought to you in part by the podcast Micro, where today you can hear Maurice read on the new episode, available wherever you listen to podcasts like this one.____________Full conversation topics include:-- book tour -- a previous life as a lawyer and restaurant-owner-- becoming a writer-- overcoming imposter syndrome-- paces of production and practice-- distraction as being useful-- the reading you do while writing-- approaching novels and/or stories-- New Orleans-- the new novel THE AMERICAN DAUGHTERS-- research-- knowing who you are -- writing as a man about women -- jumping through time  and sound--  POV-- freedom and loss-- a forthcoming book_______________Podcast theme music  by Mike Nagel, author of Duplex and Culdesac. Here's his music project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton, author of Home Movies.

Iliana Rocha earned her PhD in Literature and Creative Writing from Western Michigan University. She is the 2019 winner of the Berkshire Prize for her book The Many Deaths of Inocencio Rodriguez (Tupelo Press). Her first book, Karankawa, won the 2014 AWP Donald Hall Prize for Poetry. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in the Best New Poets anthology, Poetry, Poem-a-Day, The Nation, Virginia Quarterly Review, Latin American Literature Today, and many others. She has won fellowships from CantoMundo and MacDowell. She serves as Poetry Co-Editor for Waxwing Literary Journal, and she is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee.Delmira Agustini is considered one of the most important South American poets of the 20th century. She was born to upper-middle-class parents in Montevideo, Uruguay in October of 1886. She began writing poetry at the age of 10, and her first major work, El Libro Blanco, was published in 1907, when she was just 20 years old. She went on to publish several other books that were well-received by writers and critics. Links:Read "Still Life," "Houston," and "Landscape with Graceland Crumbling in My Hands"Read "Explosión" in Spanish and EnglishIliana RochaIliana Rocha's websiteBio and poems at the Poetry Foundation's website"The Many Deaths of Inocencio Rodriguez" in New York Times Magazine"Mexican American Sonnet" at Poets.org"Three Poems" in Latin American Literature Today“like the building that reflects his death in every window: A Conversation with Iliana Rocha about The Many Deaths of Inocencio Rodriguez” — curated by Tiffany Troy in Tupelo QuarterlyDelmira AgustiniBio and "The Vampire" at Poets.orgSix Poems by Delmira Agustini (translated by Valerie Martinez) at Drunken Boat

Jason and Brett talked to Garrard Conley (All the World Beside) about how we reinvent ourselves when we challenge the status quo, the pros and cons of “adulting,” and making our own rules. Garrard Conley is the New York Timesbestselling author of the memoir Boy Erased, as well as the creator and co-producer of the podcast UnErased: The History of Conversion Therapy in America. His work has been published by The New York Times, Oxford American, Time, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among others. Conley is a graduate of Brooklyn College's MFA program, where he was a Truman Capote Fellow specializing in fiction. He is an assistant professor of creative writing at Kennesaw State University.**BOOKS!** Check out the list of books discussed on each episode on our Bookshop page:https://bookshop.org/shop/gaysreading | By purchasing books through this Bookshop link, you can support both Gays Reading and an independent bookstore of your choice!Join our Patreon for exclusive bonus content! Purchase your Gays Reading podcast Merch! Follow us on Instagram @gaysreading | @bretts.book.stack | @jasonblitmanWhat are you reading? Send us an email or a voice memo at gaysreading@gmail.com

New York Times bestselling memoirist turned novelist, Garrard Conley, spoke with me about going from activist to fictionist, the isolation of being an artist, and his debut novel All the World Beside. Garrard Conley is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoir Boy Erased, as well as the creator and co-producer of the podcast UnErased: The History of Conversion Therapy in America. His memoir became a major motion picture starring Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Lucas Hedges, directed by Joel Edgerton. His debut novel is titled All the World Beside and described as “... an electrifying, deeply moving novel about the love story between two men in Puritan New England.” Tess Gunty, National Book Award-winning author of Rabbit Hutch, called the book an “... accomplishment of breathtaking prose, expert pacing, and extraordinary psychological intelligence...” Garth Greenwell wrote, “... this novel contains some of the finest writing I've encountered in recent American fiction.” Garrard's work has been published by The New York Times, Oxford American, Time, and Virginia Quarterly Review, among others. Conley is a graduate of Brooklyn College's MFA program, where he was a Truman Capote Fellow specializing in fiction, and he is an assistant professor of creative writing at Kennesaw State University. [Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm] [If you're a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Garrard Conley and I discussed: What it was like to work with Radiolab on a podcast Setting out to write “The Queer Scarlett Letter” His intense historical research process  How he inhabits his stories Why writers can't skimp on what the audience wants How to un-Tik-Tok-ify your brain And a lot more! Show Notes: garrardconley.com All the World Beside: A NOVEL By Garrard Conley (Amazon) Garrard Conley Amazon Author Page Garrard Conley on Instagram Garrard Conley on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Improve your storytelling, interviewing, writing, producing, hosting and guesting skills! Sign up for new Sound Judgment workshops today at www.podcastallies.com/workshops. On this episode, Emily Silverman and host Elaine Appleton Grant discuss: — Why she thought starting a live storytelling event for physicians should be her next step as she was coming to terms with being in the wrong career while also searching for her biological parents and considering becoming a mother.— How leaving the full-time practice of medicine felt like an "identity death" to Emily — and how journalists and podcasters navigating media in 2024 are also experiencing identity death, and — How Emily found her way to a new career through her love of theater and storytelling, and how bringing the arts to medicine is serving the Nocturnists' goal of shattering the myth of the physician God and humanizing medicine. Emily and Elaine break down two episodes of The Nocturnists:"Pass/Fail," Episode 4 of the 10-part documentary series Shame in Medicine: The Lost Forest, takes listeners into the stressful world of medical students taking an exam that has the power to dictate the rest of their lives. Put yourself in the shoes of students wondering if this one test will prevent them from becoming a doctor — or if it will bar them from pursuing their passion for their specialty? Emily gives us some lessons on getting listeners to contribute personal stories — and how her team weaves them together in heart-stopping fashion. We also examine the the power of novels to help us deeply understand the harmful consequences of medicine practiced for the wrong reasons, and how art can help us empathize in a way that journalistic accounts of history do not. In "Conversations: Dolen Perkins-Valdez" Emily learns more about the 1973 case of the Relf sisters, who were forcibly sterilized at a Montgomery, Alabama health clinic. We discuss strategies for how to hold intimate, revealing interviews — and when you should break the rules. Plus: Emily shares the single most important key to producing sound-rich, highly produced longform audio stories. Emily Silverman, MD is an internal medicine physician at UCSF, writer, and creator/host of The Nocturnists, an award-winning medical storytelling organization that has uplifted the voices of 450+ healthcare workers since 2016 through its podcast and sold-out live performances.The Nocturnists' work has been presented on CBS This Morning and NPR's Morning Edition, and at Pop Up Magazine and South By Southwest (SXSW). In 2020, its "Stories from a Pandemic" documentary podcast series was acquired by the U.S. Library of Congress for historic preservation. The Nocturnists has been honored by the Webby Awards, Anthem Awards, Ambie Awards, and more.Dr. Silverman's writing has been supported by MacDowell and published in The New York Times, Virginia Quarterly Review, JAMA, CHEST, and McSweeneys. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and daughter.Follow the show on Instagram @Thenocturnistsand on Facebook and LinkedIn at The Nocturnists  Improve your storytelling Check out our popular workshops on interviewing, story editing, story structure, longform narrative, audience engagement, scriptwriting and more. Hire Elaine to speak at your conference or company. Subjects include: Communicating for Leaders; Communicating about Change; Mastering the Art of the Interview; Storytelling Skills; How to Build Relationships through Storytelling, and more. Discover our strategic communication services and coaching for thought leaders using storytelling tools to make the world a better place. Serving writers, podcasters, public speakers, and others in journalism & public media, climate change, health care, policy, and higher education. Visit us at www.podcastallies.com. Subscribe to Sound Judgment, the Newsletter, our twice-monthly newsletter about creative choices in audio storytelling. Connect:Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram✉️ Email Elaine at allies@podcastallies.com

Leslie Jamison is the author of two essay collections— The Empathy Exams and Make It Scream, Make It Burn—a critical memoir, The Recovering, and a novel, The Gin Closet. She's written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Oxford American, A Public Space, Virginia Quarterly Review, and The Believer.   Her new book is called Splinters. Jamison teaches at the Columbia University MFA program, where she directs the nonfiction concentration. We talked about how structure can be the answer to figuring out how to get a story on the page, the process of writing versus vetting it for the public, how time and perspective can bring spaciousness, the many selves that we exist as, and Google searches as confessions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leslie Jamison is the author of the memoir Splinters, available from Little, Brown & Co. Jamison is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Recovering and The Empathy Exams; the collection of essays Make It Scream, Make It Burn, a finalist for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award; and the novel The Gin Closet, a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize. She is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and her work has appeared in publications including The Atlantic, Harper's, the New York Times Book Review, the Oxford American, and the Virginia Quarterly Review, among many others. She teaches at Columbia 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

In today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 400, my conversation with author Alexander Chee. This episode first aired on February 16, 2016. Chee is the author of the bestselling novels The Queen of the Night and Edinburgh, and the essay collection How to Write an Autobiographical Novel.  He is an associate professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College. He is a contributing editor at The New Republic, an editor at large at The Virginia Quarterly Review, and a critic at large at The Los Angeles Times. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch @otherppl Instagram  TikTok Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

Roxane Gay is the author of the essay collection Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business, available from Harper. Roxane's other books include the essay collection Bad Feminist, which was a New York Times bestseller; the novel An Untamed State, a finalist for the Dayton Peace Prize; the memoir Hunger, which was a New York Times bestseller and received a National Book Critics Circle citation; and the short story collections Difficult Women and Ayiti. A contributing opinion writer to the New York Times, she has also written for Time, McSweeney's, the Virginia Quarterly Review, the Los Angeles Times, The Nation, The Rumpus, Bookforum, and Salon. Her fiction has also been selected for The Best American Short Stories 2012, The Best American Mystery Stories 2014, and other anthologies. *** 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, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch @otherppl Instagram  YouTube TikTok Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices