“They were various versions of American realism, reflections of an American writing style that felt to me like a costume”: Derek Palacio chats with Gabriel Urza about The Mortifications, his new novel.
“Like many pre-pubescent Catholic girls in the early 1960s, I thought I had a ‘vocation,’ a calling to sisterhood. Well, I did, but it was sisterhood is power—feminism not the nunnery.”
“I believe that a little piece of the supernatural, of the metaphysical, and of the unknown placed within the realm of the known is how—at least to the West African mind—the world works.”
“I hope to make a statement on rural people’s lives and how they’ve suffered under the loss of manufacturing in rural America”: Jaimee Wriston Colbert chats with Barrett Bowlin about her new collection, Wild Things (BkMk Press).
“The trick is to find the place where emotion sparks action, and action sparks emotion”: Sarah Van Arsdale chats with Natalie Baszile about setting, gender, and her new collection of novellas, In Case of Emergency, Break Glass.
Jamie Duclos-Yourdon and Adrian Van Young discuss revisionist historical fiction, fatherhood, and their recent novels, Froelich’s Ladder and Shadows in Summerland.
“So much else disappears, yet it feels like most of us have a handful of stories we tell ourselves about how we became the people we are, stories that ideally would probably get swapped out over time as we grow and heal and go forward.”
“Many characters in the book deal with unexpected changes in their lives and would welcome facts to guide them. The title seemed to reflect the emotional struggles of the characters and almost implies that it’s simple to change a life. But my characters find that life is complex; what works for one person will not work for another.”
Donna Baier Stein talks with Diane Bonavist about her new book, The Silver Baron’s Wife, inspired by the life of Colorado’s Baby Doe Tabor, as well as the challenges of wrestling with research, how to portray characters with depth, and the ways she approaches writing in different genres.
“I was more interested in it as a book exploring characters just going about their lives. For me that’s the part of the Rust Belt narrative not often told.”
Richard Hawley talks with Mindy Misener about youth, revelations, the origins of his new novel, and more.
Charles Baxter poses five questions to his former student, Dean Bakopoulos, about his new novel, Summerlong, just out in paperback.
