fiction/non/fiction

In this episode, Curtis Sittenfeld discusses the mix of historical context and fictionalized character development—as well as the double standards every professional woman faces—in her new novel, Rodham . Sittenfeld joins Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to ask the question no one else has dared to: what would the world look like had Hillary Rodham never...

In this episode, poet and editor John Freeman talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about his second collection of poetry, The Park. Freeman discusses who finds public space a source of connection, relaxation, and recreation, and who is excluded. Then Ganeshananthan, Terrell, and Freeman are joined by acclaimed Bangladeshi writer Tahmima Anam, who ha...

In this episode, acclaimed fiction writer David Means and Sex and the City author Candace Bushnell share their experiences with solitude and sociability in quarantine. Means, author of the recent short story collection Instructions for a Funeral , talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about how writers use solitude to their advantage. Bushnell discus...

In this episode, acclaimed poet Danez Smith discusses the role friendship plays in their most recent collection of poetry, Homie . Smith talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about the isolating effect COVID-19 has had on black communities, using space on the page inventively, and writing about money. This episode is presented in conjunction with the...

In this episode, New York Times bestselling author Sue Monk Kidd discusses her upcoming novel The Book of Longings , which is from the point of view of Ana, the wife of Jesus. Kidd talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about how alternate histories can be vehicles for silenced voices of the past, and how our present might be different if Jesus being...

In this episode, poet Rigoberto González and novelist Deb Olin Unferth discuss how literary life has altered under COVID-19. González, director of the MFA program at Rutgers University-Newark, talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about the struggles universities face in the transition to online classes, and also reads from his latest collection, The...

In this episode, writer, historian, and activist Rebecca Solnit reflects on her new memoir Recollections of My Nonexistence . Solnit talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about the deep impact of gendered violence on daily life and what it means to be treated as unreliable witnesses to our own individual and collective experiences, as well as how her...

In this episode, author and activist Bill Fletcher, Jr. and author Chavisa Woods discuss Bernie Sanders’ frontrunner status in the Democratic primary, the campaign’s efforts to build a diverse coalition in 2020, and whether or not those efforts have worked. Fletcher talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about how Sanders has altered his approach to r...

In this episode, South China Morning Post reporter Laurie Chen and bestselling science writer Richard Preston talk about the global panic over coronavirus, China’s response, and how societies defend themselves against viral outbreaks like Ebola. Chen talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about how misinformation about coronaviruses spreads on social...

In this episode, novelist Susan Choi and journalist Garrett Graff talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about henchmen in political headlines and political literature. Graff talks about the word’s mob connotations, as well as its connections to the Trump and Nixon administrations; Choi talks about degrees of loyalty, and henchmen in literature, from F...

In this episode, journalists Rohini Mohan and Praveen Donthi talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about the recent widespread protests in India over the Modi government’s Citizenship Amendment Act and why many see the act as a threat to India’s secular nature and constitution. Donthi talks about his time reporting in Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majo...

In this episode, taped live at the Miami Book Fair, writer T.C. Boyle talks to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about writing his latest novel, Outside Looking In. The novel looks at the history of LSD, and tracks the marriage of a Harvard graduate student who works with psychologist and LSD researcher Timothy Leary. Boyle offers candid insights into his...

We'll be back with a new episode, featuring T.C. Boyle, on January 2. Until then, please enjoy this holiday re-broadcast of our April 4, 2019 episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast. In this episode, editors Brigid Hughes of A Public Space and Jennifer Baker of Electric Literature and the Minorities in Publishing podcast discuss the world of literary journals with hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and...

In this episode, writers Rene Denfeld and Megan Phelps-Roper talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about how the private language of abuse has infected the political rhetoric of the Trump era. Denfeld discusses her work as a licensed investigator and talks about writing about verbal abuse, as well as the difference between investing in mass incarcerat...

In this episode, taped live at the Miami Book Fair, writer Jeff VanderMeer and editor Ann VanderMeer talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about editing The Big Book of Classic Fantasy anthology, historical understandings of fantasy, editing beyond Anglocentrism, and the significance of animals in fantasy compared to literary fiction. Jeff VanderMeer...

The Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast is taking a break for Thanksgiving. But we'll be back this coming Thursday with a episode featuring Jeff and Ann VanderMeer, recorded live at the Miami Book Fair. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

In this episode, writers Tucker Malarkey and Will Bardenwerper, as well as rancher, rider, and member of the Oglala Sioux tribe Stan Brewer talk about their connections to the natural world. Malarkey talks about efforts to save wild salmon, their vital role in the ecosystem of the Pacific Northwest, and how relations between the U.S. and Russia on this issue might provide insight on global climate...

In this special Halloween episode, writers Victor LaValle and Benjamin Percy tell creepy stories, and talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about how writing about politics relates to horror. LaValle explains how devices like monsters make it possible to write about how something feels, rather than merely what happened; Percy discusses doppelgängers,...

In this episode, alumni and staff from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop join Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to honor the retirement of the unmatched Connie Brothers, the Workshop’s administrator for 45 years. Our guests recall their days as students, and the many times Connie provided guidance, encouragement, and compassion to emerging and established writer...

In this episode, novelist and editor Rakesh Satyal and Dead Rabbits Books founders Brian Birnbaum and M.K. Rainey talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about editing and being edited. Satyal discusses the ins and outs of big publishing houses, how he revises, and the simple but revealing question he heard another editor ask an author. Birnbaum and Rai...

In this episode, New York Times reporter Javier C. Hernández and fiction writer and essayist Xu Xi talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about Hong Kong, current and past protests, and the powers that have sought to gain control of the city. Hernández talks about the practical realities of covering potentially violent situations and the unique collect...

In this episode, poet Deborah Landau and novelist Mathangi Subramanian talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about their writing lives as Americans abroad. From exploring Paris's rich expat literary history to witnessing the diversity of slums in India, Landau and Subramanian discuss what they found when they began writing in unfamiliar places. Guests...

In the second half of a special two-part episode, novelist and critic Jess Row and poet and critic Tim Yu talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about writing about whiteness in America. Who gets to participate in cultural criticism, and why? Who gets reviewed by and compared to whom, and why? How can white writers render and challenge their communities’ part...

In the first half of a special two-part episode, novelist and critic Jess Row and poet and critic Tim Yu talk to Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about writing about whiteness in America. How can white writers render their communities’ part in the country’s history of racism, and also challenge them? Row and Yu also share their responses to Bob Hicok’s r...

In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, Iranian-American novelists and memoirists Jasmin Darznik and Dina Nayeri talk to hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about the 40th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution. How has the country changed in four decades, and what is it like to write about the preceding and subsequent history? Guests: Jasmin DarznikDina Nayeri Readings for th...