“When I critique the Midwest, my intention is to do so with love and some self-awareness about my own character defects. And some humility.” Beth Mayer and Sam Tschida chat about Beth’s new collection, We Will Tell You Otherwise, out now from Black Lawrence Press.
“I try to read every relevant thing I can get my hands on.” Ayşe Papatya Bucak talks with Natalie Rowland about research, setting, and writing the dark side of history for her debut collection, The Trojan War Museum: and Other Stories, out now from W.W. Norton.
“I know the point of fiction is supposed to be to differentiate characters, but one thing you notice about the army is that the experiences one person has are often very similar to the experiences other people have, and I tried to write the novel in a way that speaks to that”: J.A. Bernstein talks with Michael Reid Busk about his debut novel, Rachel’s Tomb.
“Ultimately the novel is—at least to me, privately—as much about the act of making a novel as it is telling a story”: Amanda Golblatt talks with Jennifer Solheim about her debut novel, Hard Mouth.
Carley Moore talks with Eleanor J. Bader about her first novel, The Not Wives, as well as about writing, revision, teaching, disability, and the possibility of progressive activism in Trumpian times.
“If friendship is the shared shore, sometimes you’re standing on solid ground, and sometimes you’re the one at sea:” Elizabeth Ames talks with Natalie Bakopoulos about her debut novel, The Other’s Gold.
“A story never fully feels ‘completed’ to me.” Dallas Woodburn talks with Carand Burnet about memory, coming of age, parenthood, and her debut collection of linked stories, Woman, Running Late, in a Dress.
“I learned the craft of writing first by reading, then by writing, then by reading again”: Laura Scalzo answers Kate Lemery’s questions about her journey as a writer and her 2018 debut, The Speed of Light in Air, Water, and Glass.
“The Municipalists was a way for me to dig deeper into the idea of cities in general, both to explore the ways in which they can be great and to come to a better understanding of how they need to change:” Seth Fried talks with Shawn Andrew Mitchell about his debut novel, ‘lightness’ as a revision strategy, idea generation tips, and more.
“The best writing is transformative…Writing succeeds, too, when it acts as a mirror, reflecting our humanity back to us”: R.L. Maizes talks with Donna Baier Stein about writing outsiders, literary influences, and the path to releasing her debut collection.
“We are always in a particular place at a particular time. As much as we might want to treat our first observations as essential, they remain unreal until they are embodied.” Michael Hinken talks with Salvatore Scibona about his new novel, The Volunteer.
“Any art that matters presents, somehow, an argument against. It’s a dream of alternatives and an assertion of spirit.” Naomi Ulsted talks with John Domini about activism, Naples, and not overthinking craft.
