I'm a Writer But

Today, John Milas discusses his new novel, the difference between terror and horror, perception vs. time, working with Roxane Gay, the real Militia House, writing a speculative literary military novel, the nostalgia of 2010, and more! John Milas is the author of the forthcoming novel THE MILITIA HOUSE (Henry Holt, 2023). He enlisted in the US Marine Corps at age nineteen and subsequently deployed...

Today, Courtney Zoffness discusses Spilt Milk (memoirs), why pregnancy and early parenthood is a fertile time for creatives (haha see what I did there), moving between fiction and nonfiction, “going long,” working with McSweeney’s, and more!  Courtney Zoffness is the author of the memoir-in-essays SPILT MILK, out now in paperback. Spilt Milk was named a best debut of the year by BookPage and Refin...

Today, Marisa Crane talks about their debut novel, establishing a world right away, being a “tragically first-person writer,” BookTok, parents reading their children’s books, and more!  Marisa Crane is the author of the novel I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself. Their stories and essays have appeared or are forthcoming in Prairie Schooner, Passages North, Joyland, The Offing, No Tokens, The Florida R...

Today, Ethan Chatagnier discusses his debut novel, bending genres, finding his way to a novel he could complete, doing just enough but not too much research, getting owned by copy editors, and more!   A Pushcart Prize winner, Ethan Chatagnier’s stories have appeared in the Kenyon Review, Georgia Review, and New England Review, and been listed as notable in The Best American Short Stories. He is th...

Today, Matthew Vollmer (All of Us Together in the End) talks to us about his new memoir, living and writing in mystery, discovering creative nonfiction, writing about family, writing about the pandemic, and more!  Matthew Vollmer is the author of two short-story collections—Future Missionaries of America and Gateway to Paradise—as well as three collections of essays—inscriptions for headstones, Pe...

Today, Lydia Conklin talks to us about their collection RAINBOW RAINBOW, writing humor and joy, Lorrie Moore, deciding to publish their collection before their novel, working with Catapult, and more!  Lydia Conklin has received a Stegner Fellowship, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award, three Pushcart Prizes, a Creative Writing Fulbright in Poland, a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, a...

Today, Ling Ma talks to us about her story collection, Bliss Montage, as well as starting from scratch, editing in a postpartum haze, fragrances, and more!  Ling Ma is a writer hailing from Fujian, Utah, and Kansas. She wrote the novel Severance and, more recently, the story collection Bliss Montage, both published by FSG. She lives in Chicago with her family.  Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

Today, Jac Jemc (Empty Theatre) talks to us about the impetus for writing a novel about Empress Sisi and King Ludwig, trimming hundreds of pages as she drafted, using her time wisely, Donald Barthelme, what it feels like to bask in the buzz, and more!  Jac Jemc is the author of The Grip of It, My Only Wife, A Different Bed Every Time, and the story col- lection False Bingo, which won the Chicago R...

Today, Ursula Villarreal-Moura talks to us about her new collection, hating and then learning to love flash fiction, Muriel Spark, how Roberto Bolaño would blurb her forthcoming novel, and more!  Ursula Villarreal-Moura is the author of Math for the Self-Crippling, which was selected by Zinzi Clemmons as the Gold Line Press fiction contest winner, and Like Happiness, forthcoming with Celadon Books...

Today, Kevin Maloney (The Red-Headed Pilgrim) talks to us about fictionalizing his own life, writing about sex, writing a book that was “like On the Road combined with Napoleon Dynamite,” working with Two Dollar Radio, and more!  Kevin Maloney is the author of The Red-Headed Pilgrim, out now on Two Dollar Radio, Horse Girl Fever, out onCLASH Books in 2024, and Cult of Loretta.  At times a TJ Maxx...

Today, V. V. Ganeshananthan talks to us about writing a novel set in the Sri Lankan civil war, the role that medicine played in the life of her character, building tension, writing non-chronologically to start and then switching to chronological, and more!  V. V. Ganeshananthan is the author of the novels Brotherless Night and Love Marriage, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize and named one...

Today, Alia Trabucco Zerán talks to us about the unique structure of her new book, the discomfort of writing about these women and their crimes, the backlash against the book, the decision to include graphic images in the book, making a place for fiction in academic work, her new novel (out on Riverhead in 2024), and more!  Alia Trabucco Zerán was born in Chile in 1983. She was awarded a Fulbright...

Today, Christine Sneed talks to us about leaning on the absurdity of working in an office for her new satirical novel, her long career, almost giving up, deciding to place her latest books herself, figuring out how to hype her work, teaching part-time, and more! Christine Sneed is the author of the novels Please Be Advised: A Novel in Memos, Little Known Facts, and Paris, He Said, and the story co...

Coco Picard talks to us about the decade she spent working on her new book, using constraints, locating the reader, opening her book with a "magical transformation," writing a funny book about dying, and more! Coco Picard is a writer, cartoonist, and curator. She is the author of The Healing Circle (August, 2022; Red Hen Press), which is the winner of the Red Hen Press Women's Prose Prize, and of...

Today, Elisa Gabbert talks to us about conceptualizing her audience(s), the difference for her between writing prose and poetry, “borrowing greatness” from other authors as well as Reddit and Wikipedia, “pseudo-sequiturs,” titles, and more!  Elisa Gabbert is the author of six collections of poetry, essays, and criticism: Normal Distance (Soft Skull); The Unreality of Memory & Other Essays, out now...

Today, Christina Cooke (BROUGHTUPSY, Jan. 2024) talks to us about spending 11 years writing her debut novel, working on it at the Iowa Writers Workshop and MacDowell, the stamina of being a writer, all the “life stuff,” the ego death of going on submission, and more!  Christina Cooke’s writing has previously appeared in PRISM international, The Caribbean Writer, Prairie Schooner, Epiphany: A Liter...

Today Steve Almond (All the Secrets of the World) talks to us about scorpions, taking three decades to finish his first novel, how he came to write a “social novel,” writing from the perspective of a teenaged Latina, Nancy Reagan, and a man who lusts after teenaged girls while maintaining the book’s authenticity, and more!  Steve Almond is the author of eleven books of fiction and nonfiction, incl...

Today, Andrew Bomback talks to us about using his experience as a formerly angry father to write a cultural history on modern parenting, moving from writing fiction to nonfiction, the pressure cooker of parenthood today, looking for answers in parenting books, and more!  Andrew Bomback is Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and the author of DOCTOR (2018) a...

Today Deborah Shapiro (CONSOLATION) talks to us about her new novel, writing about grief, the journey to her decision to self-publish this amazing, gorgeous, “quiet” book, working with Bookmobile, the power of simple covers, and more!  Deborah Shapiro is the author of the novels The Sun in Your Eyes (a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice), The Summer Demands, and Consolation. Her writing ha...

Today, Sara Flemington (EGG ISLAND) talks to us about her debut novel, moving it from short story to longer narrative, its path to publication, the lit scene in Toronto, writing mantras, and more!  Sara Flemington is the author of the novel, Egg Island. Her work has previously appeared in publications such as subTerrain, The Humber Literary Review, The Feathertale Review, and Paper Darts, among ot...

Today, Luke Geddes (Heart of Junk) talks to us about his ideal relationship with his fans, how readings can go wrong, the unique way his book found a publisher, kitsch and pop culture, his record company, and more!  Luke Geddes holds a PhD in comparative literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati. He lives in Milwaukee, WI. He is the author of the novel Heart of Junk, the sh...

Today, Simon Jacobs (String Follow) joins us to talk about nailing the tone of his new novel, starting with a very tight draft and “blowing it out from the middle,” finding an agent, being the son of a successful writer, revising the book to make space for the reader, childhood haunted houses, and more!  Simon Jacobs is from Dayton, Ohio, and lives in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of the nove...

Today, Tim Jones-Yelvington (Don't Make Me Do Something We'll Both Regret) talks to us about their new book, writing about sex, using existing language or text to create friction to rub up against, working toward accessing a more traditional narrative form, their work in social movement contribution, the influence of pop culture, their favorite camp authors, and more!  Tim Jones-Yelvington is the...

Today, Chantal V. Johnson talks to us about capturing the traumatized mind of a brilliant woman, her unique writing process, her use of dialogue and argument, going to auction, retiring from the law, and more!  Chantal V. Johnson is the author of the debut novel Post-Traumatic, published by Little, Brown in April of 2022. Post-Traumatic has been longlisted for the 2022 Center for Fiction First Nov...

Today, A.M. Homes (The Unfolding) joins us to talk about her new book, the current trash fire that is our democracy, releasing a timely book in such an intense time, writing and revising such a conversational novel, and more!  A.M. Homes is the author of thirteen books, among them the bestselling memoir The Mistress’s Daughter; the novels This Book Will Save Your Life, The End of Alice, and Jack;...