“I am much more interested in the people who are not forever trying to be known”: N. West Moss with David Ebenbach, discussing their new books The Subway Stops at Bryant Park and The Guy We Didn’t Invite to the Orgy and other stories.
“Boy, I hope I’m wrong”: Alexander Weinstein talks with Nina Buckless about consumer culture, virtual reality, and his dystopian debut collection of stories, Children of the New World.
“The inner landscape is something fiction can do far better than any other narrative art”: Tim Weed with Art Hutchinson on travel, reality, and his new collection, A Field Guide to Murder and Fly Fishing.
“I try to write about enduring human frailties”: Paul Vidich and Paula Whyman chat about publishing later in life, family, and Vidich’s new novel, The Good Assassin.
“My final suggestion is to feel free to ignore all of the above advice or any other ‘shoulds'”: Ann S. Epstein with Danielle LaVaque-Manty on self-teaching, researching historical fiction, and her debut novel, On the Shore.
“It didn’t really occur to me that my stories were so much about sex until I started getting the blurbs for my book”: Siel Ju chats with Michelle Ross about her new novel-in-stories, Cake Time.
Learning from your teachers’ teachers: Elizabeth McCracken, V.V. Ganeshananthan, and Rebecca Scherm discuss the writing chain of influence.
“I’m very much a second draft person”: Dan Chaon and Amy Gustine talk structure, process, and Chaon’s new novel, Ill Will.
“I perceive fictionalized history as a terrific device for not only the artist’s explored interest in perhaps a previously unfamiliar subject, but as an opportunity to dust convention”: David Ebershoff talks with Brian Bartels in a 2010 interview From the Archives.
From the Archives: The title of Jim Shepard’s 2011 collection, You Think That’s Bad, could also be a creative mantra. Here the veteran writer discusses his research process, the apocalyptic state of the world, the (possible) irrelevancy of literature to the apocalypse, his epic mustache—and other matters of importance.
From the Archives: Colson Whitehead talks process in his 2009 novel, Sag Harbor, the art of manufacturing genuine nostalgia, and the duality of veering “between the capricious horribleness of the everyday and the absurd beauty of existence.”
“I tell my students to focus on developing aspects of their characters that they don’t share”: Neil Connelly talks with Steven Wingate about presses tiny and huge, teaching in MFA programs, and his new collection, In the Wake of Our Vows.
