The Lives of Writers

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Erin Slaughter and Lena Ziegler interview each other about literary friendship, navigating disclosure, dignity, and responsibility in memoirs about trauma, writing with compassion about your previous self and real-life people who have harmed you, the emotional realities and real-life risks of publishing memoir, and more. Erin Slaughter is the author of...

This episode of The Lives of Writers is a recast of another podcast, Reading around the Margins. Normally, in each episode of Reading Around the Margins, host Naomi Washer talks with writers, readers, translators, publishers, and booksellers about how they interact with their books as objects; how their own marginalia consciously or unconsciously informs the books they come to write; and how the e...

Autofocus Books publisher Michael Wheaton presents brief readings and various interview clips with the authors of the three Autofocus  spring 2025 new releases: Erin Dorney (Yes I Am Human I Know You Were Wondering), Shayne Terry (Leave: A Postpartum Account), and Teresa Carmody (A Healthy Interest in the Lives of Others). Brief readings: "Day 27" by Erin Dorney, "Stitched Part II" by Shayne Terry...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Andrew Bertaina interviews Nick Rees Gardner. Andrew Bertaina is the author of the essay collection The Body Is A Temporary Gathering Place , out now from Autofocus Books, and the short story collection One Person Away From You (2021), which won the Moon City Short Fiction Award.  Nick Rees Gardner is the author of the story collection Delinquents and O...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Jason McCall interviews Tasha Coryell. Tasha Coryell is the author of the debut novel Love Letters to A Serial Killer . Her forthcoming novel, Matchmaking for Psychopaths, is now available for preorder. Jason McCall is the author of the essay collection Razed by TV Sets (Autofocus, 2024) and the poetry collections What Shot Did You Ever Take (co-written...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Jason McCall interviews Juan Carlos Reyes. Juan Carlos Reyes is the author of the story collection, Three Alarm Fire , which is out on October 22, and the novella  A Summer's Lynching . His stories, poems and essays have appeared in Florida Review , Waccamaw Journal , and Hawai’i Review , and more. He has been the recipient of the Gar LaSalle Artist Tru...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Drew Hawkins interviews Jami Attenberg. Jami Attenberg is a New York Times bestselling author of  now eight books of fiction, including The Middlesteins and  All Grown Up ; a memoir,  I Came All This Way to Meet You ; and 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round . She is the founder of the annual #1000Word...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Drew Hawkins interviews Kirsten Reneau. Kirsten Reneau is the author the debut full-length essay collection, Sensitive Creatures , which is out now with Belle Point Press.  of two chapbooks, and her work has been published in  The Threepenny Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Reed Magazine, and others.  Drew Hawkins is a writer and journalist in New Orlea...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Kristine Langley Mahler interviews Dennis James Sweeney. Kristine Langley Mahler is the author of three nonfiction books: A Calendar Is a Snakeskin   (Autofocus Books, 2023), Curing Season: Artifacts (West Virginia University Press, 2022), and the erasure essay collection Teen Queen Training (forthcoming with Autofocus Books in 2026). Kristine is the di...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Kaycie Hall interviews Puloma Ghosh. Kaycie Hall is the lead editor of our online journal Autofocus . She's also a writer and literary translator, whose work has appeared in Peach Mag, Neutral Spaces, Triangle House Review , and other journals.  Puloma Ghosh is the author of the debut short story collection Mouth (Astra House, 2024). Her work has appear...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Joshua James Amberson interviews Tomas Moniz. Tomas Moniz is the author of the novels Big Familia and, most recently, All Friends Are Necessary . He also edited the popular Rad Dad and Rad Families anthologies. He currently teaches at Berkeley City College and the Antioch MFA program.  Joshua James Amberson is the author of Staring Contest: Essays About...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Erin Slaughter interviews Jenny Irish. Jenny Irish is the author, most recently, of Hatch . She is also the author of the hybrid collections Common Ancestor and Tooth Box , the short-story collection I Am Faithful , and the chapbook Lupine . Erin Slaughter is the author of the short story collection A Manual for How to Love Us and the poetry collections...

In today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Sara Rauch interviews Ursula Villarreal-Moura. Ursula Villarreal-Moura is the author of Math for the Self Crippling and Like Happiness . Her stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in numerous magazines including Tin House, Catapult, Prairie Schooner, Midnight Breakfast, Washington Square, Story, Bennington Review, Wigleaf Top 50, and Gulf Coast.  Sa...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Jason McCall interviews Brooke Champagne. Brooke Champagne is the author of Nola Face:  A Latina’s Life in the Big Easy .  Her writing appears widely in literary journals and has received various awards, including the inaugural William Bradley Prize for the Essay for her work “Exercises.”  Her essays have been selected as Notables in several editions of...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Mike Nagel interviews Andrew Bertaina. Andrew Bertaina is the author of the essay collection The Body Is A Temporary Gathering Place , out now from Autofocus Books, and the short story collection One Person Away From You (2021), which won the Moon City Short Fiction Award.  Mike Nagel is the author of Duplex and Culdesac ( Autofocus Books, 2022 and 2024...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Jeff Alessandrelli interviews Mallory Smart. Mallory Smart is the author of the books I Keep My Visions to Myself , The Only Living Girl in Chicago, I Want to Feel Happy But I Only Feel _____, and The Writer . She's the editor-in-chief of Maudlin House  and host of the podcast Textual Healing , where you can find a recent episode with the roles of this...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Aaron Burch interviews Josh Denslow. Josh Denslow is the author of the collection Not Everyone Is Special (7.13 Books) and the novel Super Normal (Stillhouse Press). Some recent stories have appeared in The Commuter, Okay Donkey. Pithead Chapel, and The Rumpus. He is the Email Marketing Manager for Bookshop.org , and he has read and edited for SmokeLong...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Teresa Carmody interviews Kristen E. Nelson. Kristen E. Nelson is a queer writer, performer, and community builder. In addition to In the Away Time (Autofocus Books, 2024), she is the author of the length of this gap (Damaged Goods, August 2018) and two chapbooks: sometimes I gets lost and is grateful for noises in the dark (Dancing Girl, 2017) and Writ...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Emily Adrian interviews Justin Taylor. Justin Taylor's most recent book is the novel Reboot. He is also the author of the memoir Riding with the Ghost , the novel The Gospel of Anarchy , and two story collections: Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever and Flings . His work has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper's, the Oxford American , and the Sewanee...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Michael Wheaton interviews Lucas Mann. Lucas Mann is the author of the new book, Attachments: Essays on Fatherhood and Other Performances , out just this week from University of Iowa Press. He is also the author of the books Captive Audience: On Love and Reality TV, Lord Fear: A Memoir, and Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere.   He teaches cre...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Drew Hawkins interviews Maurice Carlos Ruffin. Maurice Carlos Ruffin is the author, most recently, of the historical novel, The American Daughters . He is also the author of The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love Yo u, which was longlisted for the Story Prize and was a finalist for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and We Cast a Shadow , whi...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Lena Crown interviews Richard Scott Larson. Richard Scott Larson is the author of  the memoir The Long Hallway  (UW Press). He has received fellowships from MacDowell and the New York Foundation for the Arts, and his creative and critical work has appeared in The Sun Magazine, Los Angeles Review of Books, Harvard Review , and other journals and antholog...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Aaron Burch interviews Jason McCall. Jason McCall is the author of the essay collection Razed by TV Sets (Autofocus, 2024) and the poetry collections What Shot Did You Ever Take (co-written with Brian Oliu); A Man Ain’t Nothin’ ; Two-Face God ; Mother, Less Child (co-winner of the 2013 Paper Nautilus Vella Chapbook Prize); Dear Hero, (winner of the 2012...

In today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Sara Rauch interviews Julia Hannafin. Julia Hannafin is the author of the debut novel Cascade (Great Place Books, 2024). They also write for television. Sara Rauch is the author of the book-length essay  XO , from us at Autofocus Books. She’s also the author of the story collection,  What Shines from it , from Alternating Current Press. Her book reviews...

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers , Joshua James Amberson interviews Jeff Alessandrelli. Jeff Alessandrelli is the author of several books, including the poetry collection Fur Not Light . His novel And Yet is out in April 2024 with Future Tense Books. He is also the director and co-editor of the small presses Fonograf Editions and Bunny Presse . Joshua James Amberson is the author of Star...