"Now, Appalachia"

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot speaks with author Matthew Pearl about his latest book "The Taking of Jemima Boone." His novels have been international and  New York Times  bestsellers translated into more than 30 languages. His nonfiction writing has appeared in the  New York Times,  the  Boston Globe ,  The Atavist Magazine , and  Slate . The&nb...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews journalist Stephen Kurczy about his new book THE QUIET ZONE. Stephen Kurczy is an award-winning  journalist whose work has appeared in  The NewYork Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, The Christian Science Monitor, and VICE, among other outlets. He graduated from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he w...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Evan Morgan Williams about his new book STORIES OF THE NEW WEST. Evan Morgan Williams is the author of three collections of short stories. His latest collection, Stories of the New West, will be released in September, 2021, by Main Street Rag Press. Pre-orders are welcome! Click on “Purchase” to learn more. Williams’ first collectio...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Wiley Cash about his latest novel WHEN GHOSTS COME HOME. Wiley Cash is the New York Times best selling author of When Ghosts Come Home, The Last Ballad, A Land More Kind than Home, and This Dark Road to Mercy. He currently serves as Alumni Author-in-Residence at the University of North Carolina-Asheville. He lives with his wife and...

Gervais Hagerty grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. After reporting and producing the news for both radio and television, she taught communications at The Citadel. When not writing, she works on local environmental and transportation issues. She lives in Charleston with her husband and two daughters. In Polite Company is her first novel.

On this episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author James Tate Hill about his new memoir BLIND MAN'S BLUFF. James Tate Hill is the author of Academy Gothic, winner of the 2014 Nilsen Prize for a First Novel, coming in fall 2015 from SMSU Press. He serves as Fiction and Reviews Editor for the literary journal Monkeybicycle, an imprint of Dzanc Books. His short stories have appeared or are f...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews scholar and editor Sylvia Shurbutt about a new collection of essays titled SILAS HOUSE: EXPLORING AN APPALACHIAN WRITERS WORK. Sylvia is the director of the Shepherd University Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities. She currently serves as the Appalachian Heritage WIR Project Director at Shepherd University and as the editor of th...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot welcomes back author Karen Salyer McElmurrary to talk about her new book: VOICE LESSONS: ESSAYS. Karen Salyer McElmurray’s Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey, was an AWP Award Winner for Creative Nonfiction. Her novels are The Motel of the Stars, Editor’s Pick by Oxford American, and Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven, winner of the Chaffin...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot speaks to thriller novelist David Bell about his latest novel KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS. David Bell is the USA Today-bestselling author of eleven novels from Berkley/Penguin, including KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS, THE REQUEST, LAYOVER, SOMEBODY’S DAUGHTER, BRING HER HOME, SINCE SHE WENT AWAY, SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW, THE FORGOTTEN GIRL, NEVER COME BACK, THE...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Blake Scott Ball about his latest book CHARLIE BROWN'S AMERICA: THE POPULAR POLITICS OF PEANUTS. Blake is an Assistant Professor of History at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama and is a writer and historian of 20th century culture.

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Jim Hamilton about his new novel THE LAST ENTRY. Jim Hamilton is a County Extension Director for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. While originally from a small town in east central Alabama, he's been huntin', plantin', transplanting, consuming, and teaching about ginseng in western North Carolina for the last 10 yea...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author and podcaster Anna Sale about her new book LETS TALK ABOUT HARD THINGS. Anna is the creator and host of Death, Sex & Money, the award-winning podcast from WNYC Studios, where she’s been doing interviews about “the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more” since 2014. Before that, she covered politics for public ra...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, the special series on the business side of publishing concludes with a conversation with literary agent Alice Speilburg. Alice is the founding agent of Speilburg Literary and has worked in book publishing for more than a decade. She is a member of the Association of American Literary Agents (formerly the AAR) and represents narrative nonfiction an d commer...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, our special series on the business side of publishing continues with book publicist Maryglenn McCombs. Maryglenn is a 1993 graduate of Vanderbilt University and has been actively working in the book publishing industry for nearly 20 years. During that time she has been involved with literally hundreds of books. She discuss what a book publicist does for au...

This episode of Now, Appalachia is the first episode in a series of podcasts focusing on the business side of writing and publishing. The guest for this episode is Ashley Runyon, of the University Press of Kentucky. The University Press of Kentucky has a dual mission—the publication of academic books of high scholarly merit in a variety of fields and the publication of significant books about the...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Ohio author Jess Montgomery about her latest novel THE STILLS. Jess Montgomery is the “Literary Life” columnist for the Dayton Daily News and writes a new Writer's Digest magazine column, "Level Up Your Writing (Life)." Based on early chapters of the first in the Kinship Series, The Widows, Jess was awarded an Ohio Arts Council individual...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Kentucky author Leesa Cross-Smith about her new novel THIS CLOSE TO OKAY. Leesa Cross-Smith is a homemaker and the author of Every Kiss A War, Whiskey & Ribbons, So We Can Glow, and This Close To Okay. She lives in Kentucky with her husband and their two teenagers. Find more at LeesaCrossSmith.com.

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews North Carolina author Renea Winchester about her new novel OUTBOUND TRAIN. Renea Winchester was born in Bryson City, North Carolina. She is the author of two nonfiction books set in Atlanta Georgia where she lived for 17 years. Outbound Train is her first novel.

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews New York Times bestselling Appalachian author John Hart about his latest novel THE UNWILLING. John is the New York Times bestselling author of The King of Lies, Down River, The Last Child, Iron House, Redemption Road, and The Hush. The only author in history to win the Edgar Award for Best Novel consecutively, John has also won the Barry A...

On the first episode of 2021, Eliot interviews author Michael Farris  Smith about his new novel NICK. Michael is the author of Blackwood, The Fighter, Desperation Road, Rivers, and The Hands of Strangers. His novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists in Esquire, Southern Living, Book Riot, and numerous other outlets, and have been named Indie Next, Barnes & Noble Discover, and Amazon...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot speaks to Brooks Rexroat, founder of Summer Camp Publishing. Summer Camp Publishing is a micropress specializing in brief but powerful works of prose and poetry. Based in Banner Elk, North Carolina, the press has a special affinity for the Appalachian and Midwestern roots of its founders but is home for compelling work from writers writing from anywh...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot speaks to Tennessee historian and author Jeff Jackson about his latest book: PAPER BULLETS: TWO ARTISTS WHO RISKED THEIR LIVES TO DEFY THE NAZIS. Jeff is a is Professor of History at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. An expert on European history and culture, he is the author of Paris Under Water: How the City of Light Survived the Great Flood of...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Kentucky author Ellen Birkett Morris about her short story collection LOST GIRLS. Her fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, AntiochReview, South Carolina Review, and other journals. She received the BevelSummers Prize for short fiction. Morris is a recipient of the Al Smith Fellowfrom the Kentucky Arts Council. Morris has an MFA from QueensU...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Ohio poet Ben Kline. Hailing from west Appalachian farm country, Ben Kline lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, writing poems and telling stories, drinking more coffee than might seem wise. His chapbook SAGITTARIUS A* will be published in 2020 by Sibling Rivalry Press. His work is forthcoming or has recently appeared in The Cortland Review, DIAGRAM,...

On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews North Carolina author and podcaster Landis Wade. Landis Wade is a recovering trial lawyer, dog lover, host of Charlotte Readers Podcast and author of books and stories whose third book--"The Christmas Redemption"--won the Holiday category of the 12th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards. He won the 2016 North Carolina State Bar short st...