Episodes
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Louise Kennedy on Coming to Writing Later in Life & Short Form vs. Long Form
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Monday Dec 26, 2022
Today's guest is Louise Kennedy, author of Trespasses. Set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, a shattering novel about a young woman caught between allegiance to community and a dangerous passion. Louise joined me to talk about how her own life informed the novel. Also covered: Coming to writing later in life, and short stories vs. novel writing.
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Monday Jun 27, 2022
Jamie Lyn Smith On Writing Appalachia & Short Stories
Monday Jun 27, 2022
Monday Jun 27, 2022
Today's guest is Jamie Lyn Smith, author of Township, a collection of short stories set in Appalachia. Jamie joined me today to talk about writing literature of place, the art of the short story, and ways to make money on your short fiction.
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Monday May 30, 2022
Monday May 30, 2022
Today's guests are R.S. Mellette, author of Kiya & The Morian Treasure, as well as his publisher Matt Sinclair, founder and CEO of Elephant's Bookshelf Press. They joined me today to talk about what works in indie publishing versus trad in terms of marketing and publicity, as well as the function that indie publishers serve - providing a home to not easily categorized works.
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Monday Aug 30, 2021
Fading Fame: Pam Munter on Women, Aging in Hollywood, & the Casting Couch
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Monday Aug 30, 2021
Today's guest is Pam Munter author of Fading Fame: Women of a Certain Age in Hollywood. Pam joined me to talk about the Golden Age of Hollywood, how things have changed since the casting couch was a permanent fixture in studios, and how acting and performance have informed her writing.
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Monday Mar 09, 2020
Reuben "Tihi" Hayslett Talks Short Stories: Get In & Get Out
Monday Mar 09, 2020
Monday Mar 09, 2020
Today’s guest is Reuben "Tihi" Hayslett who confronts identity politics, racism and homophobia in his debut short story collection "Dark Corners," which has been selected by Kirkus Reviews as best book of the year (2019). Hayslett’s characters, most of them black, brown, and/or queer, have their personal problems complicated by their outsider status, by ominous politics, and by occasional eruptions of madness and the macabre. Tihi joined me today to talk about writing and art as a form of protest. Also covered: looking inward to step into your power before taking your work outward for a broader audience, and the art form of the short story, and how sometimes being succinct is how you allow your reader to fill in the blanks.
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Wednesday Aug 14, 2019
Representing the Midwest in Fiction with J. Ryan Stradal
Wednesday Aug 14, 2019
Wednesday Aug 14, 2019
Today’s guest is J. Ryan Stradal. His first novel, Kitchens of the Great Midwest, was published by Viking in 2015, and reached the New York Times Hardcover Best Seller list.
His short fiction has appeared in Hobart, The Rumpus, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Review of Books, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Electric Literature, and Midwestern Gothic, among others.
His second novel, The Lager Queen of Minnesota, is available now.
J Ryan joined me today to talk about representation of the Midwest in popular culture, the rising importance of microbreweries in small communities, and the lost stories of the middle class.
Monday Apr 15, 2019
Monday Apr 15, 2019
Today’s guest is Blair Hurley, who received her A.B. from Princeton University and her M.F.A. from NYU. Her stories are published or forthcoming in Ninth Letter, The Georgia Review, West Branch, Mid-American Review, Washington Square, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Descant, Fugue, and elsewhere. She has received a 2018 Pushcart Prize and scholarships from Bread Loaf and the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts. Her debut novel, THE DEVOTED, was published in August 2018 from WW Norton & Company.
Blair joined me today to talk about writing your own interests, even if that places your story in a quieter place, and the misconception of dismissing clarity in writing for simplistic novels. Also covered: the difficulty of breaking into the short story market and the motivations for doing so.
Links for Blair:
Website: http://blairhurley.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhurley
IG: https://www.instagram.com/blairlhurley/
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Monday Sep 17, 2018
Writing Modern Teens With Lauren Gibaldi
Monday Sep 17, 2018
Monday Sep 17, 2018
Today’s guest is Lauren Gibaldi author of THE NIGHT WE SAID YES, AUTO FOCUS and THIS TINY PERFECT WORLD. Lauren is a public librarian who’s been, among other things, a magazine editor, high school English teacher, bookseller, and circus aerialist (seriously). She has a BA in Literature and Master’s in Library and Information Studies.
Lauren joins host Mindy McGinnis to talk about landing her agent, and how her process of being a punster can occasionally backfire, but nothing is ever wasted. Also covered: how being a librarian has helped Lauren feel more connected to teens and benefited her writing career, as well as portraying artistic teens in fiction.
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Monday Sep 10, 2018
Monday Sep 10, 2018
Support the podcast through Patreon for weekly writing advice, query and first page critiques, as well as exclusive episodes featuring agent and editor interviews. Visit our Patreon to learn more.
Today’s guest is Kelly DeVos author of FAT GIRL ON A PLANE. Kelly holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Arizona State University. Her debut novel, FAT GIRL ON A PLANE is available now from Harlequin Teen. Her work has been featured in the New York Times as well as SheKnows and Bustle. Kelly joined me today to talk about landing her agent, and how her particular process of being a hardcore planner works to turn the spark of an idea into a novel. Also covered: the inspiration for FAT GIRL ON A PLANE, a discussion of the fashion world and body acceptance and how short stories can help you experiment with new ideas, characters, or methods.
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Monday Apr 02, 2018
Randy Ribay: Writing Concisely
Monday Apr 02, 2018
Monday Apr 02, 2018
Today’s guest is Randy Ribay author of AN INFINITE NUMBER OF PARALLEL UNIVERSES and AFTER THE SHOT DROPS. Randy joins host Mindy McGinnis to talk about the importance of having an agent in order to negotiate the best possible contract, the power of writing concisely and how to make time to write while holding a day job
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