“To be honest, I’d say that in the end the only thing that ultimately matters in story writing is simply trying to create a strong and original narrative, plus always aiming to make every story a little tour de force, which is a what a truly successful short story should be, possessing that intensity—it’s why a story is so much different than a novel and special in a way.”
“I wanted the book not to look like other people’s books. And to have a kind of crazy logic of its own”: Charles Baxter with Ian Singleton on his new collection, There’s Something I Want You to Do.
“Lennon not only balances the mundane with the fantastic, but makes the fantastic feel mundane in the context of this world”: Sung J. Woo on Robert J. Lennon’s new collection, See You in Paradise.
Diane Cook talks with Anne Valente about her short story collection By Light We Know Our Names: “In fiction, I think objects and patterns among those objects serve as something tangible for me and for characters, a way of making meaning out of something concrete in the face of uncertainty, intangibility, and everything we can’t and don’t know.”
Bonnie ZoBell talks to Jerry Gabriel about her linked short story collection, What Happened Here: “At one point in writing a story, the more words I have is the better. At another point, that switches entirely and I mark my progress by how many words I’ve been able to get rid of.”
Shelly Oria on journeying with her characters: “I follow the voice; I usually have no idea where the fuck we’re going. I’m a hitchhiker and often the driver is kind of an asshole. Or not really an asshole, just very preoccupied with someone or something that isn’t me.”
John Warner talks to Philip Graham about giving his characters an extra graceful breath: “I see mankind basically as a pestilence, bent on destroying each other and the Earth itself. . . And yet, sometimes we can break free of our monstrousness and be genuinely good and kind.”
Maureen O’Brien talks to Robin Parks about the rules for writing a good short story, searching for fact in fiction, and creating a cohesive collection.
Every time I read this story I get a thrill, the sensation of having to hold on tight for a wild, plummeting ride, a dizzying shift in perspective, a cascade of questions that I can’t answer.
Matthew Batt reviews Halina Duraj’s The Family Cannon: “What binds it is the fierce and loyal will of the one who knows she has to keep weaving these stray bits of stick and story and trash and grass back together to make us who we are—family.”
