Let's Deconstruct a Story

Please read “The Bed and Breakfast” before listening to the episode. Molly Dektar is the author of two novels, The Absolutes and The Ash Family . Her short stories have been published in the Best American Short Stories 2024, the Yale Review, N+1, the Harvard Review, Ploughshares, and the Sewanee Review, among others. The recipient of a Dakin Fellowship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and a re...

I recorded a short episode chock-full of advice from the last few podcast episodes. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you would like me to record more of these. I am cleaning up some old recordings, and I’m always struck by how often the person I’m interviewing offers the most unexpected yet sound counsel. PS: It’s Andre Dubus III :) My apologies for botching that. ***This summer, we’re introducin...

Hi Everyone, In this episode, I sit down with Jim Shepard to deconstruct his short story  “The Queen of Bad Influences.”  If you haven’t read the story yet, I recommend reading it first—this is a full short story analysis and writing craft breakdown, and we go deep. This conversation is all about how a story works beneath the surface. We break down point of view (POV), story structure, character t...

Hi Everyone, I’m so happy to share ‘Pemi Aguda’s short story, “Manifest,” with you. Please read the story before you listen to the podcast, because there will be spoilers! Read “Manifest” here on Granta (or here: https://granta.com/manifest/). Let’s Deconstruct a Story is available here on Substack, as well as Apple , Spotify , or wherever you get your podcasts. Bio: ‘Pemi Aguda is from Lagos, Nig...

Welcome to Let’s Deconstruct a Story! How this works: Read the story carefully. This is important because the interview will contain spoilers. During this session, we will talk with the author about their personal process and analyze craft elements: plot, character, setting, dialogue, pacing, and revision. The aim is to learn how the story was built, with the hope that this will help you with your...

Hi Everyone, During this episode, Shastri Akella discusses his Best American Short Story, “The Magic Bangle.” The podcast episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Please read the story before listening to the podcast episode. It’s available here at The Fairy Tale Review . I hope you enjoy this discussion with Shastri as much as I did! Cheers, Kelly...

Happy New Year! Maura Stanton and I had so much fun discussing “ School for Robots .” Please be sure to read the story first before watching this video, and check out more of Maura’s fantastic stories below. Enjoy! Kelly Bio: Maura Stanton’s Cities in the Sun was the recipient of the Michigan Literary Fiction Award. She is the author of two previous books of stories, Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darli...

Hi Everyone, I hope you enjoy this episode, which features Susan Shepherd discussing her Best American Short Story , “ Baboons , “ first published in The Kenyon Review . Paid subscribers and Conscious Writers Collective members are welcome to join us for interviews, and I want to thank Paul Delong, in particular, for his question, which is included in this recording. Also, thanks to audio engineer...

Katherine Damm talks about her story, "The Happiest Day of Your Life." First, be sure to read the story from The Iowa Review. There will be spoilers! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe

Deb Olin Unferth discusses her short story, "Wait Till You See Me Dance" with Kelly Fordon This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe

I spoke with Ananda Lima about her story, Antropófaga ! Make sure you read it before you listen. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and happy listening! Kelly Ananda Lima is the author of Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil (Tor Books, 2024) and Mother/land (Black Lawrence Press, 2021), winner of the Hudson Prize. Her work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Poets.org, Kenyon Review, Electric Lit...

* Here is Eli in a half-trench coat Sheila Heti gave him :) Hi Everyone, Well, the world might be a s%$# show, but at least we still have our stories. Today, I’m featuring the work of the brilliant Eli Sparkman , one of the member-owners of Book Suey in Hamtramck, Michigan. We had so much fun discussing his stories. I hope you enjoy this deep dive as much as I did. This is FLASH, so Eli was able t...

Hi Everyone! In this episode of the podcast, Caitlin Horrocks and I interview Erika Krouse about “Jude” from her new collection, Save Me, Stranger . AND THEN…Erika and I interview Caitlin about her story “Better Not Tell You Now.” We had so much fun! And I learned so much about the craft of writing. You will too. Links to both stories are below. Please read before you listen, because we will spoil...

Before listening to my interview with Christie Hodgen, please read her story, “Rich Strike,” because the interview is full of spoilers! The story is available for free here on the  Story  website, thanks to Michael Nye. Please consider subscribing to Story and supporting great literature here . Congratulations to Christie for winning a Pushcart Prize for this story as well. If you would like to re...

My guest today is Desiree Cooper, the 2015 Kresge Artist Fellow. Cooper is a former attorney. She is also a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and much-beloved community activist. Originally from Virginia, she currently lives in Virginia. BUT she lived in Detroit for decades and will always be an honorary Detroiter! She is much beloved here, and I am honored to call her my friend. Today’s podcast...

Hi Everyone, I had so much fun discussing “Monitor World” with Cleo Qian. In case you missed my earlier posts, “Monitor World” was first published in Shenandoah in 2021, and is available ⁠ here .⁠ Please read the story before listening to our discussion! Here’s a link to Lucia Berlin , another writer discussed during our interview. Next up on Let’s Deconstruct a Story, paid subscribers will be tal...

Hi Everyone, “The Depletion Prompts” was first published in The New Yorker on October 25, 2021, and is available ⁠here.⁠ Here’s a link to two other stories discussed during our interview: Vladimir Nabokov's “ Signs and Symbols .” Virginia Woolf’s “ The Mark on the Wall .” Next month, I’ll be talking to Cleo Qian about her story, “ Monitor World ” first published in Shenandoah. Check out our discus...

Kelly Fordon talks to Brad Felver about his story "Orphans" which was first published in Subtropics and later chosen for The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners by Amor Towles. For more information, and to access a PDF of the story, please visit Let's Deconstruct a Story on Substack. Brad Felver is a fiction writer, essayist, and teacher of writing. His honors include two O. Henry...

Hi Everyone, This post is a video recording of my preparation for the interview with Brad next Wednesday. If you enjoy deconstructing stories, please feel free to join me for one of these prep sessions. I’ll be recording again on November 8th as I deconstruct David Means' story, “The Depletion Prompts.” Paid subscribers will have access to the Zoom link for David Means. Paid subscriptions also inc...

Hi Everyone, We're a little late with this episode and it's all my fault! As I mentioned in my May 1st blog post ( sign up here for updates ), for the first time in four years, I conducted an amazing interview with Sheila Kohler and forgot to hit record on Zoom. Sheila--the most gracious person on Earth--forgave me for wasting 45 minutes of her time and agreed to re-record the episode. Tha...

Hi Everyone, I'm thrilled to host Cara Blue Adams today on the podcast. We talked about her stellar short story, "Vision," available from Joyland Magazine . I met Cara years ago at the Kenyon Writers Workshop (which I highly recommend by the way...) so it was great fun to reconnect on the podcast. Cara's work was recommended by Vincent Perrone, who is a part owner of the co-op bo...

Hi Everyone, We had so much fun discussing Leigh Newman's short story, "An Extravaganza in Two Acts," available here from Electric Literature. You are going to learn so much about writing historical fiction. Leigh is a hoot! The conversation moved at a clip, so I have some discussion notes for you below. Also, check out the bonus question one of my earlier guests, award-winning autho...

Hi Everyone! Welcome to Let's Deconstruct a Story! This month I'm talking to Jai Chakrabarti about his wonderful story, "A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness." Please find the link to the story at www.kellyfordon.com , It's best to read it before tuning into the podcast. Next month, I'll be talking to Leigh Newman about her story, "An Extravaganza in Two Acts,...

Hi Everyone! Welcome to Let's Deconstruct a Story! This month I'm talking to Katherine Vaz about her wonderful story, "Our Lady of the Artichokes." Please read the story (available at www.kellyfordon.com/blog ) before tuning into the podcast. Also, please check out the link to her fantastic new novel Above the Salt which I read and adored. Sometimes I wish this was also a podcast...

Hi Everyone, I had the best conversation with Bonnie Jo Campbell. Can't wait to share it with you! Please read " Boar Taint " in The Kenyon Review before you listen, or our discussion won't make a lick of sense. This episode is available on Apple, Spotify, Audible or anywhere you get your podcasts. If you would like a transcript, please get in touch with me via the contact form o...