Selected Prose
By Selected Prose
Selected ProseSep 20, 2021
34. Nada Alic
Selected Prose highly recommends Bad Thoughts. Nada is a refreshingly original writer. Her voice is unique, she's wise beyond her years, and she's hilarious.
My favorite stories in here were The Intruder, Daddy's Girl, and Earth To Lydia.
Some people have compared Nada Alic to Miranda July or Sally Rooney. I don’t really know what that means.
Nada Alic is Nada Alic.
And she’s very good. This debut is quite an achievement. And I'm happy to have learned we can expect a novel from her in the near future...
Enjoy!
As always, if you like this podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or support on Patreon.
Reading Series | I Was Promised A Hot Dog by Patrick Doerksen
Patrick holds an MFA from NYU. His stories have appeared in Mysterion, Aurealis, and Penguin Canada's Journey Prize Anthology. He lives in Brooklyn.
33. Brandon Gauthier
"Historian Brandon K. Gauthier has created a fascinating work—epic yet intimate, well-researched but immensely readable, clear-eyed and empathetic—looking at the lives of these six dictators, with a focus on their youths. We watch Lenin’s older brother executed at the hands of the Tsar’s police—an event that helped radicalize this overachieving high-schooler. We observe Stalin grappling with the death of his young, beautiful wife. We see Hitler’s mother mourning the loss of three young children—and determined that her first son to survive infancy would find his place in the world.
The purpose isn’t to excuse or simply explain these horrible men, but rather to treat them with the empathy they themselves too often lacked. We may prefer to hold such lives at arm’s length so as to demonize them at will, but this book reminds us that these monstrous rulers were also human beings—and perhaps more relatable than we’d like."
*Content Warning* - We discuss online radicalism and mass murder.
32. Bud Smith
What Else?
I've been reading a wonderful little book of poems called OMG THE DAY by Theo Thimo. Big Recommend!
What Else?
If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on APPLE PODCASTS and consider supporting the podcast on PATREON.
Goodbye.
***INTRO MUSIC BY SIGHPILOT***
Reading Series | The Good Morrow by Ryan Napier
Ryan Napier is the author of Four Stories about the Human Face (Bull City Press). He lives in Massachusetts. More at ryannapier.net and @ryanlnapier on Twitter.
Reading Series | The Sequel by Sam Price
Sam lives in Pennsylvania.
31. Marlowe Granados
**Thank you to Klankbeeld for the lovely sounds and SighPilot for the music
Reading Series | Survival Skills by Brittney Uecker
Brittney Uecker is a librarian, writer, and Scorpio living in rural Montana. Her work has been featured in HAD, Taco Bell Quarterly, Kalopsia, and others. She is a Best of the Net nominee for fiction and tweets (@bonesandbeer).
This story originally appeared in Dark Entries Journal in October of 2021.
30. Hannah Lillith Assadi
Today's guest is the great Hannah Lillith Assadi. Her new novel, The Stars Are Not Yet Bells, was published by Riverhead in early January. It was named a Most Anticipated book of the year by The Washington Post, Good Morning America, Bustle, Lit Hub, Hey Alma, and The Millions. I recommend Stars, especially if you're fond of unreliable narrators, the slippery nature of memory, and the Great Mystery.
In this interview, we discuss creating and executing unreliable narrators, Faulkner, toying with time and chronology, the good and bad of publishing, Hannah's revision process, death and dying, the afterlife, and more.
Not only is Hannah a brilliant writer, but she's also a professor of creative writing at Columbia's MFA program. You'll learn much from her, I have no doubt.
*Support the podcast by recommending it to a friend or an enemy, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, or subscribing to the Selected Prose Patreon*
Reading Series | I Love You Like A Brother by Joanna Acevedo
Joanna is the author of the poetry collection The Pathophysiology of Longing (Black Centipede Press, 2020) and the short story collection Unsaid Things (Flexible Press, 2021). She was a finalist for the Editor’s Chapbook Prize in Fiction from the Southern Humanities Review, and received her MFA in Fiction from New York University in 2021.
Reading Series | Jenny in Corona by Stuart Ross
Stuart Ross (@myskypager) is a writer from Queens living in Chicago. Jenny in Corona (from Tortoise Books) is his first novel.
Reading Series | Interlude by Michael McSweeney
Michael McSweeney reads a chapter from his upcoming novel, Heroman
Michael is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, where he lives with his partner and cat.
29. Allie Rowbottom
Allie Rowbottom is today's guest!
Allie is the author of the New York Times Editors’ Choice memoir Jell-O Girls (Little Brown) and the upcoming novel Aesthetica (SoHo Press). Allie's writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, Salon, Lit Hub, No Tokens, NY Tyrant, The Drunken Canal, Bitch, and elsewhere. She has a PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Houston and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts and has taught fiction and non-fiction at the University of Houston, CalArts, and Catapult.
In this episode, we discuss her upcoming book at length, explore the depths of Instagram and influencer culture, and Allie gives us invaluable lessons on incorporating the language of the social media into our work.
Thrilled to have Allie on the show. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram and keep your eyes out for Aesthetica, coming soon.
If you like the show, please leave me a REVIEW on Apple Podcasts and/or support us on Patreon.
Music by @SighPilot
28. Mark Leidner
Patreon: www.patreon.com/selectedprose
Twitter: @SelectedProse
Reading Series | Tie A Tie by Harris Lahti
Harris Lahti's work has appeared in Bomb, Sleepingfish, Epiphany, New York Tyrant, Hobart, and elsewhere. He edits fiction for Post Road and Fence, and paints houses for a living in New York's Hudson Valley. Recently, he finished his first novel, The Foreclosure Gothics. Read more: harrislahti.com.
27. Marcus Pactor
Today's guest is Marcus Pactor. His new book is Begat Who Begat Who Begat, from Astrophil Press. His first book, Vs. Death Noises, won the 2011 Subito Press Prize for Fiction. His story, “Megaberry Crunch” was selected for Best Small Fictions 2021. His work has most recently appeared in 3:AM Magazine, Juked, and Harsh. He lives and works in Jacksonville, Florida.
Follow Marcus on twitter - @MarcusPactor
*If you enjoy the show, please follow the podcast on twitter @SelectedProse, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and support us on Patreon*
26. Gary Shteyngart
Today’s guest is the great Gary Shteyngart! He’s the author of Super Sad True Love Story, Lake Success, Absurdistan, and more. His latest novel, Our Country Friends, was released earlier this month. It’s a hilarious, clever novel set in the pandemic, described by Kirkus reviews as "The Great American Pandemic Novel only Shteyngart could write." Go read it immediately!
It’s an honor for me personally to have Gary on the podcast. I admire him as a writer and as a teacher of craft. He was kind enough to provide many invaluable lessons in this episode. I hope you enjoy.
I also want to mention that on December 16, I will be hosting an in-person reading at KGB bar in New York. Message me for details.
Finally, if you like the show, please support me on Patreon and/or leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Photo by Brigitte Lacombe
Music by @SighPilot
25. Troy James Weaver
Troy James Weaver is today's guest!
Troy is the author of Witchita Stories, Temporal, Marigold, Visions, and Selected Stories. His work has appeared in NY Tyrant, Hobart, The Southwest Review, and many others. He lives in Wichita, Kansas with his wife and dogs. We discuss absurdism, humor, Beckett, first person narrative, working and writing, workshopping, Sam Pink, and more.
Enjoy!
Reading Series | Do It Like This by Dalton Monk
Do It Like This was written and recorded by Dalton Monk. The story originally appeared in New York Tyrant.
Dalton's other stories have appeared in New York Tyrant, Hobart, and Joyland. He lives in West Virginia.
24. Duncan Birmingham
****Get a 10% DISCOUNT when you use the code "PROSE10" at checkout on Maudlin House's website! Link: shop.maudlinhouse.net/#the-cult-in-my-garage
Duncan is a writer living in LA. He's worked on a bunch of movies and TV shows including Maron on IFC and Blunt Talk. Films he's written have appeared in Sundance and AFI, and his writing has appeared in Maudlin House, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Joyland, and elsewhere.
Enjoy the episode. Leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe on Patreon. Follow me on twitter and instagram (@selectedprose).
Thank you,
Jon
Reading Series | it has been two close to three years by Trout Fish
Trout Fish lives in The River City and hangs out with his shirt off in the sun, looking at water or trees, thinking about cool stuff, and then bangs on his typewriter back home. T.F. also plays music and frequents the house show scene, always cracking up with the locals, a true man of the people.
Twitter: @troutfishfarms
Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.com/troutfishfarms
Website: www.troutfish.org
Artwork by mclelun
23. Dmitry Samarov
Dmitry Samarov, everyone!
Dmitry is a painter and writer living in Chicago. He is the author and illustrator of six books. He sends out a newsletter every Monday. An absurd amount of his work is collected at his website, which is seventeen years old now.
SUPPORT SELECTED PROSE! Follow, subscribe, review, and become a Patron!
Music by Tom Laplaige (@sighpilot)
22. Andrea Bartz
Andrea Bartz is today's guest!
Andrea is the author of the bestselling and critically-acclaimed novels The Lost Night and The Herd. Her latest book, We Were Never Here, was published earlier this month through Ballantine books. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, Martha Stewart Living, Redbook, Elle, and many other outlets, and she's held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other publications.
Follow her on twitter @andibartz and follow me on twitter @selectedprose and/or on Patron at Patreon.com/selectedprose.
Bye for now.
21. Tao Lin
Today's guest is Tao Lin. Tao is the author of ten books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. His fourth novel, Leave Society, was published on August 3, 2021, by Vintage. He also runs Muumuu House, an independent, small press publishing company based in New York, which he started in 2008. Learn more about Tao and his work at www.taolin.us, and follow him on twitter at twitter.com/tao_lin.
Hope you enjoy this episode. If you like the podcast, please consider supporting on Patreon and/or subscribing and reviewing Selected Prose on Apple Podcasts.
Music credit to Tom Laplaige (twitter.com/sighpilot)
20. Big Bruiser Dope Boy
Big Bruiser Dope Boy is today's guest.
BBDB's books include Something Gross (Apocalypse Party), Foghorn Leghorn (Clash Books), Your First Real Boyfriend & Other Poems, and After Denver (11:11 Press).
Today's topics include: Garielle Lutz (as usual), zoom funerals, Sam Pink, editing while you write, Gay Death Trance, power, and finding your own writing style.
Hope you enjoy this episode. If you like the podcast, please consider supporting on Patreon and/or subscribing and reviewing Selected Prose on Apple Podcasts.
Until next time...
Music credit to Tom Laplaige (@sighpilot)
19. Gerald Brennan
I spoke with Gerald Brennan about writing historical fiction, nuclear weapons, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, life as a West Point cadet, and much more. Gerald earned a B.S. in European History from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University in New York. He's the author of "Infinite Blues," "Island of Clouds," "Resistance," "Zero Phase," "Public Loneliness," "Ninety-Seven to Three" and more. His writing has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Hypertext Magazine, The Good Men Project, and Innerview Magazine. He's a frequent contributor and co-editor at Back to Print and The Deadline.
Gerald's also the founder of Tortoise Books. Check them out here, and buy Infinite Blues today.
Music credit to Tom Laplaige (@sighpilot)
18. Darin Strauss
I interview Darin Strauss and discuss his life, career, and approaches to writing fiction. Darin's latest book, The Queen of Tuesday, was just released in paperback. The book, Darin's follow-up to his best-selling National Book Critics Circle Award-winner, Half a Life, is highly acclaimed and was a finalist for the Joyce Carol Oates Award in Fiction. Darin's also a professor of creative writing at the New York University Creative Writing Program. I'm lucky enough to have studied under him. He's a phenomenal teacher and writer and mentor and friend. You can follow him on twitter at @darinstrauss. A few announcements: You can now support us on Patreon at Patreon.com/selectedprose and access cool (and exclusive) stuff like signed books and newsletters and promotions for your work. I'm giving away a free (and new) copy of David Nutt's The Great American Suction, from Tyrant Books. To win, just tweet @selectedprose with a comment about your favorite interview so far, or someone you'd like to see on the show. See you next time.
***Music by Tom Laplaige (@sighpilot)***
17. Ottessa Moshfegh
Ottessa Moshfegh is today's guest!
Her books include Eileen, her first novel, which was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Man Booker Prize, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction; My Year of Rest and Relaxation, a New York Times bestseller; and her latest book, Death in Her Hands, yet another New York Times bestseller. She's also the author of the short story collection Homesick for Another World, and a novella, McGlue.
ATTENTION: In June, Death In Her Hands is coming out in paperback. Look out for that!
Today's topics include: Garielle Lutz, first person vs. third person, screenwriting, Croatia, writing settings well, dogs, God, and a lot more.
Enjoy.
Photograph credit to Andrew Casey
Music credit to Tom Laplaige (@sighpilot)
Reading Series | Rewild by Bud Smith
Bud Smith reads his short story, Rewild, for the Selected Prose Reading Series. This story was originally published in New World Writing.
Bud is a writer from Jersey City, NJ. He works in heavy construction. His new book, Teenager (Vintage), is coming out in spring 2022. He's written a bunch of wonderful books, including but not limited to Double Bird (Maudlin House), Dust Bunny City (Disorder Press), and Tollbooth (Piscataway House). Find him online at www.coolgoodluck.com and follow him on Twitter at @Bud_Smith.
And check out Episode #2 of Selected Prose to hear my interview with Bud!!!
16. Jon Lindsey
I spoke with the wildly talented Jon Lindsey about his brilliant and beloved debut novel, Body High, set to drop on May 1st through House of Vlad press. In the words of a very wise man: “This book is dosed. Lick the toad.” Buy your copy ASAP to see what the wise man's on about.
In this episode, Jon and I talk Body High, how to write exciting sentences, grief, Faulkner, writing as catharsis, Giancarlo DiTrapano, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, and a bunch of other stuff. We also drank delicious champagne, courtesy of Jon.
About Body High, Bud Smith says, "Jon Lindsey is a wild man. Body High is the best novel about Los Angeles I've ever read." And Garielle Lutz writes, "Jon Lindsey is the new gleefully heartbreaking voice of California's broken world. The darkening caper at the core of this novel of griefs and raucous self-discoveries unfolds in rioting prose that bursts into crazed poetry around every curve. Body High is the debut of a remarkably gifted writer."
Be sure to follow Jon on Twitter at @JonJonLindsey. And if you liked the show, drop a review on Apple Podcasts.
See you next time.
15. Shy Watson
A few nights ago, I interviewed the brilliant Shy Watson. She is the author of Horror Vacui from House of Vlad press and Cheap Yellow from Civil Coping Mechanisms. Shy is also the co-founder Blush Lit. Her work has appeared in New York Tyrant and Hobart and many other places.
I read Horror Vacui and loved it for a lot of reasons. If I had to choose some, it would be because it’s hilarious, and dirty, and beautiful, and sad, and happy, and extremely cathartic. It’s separated into sections: poems, then some microfiction, then Quarantine diaries, which bring the entire thing together quite perfectly and in a way that I’ll never forget. Gave me the chills.
Follow shy on twitter @formermissNJ. Hope you enjoy our talk. If you do, or do not, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or message me on twitter @selectedprose. Always love hearing from you.
Be good.
14. Courtney Marie Andrews
Recently I spoke with Grammy-nominated musician and poet Courtney Marie Andrews! Her debut poetry collection, Old Monarch, came out on April 6, 2021. She has a hell of a unique poetic voice, and Old Monarch is a beautiful book. I'll read this again and again. Lucky for us, she agreed to read a couple of poems during this episode.
Courtney is originally from Phoenix, Arizona, but has traveled the world round. We discuss her upbringing, travels, touring, the wisdom of the Sonoran, being nominated for a Grammy, writing honestly and self-critically, the work of Jack Gilbert, Gabriel García Márquez, John Steinbeck and East of Eden, Annie Dillard, and so much more.
Please find more from Courtney at www.courtneymarieandrews.com and support her on Patreon at www.patreon.com/CourtneyMarieAndrews.
Until next time...
13. Garielle Lutz
Jon spends a fine spring morning with Garielle Lutz, author of Stories in the Worst Way, I Looked Alive, Partial List of People to Bleach, Divorcer, Assisted Living, The Complete Gary Lutz, and her latest book, Worsted, from SF/LD Books.
Garielle's work has also appeared in Conjunctions, Sleepingfish, NOON, The Quarterly, The Believer, and many other prominent literary journals. She received a literature grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1996, and in 1999 she was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award.
Topics include: Writing great sentences, Gordon Lish, Tyrant Books, Hobart, Ottessa Moshfegh, Big Bruiser Dope Boy, what they teach you/don't teach you in grad school, working/writing with Elizabeth Ellen, the wonderfulness of Giancarlo DiTrapano, Greg Gerke, Jon thanking Garielle 3,000 times for coming on the podcast, and much, much more.
***SPECIAL PROMOTION***
10% off select titles from Tyrant Books with the code SelectedProse21
12. Ellen Birkett Morris
Ellen Birkett Morris is the author of Lost Girls, a collection of short stories called "a varied set of tales from a skilled practitioner of the short form" by Kirkus Reviews. Her fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, Antioch Review, Notre Dame Review, South Carolina Review, and Santa Fe Literary Review, among other journals. She is a winner of the Bevel Summers Prize for short fiction. Morris is a recipient of a 2013 Al Smith Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council.
On April 18, 2021, Ellen will be teaching a course through Hidden Timber Books called "Finding an Effective Story Ending." Sign up here!
Topics include me getting a mini Goldendoodle, Sherwood Anderson, how to end a short story, how to begin a short story, portraying womanhood in fiction, biases against women writers, Flannery O'Connor, Kentucky, Louisville, Breonna Taylor, whether Kentucky is the midwest or the south, what often times lies beneath southern/midwestern charm, and much more.
11. Brian Alan Ellis
Jon sits down with author and publisher Brian Alan Ellis to discuss his beloved press, House of Vlad, his books, and much more.
Brian is the author of Sad Laughter (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2018) and Something to Do with Self-Hate (House of Vlad/Talking Book, 2017). His writing has appeared at Juked, Hobart, Monkeybicycle, Fanzine, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Funhouse, Heavy Feather Review, and Yes Poetry, among other places. He lives in Florida.
Thanks for tuning into the episode. Follow Brian on Twitter at @brianalanellis and follow House of Vlad at @HouseofVlad.
10. Andy Oppenheimer
This week, I sit down with novelist, musician, and counter-terrorism expert Andy Oppenheimer. His novels include Fields of Orion: An Odyssey, and Fields of Orion II: The Mission. In early April, Andy will publish The Hunter’s Story, part three of the trilogy, which we discuss at length.
Andy’s musical projects include Oppenheimer Analysis, Touching the Void, and Oppenheimer MkII, among other collaborations.
Find him on twitter @AOppenheimer235 and learn more about him and his life's work at www.andyoppenheimer.com.
Reading Series | Angel by Unity
Unity reads Angel for the Selected Prose Reading Series. Unity is a writer and artist who lives in upstate New York with many feral cats and alter egos.
Reading Series | Primo Updoo by Justin Brooks
Primo Updoo by Justin Brooks is a hilarious and alarming journey through an imminent future of Instagram faces, made-to-order cosmetic surgeries, and meme-based social status.
Justin Brooks is a writer and artist from Brooklyn, NY. Find this story at Waxing and Waning, and his artwork @justinbrooks_art on Instagram.
*Episode artwork by Yaroslav Danylchenko
9. Timi Sanni
Timi Sanni is an award-winning writer, poet, literary prodigy, and biochemistry student from Lagos, Nigeria. His work has appeared in X-R-A-Y, Palette, Fitrah Review, and elsewhere.
Enjoy the episode. And if you enjoy our podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and tell us all your thoughts and dirty secrets.
Reading Series | Like Foreign Things That Take The Name Of Love
Timi Sanni reads a work of flash fiction titled Like Foreign Things That Take The Name Of Love. This piece was originally published by Art Most Terrific. The story is posted below:
Mama tucks me between her skinny legs as she plaits my hair. She pulls the cutting comb through my hair and parts it with both hands. Then she begins to weave. Her hands are so adept at weaving beautiful, intricate patterns that the villagers wonder why she hasn’t yet woven a rainbow of our lives.
Mama doesn’t read the bible but as her thin fingers move through my hair working their magic, she says by the way of a soliloquy, “A kiss doesn’t always translate to love, Judas taught this lesson so well.”
I scrunch my nose in disagreement, because this is what a kiss reminds me of: the bell, closing hours in the village primary school, the tree behind our classroom, a boy that had magic for dimples and glory for lips, stolen moments under the watch of a distant sky, the lub-dub of two hearts like bass drums, the music that plays in the silence as two bodies meet and fill the void between, joy, bliss, unrefined ecstasy.
But here is mama saying a kiss doesn’t always translate to love. I douse the fire raging within me, the urge to scream, to tell her of Joshua, to tell her what she doesn’t know of love and sit still as her hands weave through my hair.
But then, there’s a nagging feeling that mother might be right.
I mean, like papa who suddenly disappeared from the village one night, eight years ago, Joshua too gave his body to Lagos and hasn’t been home in eight months. Like papa who before his disappearance, found courage within a gin bottle one night and unleashed his fury on all his troubles (mistaking them for me and mama), Joshua too betrayed his softness one night and struck me across the face when I laughed and refused to walk him to the river, because mama was waiting for me at home and because I knew what the boys did with the girls at the river at night.
Maybe in some ways, Joshua is like papa but unlike papa there are things he knows of love. Like the time I fell and hurt my leg at school and he carried on his back all the way home. Like the night before he left when we hugged under the moonlight and he gave me a beautiful, blue seashell promising to be back before long.
In the day, I wear this shell as a pendant and at night, my dreams find the shell beneath my pillow as I rumple the bedsheet, calling to Joshua.
Mama yanks a tassel of my hair and I yelp. She tucks me tighter between her legs. “A kiss doesn’t always translate to love,” I think. “But Joshua is not Judas, is he?”
8. Avner Landes
Hello, everyone.
It’s February 16, 2021, we’re still inside, still listening to podcasts to help pass the time.
We're thrilled about this episode. Jon and Liz interview author Avner Landes. His upcoming book, Meiselman: The Lean Years, is really something special. Hilarious, heartwarming, beautifully written. It’s something any of us writers dream of creating.
Meiselman is due in March, and it’s from Tortoise Books.
As for Avner, he earned his M.F.A. from Columbia University and works as a ghostwriter. He lives near Tel Aviv with his wife and kids. Meiselman is his debut novel.
Enjoy the episode. And if you enjoy our podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and tell us all your thoughts (+ dirty secrets).
(***Music by Doctor Dreamchip***)
Reading Series | Sanity House by David Leo Rice
David Leo Rice reads his short story Sanity House, originally published in Ligeia Magazine. David's upcoming story collection, Drifter Stories, will be published by 11:11 Press in June 2021. David's latest novel, A Room In Dodge City: Vol 2, was recently published by Alternating Current Press. Brian Evenson calls it: "The Künstlerroman on acid, a heady investigation of creation, originality, and collapse.”
Listen to our interview with David here.
7. Delicious Tacos
6. Sam Pink
We also discuss how everyone needs some rat in them, character development and finding the singular quality in others, the pros and cons of self publishing, working in restaurants, Mary Robison's Why Did I Ever, comedy and how to write funny, writers who complain about writing, Sam's approach to revision, why calling books nihilistic is dumb, and a hell of a lot more.
5. Elle Nash
This week, Selected Prose welcomes a new co-host, Liz Ayre. Liz is a talented fiction writer from LA and an MFA student in the Creative Writing Program at NYU. Thrilled to have her on board!
Jon and Liz talk at length with author Elle Nash. Elle is the author of the novel Animals Eat Each Other (Dzanc Books), which was featured in the The Oprah Magazine and received wide acclaim. In 2021, Elle will release a short story collection titled Nudes. Her stories and essays have appeared in Guernica, The Nervous Breakdown, Literary Hub, The Fanzine, Volume 1 Brooklyn, New York Tyrant and elsewhere. She is a founding editor of Witch Craft Magazine and a fiction editor at Hobart Pulp.
Elle zoomed in from Colorado Springs to discuss her novel, her experiences teaching writing workshops, transgressive fiction, Dennis Cooper, including the internet in your fiction, Satanism, the internet before social media, Salad Fingers, excising laziness from your work, writing what you feel, and a hell of a lot more.
***Elle will be teaching a writing/editing workshop from December 1 - December 12. It's called Knife Party. Go to www.ellenash.net or click the hyperlink and ENROLL NOW!***
Reading Series | Summer Thighs by Elle Nash
Elle Nash reads her short story, Summer Thighs, originally published in Tarpaulin Sky.
Elle Nash is the author of the novel Animals Eat Each Other (Dzanc Books). Her collection of stories, Nudes, is forthcoming from SF/LD Books in 2021. Her stories and essays have appeared in publications like Guernica, New York Tyrant, Literary Hub, The Fanzine, The Nervous Breakdown, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, and more. She's the founding editor of Witch Craft Magazine and a fiction editor at Hobart Pulp.
Stay tuned for our interview with Elle, coming this week.
4. B.R. Yeager
In this episode, we discuss Negative Space, how to write fiction involving the internet, New England's special variety of horror, growing up in Emily Dickinson's hometown, Dark Souls, gas station drugs, the bizarre nightmare world we're all living through, whether books can be more entertaining than Netflix (they can), and why they should strive to be (Negative Space pulls it off).
Reading Series | The Death of James Polk by Derick Dupre
Derick Dupre reads his short story, The Death of James Polk. This story was originally published in Spork Press.
Derick is a writer based in Arizona. His work has appeared in Hobart, New York Tyrant, The Collagist, Eyeshot, and elsewhere. He's been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and was a finalist for the Lamar York Prize for Fiction. Check out his work on Neutral Spaces and his website.
Enjoy!
3. Alisson Wood
I sit down with Alisson Wood at the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House in Greenwich Village to discuss her new memoir, Being Lolita. We talk about her story, the craft of memoir writing, Nabokov, fairy tales, growing up, memory, vulnerability in art and life, and a whole lot more. Check out her essays in the New York Times, Catapult, and Epiphany. She's also the founder and editor-in-chief of Pigeon Pages, a literary magazine.
Reading Series | Being Lolita by Alisson Wood
Alisson Wood reads the opening of her new memoir, Being Lolita.
Alisson is a highly acclaimed writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Catapult, and Epiphany. She's also the the founder and editor in chief of Pigeon Pages, and a graduate of the NYU Creative Writing program.
Stay tuned for my upcoming interview with Alisson, where we discuss her memoir, the art of memoir, and much more. In the meantime, get yourself a copy of Being Lolita here.