Book Fight

This week we're unlocking one of our bonus episodes, usually available only to Patreon subscribers. This is the inauguaral episode in our Summer of Shorts season, in which we're discussing both short stories and short pants. In this episode we take on a Ling Ma short story and also a pair of "conspiracy shorts" that are supposed to protect you from electromagnetic fields. If you like the episode, and want to hear the rest of the Summer of Shorts season, you can subscribe to our Patreon for just five bucks: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight You can also read the Ling Ma story we talked about here, via the New Yorker site (if you have free articles left this month, or are a subscriber): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/11/peking-duck  

We're joined by the author of SINK to talk about difficult memoirs, how various kinds of privilege play out in workshop, and why he likes writing that forces you to get a little lost.  Check out more from Joseph--and buy his book--via his website: https://www.josephearlthomas.net/ You can learn more about Blue Stoop Philly, including local literary events and course offerings, here: https://www.bluestoop.org/ And if you like our podcast, and want more of it in your life--including two bonus episodes each month--join our Patreon for just $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by Irish author Mark O'Connell (A Thread of Violence, Notes from an Apocalypse, and To Be a Machine, which won the 2019 Rooney Prize for Irish literature) to discuss a John Banville novel, The Book of Evidence, a fictionalized account of a famous Irish murder. O'Connell's newest book is actually a nonfiction exploration of that same murder, which took place in the early 80s and made headlines around the country, in part because the murderer was a well-known Dublin socialite. We talk to O'Connell about why he became so obsessed with that murder, his approach to writing and researching nonfiction, and why he's not worried about AI taking any of our jobs. You can find more about O'Connell--and his books--at his website: https://mark-oconnell.com/ If you like our show, and want to support it, we're offering two bonus episodes each month for only $5. Most recently those include our ongoing Summer of Shorts, in which we read short stories and talk about short pants: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by Sebastian Castillo--author, most recently, of SALMON--to discuss a very strange, and strangely funny, novel. 

We're joined by Libby Cudmore--author of the "hipster mystery" novel The Big Rewind--to talk about her experiments in flash fiction, her relationship to genre, and why she loves Dave Housley's LOONEY.  You can find Libby on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/LibbyCudmore And if you like our show, please consider joining the Patreon. Just five bucks a month gets you access to bonus episodes, including our special Summer of Shorts season: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by fiction writer Sarah Anne Strickley (Incendiary Devices) to talk about what it's like to be one half of a literary power couple. Plus a strange Brian Evenson novella, Sarah's path toward weirdness in her own fiction, and whether the Iowa Writers Workshop will live inside our heads forever. Check out Sarah's work--including her new book--at her website: https://www.sarahannestrickley.com/ And if you'd like more Book Fight in your life, join our Patreon and get two bonus episodes a month, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by the founding editors of Great Place Books--Emily Adrian and Alex Higley--to talk about why they started a new press, and the kinds of books they're hoping to publish. We also discuss Rivka Galchen's short story, "How I Became a Vet," from a recent issue of The New Yorker.  You can learn more about Great Place Books here: https://www.greatplacebooks.com/ You can read "How I Became a Vet" here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/13/how-i-became-a-vet Alex on Twitter: https://twitter.com/higley_alex Emily on Twitter: https://twitter.com/adremily Join our Patreon, support the show, and get access to fun bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by Nic Brown, author of several books, most recently the memoir Bang Bang Crash, about his life as a rock drummer. Nic was also a grad school classmate of ours at the Iowa Writers Workshop, so we decided to revisit Stop-Time, the famous memoir by Frank Conroy, who was in his final years of running the program when we were students there. You can find Nic (and his book) here: https://www.nicbrown.net/ If you like the show, and want more of it, you can Subscribe to our Patreon for $5 a month and get exclusive bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by John Cotter, author of the memoir Losing Music, out this week from Milkweed Editions. The book is about an incurable inner-ear disorder that came on suddenly, and inexplicably, and how John has had to reckon with the gradual loss of his hearing, and the host of other issues that brings with it. John picked a famous Maxine Hong Kingston essay for us to read, one that offers an interesting model for writing about what we don't know.  You can learn more about John, and find links to purchase his book, here: https://johncotter.net/ If you like the show, and would like to exchange five of your hard-earned dollars for monthly bonus content--including access to the Book Fight Book Club--you can sign up for our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

Return guest Christopher Gonzalez (I'm Not Hungry But I Could Eat) joins us to talk about the difference between gay stories and queer stories, writing long, and how not to be a creepy weirdo on Twitter.  You can read Alejandro Varela's story, "Carlitos in Charge," here, via Harper's: https://harpers.org/archive/2019/10/carlitos-in-charge-alejandro-varela/ Learn more about Chris and his work here: https://chris-gonzalez.com/ If you want to support the podcast, you can join our Patreon for just $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by fan favorite Laura McGrath, who is back on the show to help us understood the cultural phenomenon that is Colleen Hoover. McGrath, our colleague at Temple University, studies the business of literature--and teaches a class on best-sellers--but she hadn't read any Hoover until we forced her to do it for the podcast. So we hope you're appreciative, listeners!  You can keep up with Laura's scholarly work, including her forthcoming book, at her website, here: https://laurabmcgrath.com/.  You can follow her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/lbmcgrath?lang=en If you like the podcast, for just $5 you can get two bonus episodes a month, plus help support the show more generally: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We’re joined by the short story writer Art Taylor—winner of multiple Agatha awards, and author of two collections—to discuss an unconventionally structured story by Joyce Carol Oates. Art also teaches creative writing at George Mason University in Virginia, and we spend some time talking about how we approach structure with our students. You can find Art’s books, and everything else he’s up to, at his website: https://arttaylorwriter.com/ If you like the podcast, please consider supporting us! For only $5/month, you'll get two monthly bonus episodes, plus the satisfying feeling that comes from supporting the work you enjoy and would like to see more of in the world. More details here: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by Tod Goldberg, author of more than a dozen books, including Gangsterland and The Low Desert, to talk about what he learned about crime writing from Elmore Leonard. Plus, why are MFA programs still so often biased against writers of genre fiction? And what are the challenges of writing a series of novels with the same lead character? You can learn more about Tod, and his books, here: https://todgoldberg.com/ If you like the podcast, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by V.V. Ganeshananthan, author of two critically acclaimed novels, most recently Brotherless Night, which takes place during the Sri Lankan Civil War. Sugi is also a former grad school classmate of ours, and she began Brotherless Night back when all three of us were at Iowa together. So one thing we talk about is that process, and what it's like to write and rewrite a novel over more than fifteen years. For our reading, Sugi chose Horacio Castellanos Moya's Senselessness, the first of his novels to be translated into English, and which a friend of hers recommended, several years ago, when she was deep in the throes of her own book. Both her own novel novel and Moya's deal with atrocities, and both in some darkly humorous ways. So we talk to her about what she learned from Moya, and how reading this book helped her get her own novel over the finish line. You can learn more about Sugi, and her new book, here: https://vvganeshananthan.com/. If you like the podcast, and would like more of it,

We're joined by writer and editor Aaron Burch, whose novel Year of the Buffalo came out in November. Aaron is also a long-time literary editor, having founded Hobart in the early 2000s and, more recently, HAD, which has made "skull collecting" the newest badge of literary coolness. For our reading, Aaron chose Chris Bachelder's debut novel from 2001, Bear v. Shark, which he remembered loving and wanted to revisit. We talk about what makes a work of fiction feel dated--which may go against conventional wisdom--as well as risk-taking and having fun as a writer. Plus: humor writing of the early internet; what it means to be a literary-world outsider; and why the revision process can often feel neverending. You can buy Aaron's new novel here: https://americanbuffalobooks.org/. Or visit his website here: https://www.aaronburch.net/ If you like the podcast, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight  

We're joined by several of the Barrelhouse editors for our annual holiday episode. This year we're reading the David Baldacci novel The Christmas Train, which follows a salty, Mark Twain-loving writer on a cross-country train trip filled with heartwarming hijinks. There's a boa constrictor. There's an Aretha Franklin stand-in. There's an old guy who loves to lecture people about the magic of train travel. And maybe ... love? You can learn more about Barrelhouse here: https://www.barrelhousemag.com/ If you like the podcast, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Siân Griffiths (author of Scrapple, and The Heart Keeps Faulty Time) to discuss a short story she regularly teaches and that her students often dislike, in large part because it involves killing cats. And it turns out Mike might be on Team Siân's Students, though for somewhat different reasons (not that he cares for cats being killed, either!). We talk about the pedagogical benefits of having your students read something they may not like, and debate where the line is between a good description and an overwrought, show-offy one. Plus: horse stuff! You can read the story, "Breatharians," here, via The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/22/breatharians And learn more about our guest, and her work, here: http://www.sbgriffiths.com/ If you like the podcast, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Shannon Wolf, a British writer and poet currently making her home in the U.S., who picked this episode's book after hearing us on a previous episode ask, hypothetically, whether there might be a novelization of the movie Legally Blonde. Shannon, a superfan of the film, knew it was actually based on a novel, though the story of that novel's publication is a bit of a twisty one. And while Amanda Brown's book lays out the basic plot and character arcs that we all know and love from the film, the tone of the novel is a lot less cheerful and winning. You can learn more about this episode's guest, and her work, at her website: https://helloshanwolf.com/ If you like the podcast, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Amy Butcher—author, most recently, of Mothertrucker—who tells us about the outsized influence Jo Ann Beard's work has had on her own writing, including her decision to write creative nonfiction in the first place. We also dig into some of the difficult genre questions posed by Beard's work. Is it fair to call a piece nonfiction when so much of it involves the invention of another person's interior life? What does the term "essay" really encompass? And do these genre distinctions really matter? You can learn more about this episode's guest, and about her books, at her website: https://www.amyebutcher.com/ If you like the podcast, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Jen Miller--freelance writer and reporter, and author of Running: A Love Story--to talk about why she loves regency romance novels, and in particular those that explore queer relationships. Jen's book pick for us was The Queer Principles of Kit Webb, the first book in a new series from Cat Sebastian. We talk about the "rules" of romance novels, why they often don't get the respect of other kinds of books, and how contemporary romance authors are challenging the heteronormative traditions of the genre in interesting ways. Plus: the return of Jen's book-a-week blog, and why she loves celebrity memoirs in audiobook form. You can keep up with Jen's weekly reading here, at Book a Week With Jen: https://www.bookaweekwithjen.com/. You can also learn more about her work, and subscribe to her free newsletter on freelancing, at her website: https://jenamiller.com/ If you like the podcast, and would like more of it, we're releasing two bonus episodes a month to our Patreon subscribers, for only $5: