I'm a Writer But

Brandi Wells talks about their debut novel, The Cleaner, and discusses the Muppet Babies, writing a character who’s inventing her own world, what constitutes “real work,” what they love about teaching, revising by listening to their book be read to them over and over, weird coworkers, and more! Brandi Wells is the author of the novella, This Boring Apocalypse as well as a full length chapbook of s...

Sarah Kain Gutowski discusses her book-length narrative in poems, The Familiar, the way she’s made space for her Extraordinary and Ordinary Selves, figuring out how to market herself and her work, finding the meaning in darkness, collaborating with Texas Review Press, and more! Sarah Kain Gutowski is the author of Fabulous Beast, winner of the 14th annual National Indies Excellence Award for Poetr...

Today, John Cotter (Losing Music) discusses writing a memoir by accreting details, revision, being a gusher or not, reinventing the wheel with every project, considering the reader, how his memoir is actually a mystery, the inhumanity of the medical industry, and more! John Cotter is the author of the novel Under the Small Lights, and the memoir Losing Music, which Oprah Daily calls, “as much a lo...

Today, Abbott Kahler (Where You End) discusses the true story that inspired her novel, how her writing process changed as she pivoted from nonfiction to fiction, outlining, the unique world of twins, working with her longtime group of readers, starting all over, and more! Abbott Kahler, formerly writing as Karen Abbott, is the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City; American R...

Today, Kate Brody discusses her literary crime debut, Rabbit Hole, inhabiting and subverting the crime genre, writing sex scenes, writing men, the narrative use of a gun in the novel, what drives us to consume true crime, and more! Kate Brody lives in Los Angeles, California. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, Lit Hub, CrimeReads, Electric Lit, The Rumpus, and The Literary...

Julie Myerson discusses the immersive structure of her new novel, how her real life influenced her fiction, dealing with intense public backlash and rediscovering her confidence as a writer, Elizabeth Strout, and so much more! Julie Myerson is the author of ten novels, including the bestselling Something Might Happen and The Stopped Heart, and three works of nonfiction, including Home: The Story o...

Yael Goldstein-Love discusses her time- and genre-bending novel, The Possibilities, trying to put motherhood into words, using quantum mechanics to explain the paradox of parenthood, the way parents birth a child’s mind, mom rage, writing humor, her newest project, and more! Yael Goldstein-Love is the author of the novels The Passion of Tasha Darsky, described as “showing signs of brooding genius”...

Andrew Porter discusses his new collection, The Disappeared, how his process changes depending on what he’s working on, trying to hold a novel in his head all at once as he’s drafting, moving from writing stories to writing a novel and back again, when and how he thinks about structure, and more! Andrew Porter is the author of the short story collection The Theory of Light and Matter (Vintage/Peng...

Athena Dixon discusses her new book, The Loneliness Files, the cases that inspired the essays, how social media can help and harm the creative process, writing on her phone, being ghosted for writing opportunities, being transparent in the industry, working without an agent, and more! Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, Athena Dixon is a poet, essayist, and editor. She is the author of the essay co...

Rachel Cantor discusses her new novel, Half-Life of a Stolen Sister: A Novel of the Brontës, writing a modern take on historical characters, finding her way to the novel’s innovative form, finding a balance in voice and tone, finding a publisher for this book without an agent, and more! Rachel Cantor is the author of the novels A Highly Unlikely Scenario and Good on Paper. Her short stories have a...

In this truly wonderful and enlightening episode, E.J. Koh discusses her debut novel, the magic of dogs, familial relationships, how poetry helped her communicate, magnanimity, how imagination and creativity are essential aspects of apology, her hope for Korea, and more!  E. J. Koh is the author of the memoir The Magical Language of Others, which won a Washington State Book Award, Pacific Northwes...

Kathleen Rooney discusses her new novel, which is based on silent film star Colleen Moore and the fairy castle she created, as well as the best kind of weirdos, nailing the unique voice of her protagonist, researching the silent film era, and more! Kathleen Rooney is a founding editor of Rose Metal Press, a nonprofit publisher of literary work in hybrid genres, as well as a founding member of Poem...

Chloé Caldwell discusses her memoir, The Red Zone, as well as the ambitious decision to center a book around her period/PMDD, periods in pop culture, women’s changing bodies, the euphoria of seeing menstruation depicted realistically, structuring and restructuring her book, and more (about periods)! Chloé Caldwell is the author of The Red Zone: A Love Story (Soft Skull, 2022) and three more books:...

Cleo Qian discusses moving between poetry and fiction, the inspiration behind some of the stories in her debut collection, allowing her book to age as she revised, honoring the privacy of writing, and more! Cleo Qian (she/her) is a fiction writer and poet from California. She received her MFA from NYU. Her work has appeared in over 20 outlets; was a winner of the Zoetrope: All Story Short Fiction...

Eden Robins (Franny Stands Up) discusses her new novel, catharsis in comedy, how being a funny woman is STILL transgressive, the terror of writing the jokes for the book, the intermingling of trauma and pain and humor, Chicago history, and more! Eden Robins loves novels best, but they take forever so she also writes short stories and self-absorbed essays at places like Catapult, USA Today, LA Revi...

Ben Purkert discusses the rich text of toxic masculinity, writing a novel that engages with authenticity and a character who has no idea who he is, the role Judaism plays in the book, poetry being his first love, the dearth of heterosexual male intimacy, writing complex female characters, and more! Ben Purkert is the author of the debut novel, The Men Can’t Be Saved (Abrams/Overlook). His poetry c...

Daniel Hornsby discusses his new novel, Sucker, as well as the difficulty of editing a book’s opening, tech hubris, writing a character who inhabits the punk/DIY world and is full of shit, caves are great but spelunking is idiotic, Celine Dion is a time lord, and so much more!  Plus: Alex has returned for one ep only! Keep up with all things Great Place Books and Alex's novel True Failure! Daniel...

Isabel Kaplan discusses her bestselling novel, NSFW, writing an authentic codependent relationship, pushing past catharsis and resolution rather than crafting a traditional ending, her use of dialogue and conversation, querying agents at age 12, what it’s like to have a viral essay, and more!  And: stay tuned at the end to hear excerpts from some exciting new small press releases from Grant Maierh...

Today, Ben Hinshaw discusses his debut novel, Exactly What You Mean, as well as shaping this novel-in-stories, how parenthood changed his writing, locating and maintaining his authentic voice, his process, the weird feelings that accompany publication, and more!  Ben Hinshaw’s writing has received an O. Henry Award and appeared in Granta, Harvard Review, Story, The Carolina Quarterly, The White Re...

Today, Kathleen Hale talked about the extensive research and work that went into her new book, SLENDERMAN: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls, as well as how she rewrote its 680+ page manuscript, how being canceled brought her to the story, the Wisconsin justice system, and more.   Kathleen Hale is a true crime author and TV writer based in Los Angeles....

Today, Anne K. Yoder (The Enhancers) discusses her “poet’s novel”; writing a dystopian, cross-genre, fictional pharmaceutical packet; the long revision process; running the arts collective/press Meekling Press; and more!   Anne K. Yoder is the author of the novel The Enhancers, which was selected as a must-read by Wired, Vulture, Nylon, and elsewhere. Her fiction, essays, and criticism have appear...

Today, Tania James discusses her new romp of a novel, LOOT, and how it helped her re-find her way as a writer, staying in it over a long career, researching 18th century Mysore and Europe, working with Knopf, and more!  Tania James is the author of the novels The Tusk That Did the Damage and Atlas of Unknowns and the short-story collection Aerogrammes. Her fiction has appeared in Freeman’s, Granta...

Today, Jessica Anne (Sex with My Family) and Joshua Bohnsack of Long Day Press talk about collaborating on this short, vicious, beautiful book; cows; maintaining rawness in the work; Jessica’s theater background informing her writing; endings; Long Day’s forthcoming manual on muskrat removal (!); and more!   Jessica Anne is Neo-Futurist, Lit & Luz artistic associate, author of A Manual for Nothing...

Today, S.L. Wisenberg discusses her Juniper Prize winning essay collection, The Wandering Womb: Essays in Search of Home, as well as inspiration, encountering herself when revisiting and revising her work, finishing, locating her fear as a prompt, and more!  S. L. Wisenberg is editor of Another Chicago Magazine and author of the fiction collection, The Sweetheart Is In, and two nonfiction books, H...

Today, Jane Wong reads from her new memoir, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City, and discusses transforming her collection of essays into a non-linear memoir, “Wongmom.com,” working in poetry and prose, “writing up to the present,” writing the hard stuff, tonal shifts, and more!  Jane Wong is the author of How to Not Be Afraid of Everything from Alice James Books (2021) and Overpour from Action Books...