The Stacks

Today on The Stacks we're discussing Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation by Robert W. Fieseler. Author ( Elizabeth Taylor, A Life for Passion ) and former book publicist Joseph Papa, is our guest and he helps us break down this book. We discuss the use of the acronym LGBTQIA+, how society criminalizes human beings, and some of the most incredible...

Etaf Rum is a debut author, whose book A Woman is No Man , is one of the buzziest of the year. The story follows three gerneations of women in a Palestinian family, and throughout we are asked to grapple with the themes of identity, self worth, abuse, and empowerment. Rum shares with us what it is like to hear from her readers, some of her goals, and what books she keeps around for inspiration. Th...

Our guest today is Joseph Papa, author ( Elizabeth Taylor, A Passion for Life ), activist, and former book publicist at Harper Collins. Joseph brings his years of experience to the show to explain how book publicity works, what it is like working with celebrity authors, Kris Jenner's reading taste, Scientology and more! You can find links to everything we discuss on today's episdoe on The Stacks w...

Beloved is a classic American novel by one of the greatest novelists of our time, Toni Morrison. It is also The Stacks Book Club pick this week, and we are lucky to have author and scholar DaMaris B. Hill ( A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing ) to help us break it down. We talk about the legacy of slavery on Black Americans, how to discuss great works that we don't personally enjoy, intimacy as it...

We're joined today by Robert W. Fieseler author of June The Stacks Book Club Pick, Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation . In our conversation we get to know Fieseler, how this tragic event came into his life, where he found his sources, and the toll writing about trauma can have on an author. Our conversation is spoiler free, and serves as a great...

DaMaris B. Hill is an author and scholar, and her latest book, A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing , is a collection of poetry dealing with the incarceration of Black women. Today on The Stacks she talks with us about how she came to be a writer, her perfectionist spirit, and the books that have inspired her along the way. You can find everyhting we talk about on today's episdoe including a full li...

Keltie is back! That's right, its time for The Stacks Book Club, and Keltie is here as we take a deep dive into Cheryl Strayed's collection of advice, Tiny Beautiful Things . We talk about this fantastic book, the best advice we've received, dealing with grief, being ambitious, and weddings. Basically, we're talking about it all. And the best part? There are no spoilers this week.  You can fi...

On today's episdoe of The Short Stacks our guest is Damon Young. Damon is the co-founder of Very Smart Brothas, a senior editor at The Root, and the author of What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker . We talk today about the anxieties of releasing a memoir into the world, public apologies, and getting blurbs from people you admire. There are no spoilers today. You can find everything we talk about...

The Stacks is thrilled to announce we are now part of The LadyGang Network on PodcastOne . Don't worry, there are no changes for you, we're still the same bookish podcast you love. In order to kick off our new partnership, we've got co-host of The LadyGang and correspondent on Entertainment Tonight , Keltie Knight. We talk about starting your own business, the value of a good first impression, and...

In honor of National Poetry Month, we're talking all things poetry for The Stacks Book Club. We're joined again by author, performance artist, and poet Gabrielle Civil, and we're discussing Ntozake Shange's poetry collection, Wild Beauty . If you're intimidated by poetry, you'll love today's episode. We talk about how to approach poetry, where to start, and if there is such thing as a "good" poem...

On this episode of The Short Stacks our guest is award-wining author, Miriam Toews. We are discussing her new book, Women Talking , which is inspired by true events of a series of rapes within a Mennonite community in Bolivia. We talk about the differences between a first and eighth book, what other jobs Miriam might like to have, and what authors you should check out if you like Women Talking . T...

Today we have performance artist, author, poet, and professor Gabrielle Civil on the podcast to discuss the creative process, books that bite, overachieving Black girls, and books in translation. We spend time discussing Performance Memoir as a genre and we hear about Gabrielle's books Swallow the Fish and Experiments in Joy . You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Websi...

Ben Blacker is back and we're talking all things theatre and oral history today on The Stacks, as we breakdown The World Only Spins Forward by Isaac Butler and Dan Kois. The book is an oral history of Angels in America , a classic American play about the AIDS crisis by Tony Kushner. We discuss government funded art, human rights, and so much theatre geek goodness. Plus, no spoilers. Listen and enj...

Today on The Short Stacks we're joined by debut author, Bryan Washington, whose debut book Lot is a short story collection set in Houston. Bryan talks street names as titles, his "day job", and what is next for him (trust me its exciting).  You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Website: https://thestackspodcast.com/2019/04/08/ss10-bryan-washington Connect with Brya...

Today marks one full year of The Stacks , and what an amazing year it has been. The Stacks has every intention of making year two even better. To kick it off we have a real life renaissance man; author, comedian, and podcaster, Ben Blacker. We talk today about the importance of literature as a way to see the humanity in others, the types of anger you can feel toward books, and about Ben's life as...

Today we are dissecting our first thriller ever on The Stacks Book Club, and to help us do it, we have actress and comedian Niccole Thurman ( The Opposition with Jordan Klepper ). The book is Iain Reid's debut novel, I'm Thinking of Ending Things , and it tells the story of a relationship on the brink. We talk about male authors writing female characters, what we like in a thriller, and who we thi...

On April 10th, we will be discussing The World Only Spins Forward by Isaac Butler and Dan Kois for The Stacks Book Club. To get you ready for that conversation, we have co-author Isaac Butler on The (not-so) Short Stacks to talk about his background in theatre, how this oral history came to be, the logistics of writing as a duo, and about Isaac's Shakespeare podcast, Lend Me Your Ears . We cover a...

Our guest today is actress and comedian, Niccole Thurman, who is best known for being a citizen journalist on The Opposition with Jordan Klepper , among other things. Niccole talks with us today about finding a creative outlet, dating challenges, and the need for more empathy. Fans of Oprah's Book Club get ready, you may hear some familiar titles as we dive into Niccole's faves. You can find every...

Lawyer and author James Sexton ( If You're in My Office, It's Already Too Late ) is back on The Stacks to discuss Good and Mad by Rebecca Traister. In her newest book, Traister explains the revolutionary power of women's anger. In our discussion for The Stacks Book Club we talk about intersectional feminism, the 2020 Election, and the power and persuasiveness of Traister's arguments. Today's episo...

The Reckonings made The Stacks favorite books of 2018 , and today we're talking with the author of that essay collection, Lacy M. Johnson. The Reckonings is a meditation on justice and mercy in relationship to some of the most complex issues of the current moment. Johnson joins us to discuss how this collection came to be, what inspired her in her writing, and what snacks she ate along t...

We're talking relationships today on The Stacks with long time divorce lawyer and author James J. Sexton. We discuss James' book If You're in My Office, It's Already Too Late a guide on how- not -to be married. We get some good relationship advice, and some even better book recommendations, plus we talk about our favorite lawyer narratives. You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The...

Friday Black is a genre-bending collection of short stories by debut author, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. It tackles the Black experience in America, consumerism, mental health and many other pressing issues of our day. Today on The Stacks, Wade Allain-Marcus ( Insecure , French Dirty , Snowfall ) and Traci attempt to break down the major themes and ideas from these stories for The Stacks Book C...

Today on The Short Stacks we're honored to welcome author of this week's The Stacks Book Club pick, Friday Black , Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. We talk about his genre-bending short story collection, how the title and cover came to be, and what its like being part of this current moment of exciting and diverse fiction writing. There are no spoilers today. You can find everything we discuss on to...

Its time for another episode of The Stacks. Today our guest is actor ( Insecure , Snowfall ), director ( French Dirty ), and writer ( Grown-ish ) Wade Allain-Marcus. We talk about how TV shows are written, white savior narratives, and connecting with the emotional truth of a story. Plus, we're joined by Wade's chatty dog Tika. You can find everything we discuss on today's show on The Stacks' Websi...

All You Can Ever Know is an emotional memoir on adoption and identity by Nicole Chung. It is also this week's pick for The Stacks Book Club. We are again joined by author Vanessa McGrady (author of Rock Needs River ) to discuss All You Can Ever Know . We talk about transracial adoptions, adoption mythology, and expectations versus reality. There ar...