Book Fight

Tom reports from the floor of the AWP conference in Seattle. He talks to Tom Williams, author of Don't Start Me Talkin' , about conference-goers' book buying habits, and his favorite parts of AWP. Also, Barrelhouse editor Dave Housley  joins in to talk slam poetry vs. spoken word, and attending panels vs not attending panels. 

Welcome to the first of our AWP 2014 special reports. Well, not "our," since Mike is still in Philly. Tom chats with Barrelhouse editor Joe Killiany about the best and worst parts of AWP, travel woes, Sherman Alexie, William Faulkner, and beard maintenance. 

On this week's episode we discuss a recent essay in the Chronicle of Higher Education--" How Iowa Flattened Literature ," by Workshop grad Eric Bennet--and whether we agree with the various charges it levels against Iowa specifically and the project of teaching creative writing more generally. We also answer a listener question about how to select the journals to which you submit your work, and wh...

Another listener pick: the 1958 novel that would become the first James Bond movie only four years later. We discuss the book's imperialist politics, Fleming's choice to employ dialect for the Jamaican characters, and "the mound of Venus." In the second half of the show we debut a new feature, Fan Fiction Corner, in which we delve deeply into the world of James Bond slash-fic and Tom gets kinda gr...

This week we're tackling another question about copyright, piracy, and digital publishing. Specifically: How do libraries fit into the mix? We also talk about the effects both self-publishing and indie publishing are having on the major publishers, we read a couple more Lee Klein rejections, and Mike is asked to explain his love of the movie Pitch Perfect. 

Ward's memoir recounts the deaths of five young black men in her hometown of DeLisle, Mississippi, including the car accident that killed her younger brother. We talk about de facto segregation in the American South, writing about family members, and amateur sociology. We also bring back our Sticks and Stones segment, read a couple more donor rejections, and try to figure out what happens in the 4...

At the suggestion of a listener, in this special bonus episode we're discussing self-publishing, copyright, and how evolving digital technologies might influence both writers and publishers. Should writers and publishers embrace Creative Commons licenses and post their work online for free? Is copyright an outmoded idea? How can writers balance the desire to make a living with the desire to reach...

This week we've got questions about getting an MA, submitting to magazines that already published you, and finding a writing group. Also: Chubby Checker's less popular dance crazes, Tom's brief theater career, and Philadelphia's cheesiest pervert. 

This week's book is a story collection from Foxhead Books, and features small-town characters whose lives have fallen short of their dreams. We talk about the difference between generous and stereotypical portrayals of small-town Southern characters, how to put together a story collection, and why Americans keep shooting each other. For more, visit bookfightpod.com.

We're joined by Joshua Isard (author of Conquistador of the Useless, and director of Arcadia University's low-residency MFA program), who answers questions about reading your own reviews, and what to do with an MFA in creative writing. Josh shares some details about Arcadia's program, we talk a little smack about Jennifer Weiner, and we speculate about Babe Ruth's junk. 

We welcome guest Joshua Isard (author of the novel Conquistador of the Useless) to discuss Roth's 2004 novel, which imagines a midcentury America in which Charles Lindbergh is elected president on an "America First" platform of non-interventionism. We talk about the believability of the book's conceit, the idea of a "false memoir," and the continued presence of anti-semitism in the United States....

Kind of a tease this week: a free preview of a special episode you can get by being a donor to our show's annual fund drive. If you'd like to get the full episode, just visit us at bookfightpod.com and click on the piggy bank. We'll be back next week with a regular episode to kick off the new year.

What's that under the tree? Is it a very special episode of your favorite literature-adjacent podcast? (Spoiler: it is.) Since last year's Christmas episode was such a fan favorite, this year we're back with another supersized, end-of-the-year holiday blowout. We've read two books--one a steamy, Christmas-themed romance, the other ... some dumb thing by James Patterson. Both of which we'll dissect...

We welcome back special guest Jaime Fountaine for this week's Writers Ask episode, during which we pepper her with questions about how to run a successful reading series. We also talk about using real names in nonfiction, and subject Jaime to the patented Book Fight Lightning Round.  You've got until the end of the month to donate to our fund drive, if you want your donation to count toward our go...

We welcome special guest Jaime Fountaine to discuss the 1976 novel The Easter Parade, a beautifully sad story about two sisters whose lives are ... well, pretty sad. Talking points include: sweatpant jeans, New Yorker fiction, South Philly style, art school, and erectile dysfunction. Plus we debut a new segment: What's In The Bag? 

Another super-sized Writers Ask this week, not so much because we're answering lots of questions but because we've got lots of opinions. Do you want to know what Tom thinks about the television show The View? Do you want to hear about the time in college when Mike was on a Dating Game-style game show in his dorm? Would you like some literary blind items about bad readings? If so, this is the episo...

Tom introduces Mike to the Sherlock Holmes universe, which up till now he's known only through various parodies. And Mike wants to know: Is Sherlock Holmes supposed to be a giant dick? We also workshop some new segment ideas for the show, including Q-Tips and Speaking Truth to Power. And Tom mansplains his opinion on mansplaining. 

A super-sized episode this week. We answer a couple questions about MFA programs, then we dive headfirst into National Novel Writing Month. Mike reads an excerpt of his novel-in-progress, and we field questions from the official NaNoWriMo message boards: how to name characters, how to manhandle a dinosaur, what to do with time-travel skills, and many many more.  We're knee-deep in our annual fundr...

A jam-packed episode this week. We talk about the first of Updike's Rabbit books, Mike gives an update on his NaNoWriMo adventure, we consider whether quality television dramas are putting the heat on novelists, and we've also got our first-ever Rating Reconsidered. Buckle up! For more, and to donate to our fund drive, visit us online at bookfightpod.com. 

Last year we made fun of National Novel Writing Month, but this year Mike is actually thinking about participating, and he's got until the end of the episode to make a decision. Will trying to write a "novel" in 30 days get him out of his funk, or drive him deeper into despair? We also answer--okay, mostly make fun of--actual questions being asked by Nanowrimo participants. Strap yourselves in, li...

Well, it finally happened: we had to re-record an episode because the usually trusty Book Fight laptop ate our first effort. Technological woes aside, this week we're talking about Cat's Cradle, a book we both read as teenagers and are revisiting now as adults. We also discuss the behavioral proclivities of haters, beer can design, and why you should give us some of your hard-earned money. 

We're answering questions this week about building an author platform, what to do (and not do) at author events, and whether editors care about all those fantastic writing contests you've won. Also, fair warning, we're kicking off our annual fund drive, so you'll have to hear about that for the next few weeks, but we promise to not be super-annoying about it.

Our friend Katherine Hill is back, and making us read this seminal 1962 Doris Lessing novel ("seminal" means super-long, right?). We talk about communism, novels of ideas, novels about writing novels, cancer awareness, and milkshakes. For more--including a link to buy Katherine's novel, The Violet Hour--check out bookfightpod.com

Katherine Hill, author of The Violet Hour, joins us this week to answer questions about low-residency MFA programs (she went to Bennington) and working a writing-related job while trying to write a novel. Also: lightning strikes on trains, offensive mascots, and why won't more ladies come to Tom's basement? For more, visit us at bookfightpod.com.

We welcome back guest Justin St. Germain, author of the memoir Son of a Gun and picker of this week's book, a novel largely about the process of writing a novel. We talk about metafiction, audience, writerly paralysis, and Tom's love of shoplifting. For more, including a link to buy Justin's book, check out bookfightpod.com.