“I like writing characters who are in those vulnerable, intense moments, whether it’s at the end or the beginning of a new relationship, arrival in a new city, the beginning of sobriety, or on the eve of or just post a gender transition.” Emily Nagin talks with Lydia Conklin about their debut collection, Rainbow Rainbow.
From the Archives: After waiting impatiently for Daniel Orozco’s debut story collection, J.T. Bushnell finds that it exceeds all expectations. Bushnell calls these stories “full of satire and absurdity and insight.”
“Every story begins with a feeling…And then I sit down, and try to build a house, and put that feeling inside, where it can live forever.” Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry talks with Ian Singleton about her debut collection.
“I love that short stories are tales—that you need to hold somebody’s attention the way you would if you were talking to them. With novels, it’s a Scheherazade situation, and you’re trying to get them to come back and stay.” Carrie Messenger talks with Jennifer Solheim about her debut collection, as well as fairy tales, Eastern European history, translation, 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.
“Yes, I have faith in my process, but I also know that it could fail me at any time.” Louise Marburg chats with Mary Volmer about patience, process, and the short story form.
“Thanks! I will write that damn novel! I did pet a kitten while tripping! (Wait, did I say that?)”: Alex Behr and Emily Nagin talk music, writing, and Behr’s debut collection, Planet Grim, out now from 7.13 Books.
“The story evolves, and I evolve with it”: Michelle Ross chats with Eleanor Gallagher about growing up, flash fiction, and her debut collection, There’s So Much They Haven’t Told You.
“There is knowledge in this book that seems bigger than MFA fodder, a living-out of the truths that the writing life uncovers and details that cannot be arrived at via Google”: Nathan Poole on Robin MacArthur’s debut collection, Half Wild.
“With these folks, the trouble stews in the heart”: Jodi Paloni talks with Philip Graham about her debut story collection, They Could Live with Themselves (Press 53).
