Episode #50 - Kirsti MacKenzie: "The Incumbent" and "You Crown Paul Shaffer's Head With Mustard"

Australian author Catherine McNamara has made the Veneto region in Italy her chosen home. But to get there, she first had to explore Paris, West Africa and Mogadishu, where she was an embassy secretary prior to the war in Somalia. The colorful backdrops for her stories reflect her love of the far-flung lands she has made her home. We read her story "The Bamboo Furnace," from her prize-winning collection The Cartography of Others. https://www.catherinemcnamarawriter.comSupport the show

Connecticut author J. Kevin Shushtari is a practicing physician, but when it comes to his fiction, it's not the world of medicine that interests him. His stories are inspired by the unique worlds and colorful characters known to him from his Iranian father's and Irish Catholic mother's families. We read his award-winning story "The Vast Garden of Strangers," which was published in Glimmer Train.Support the show

NYC author Francine Witte has had a major impact on the world of flash fiction. As a writer, editor and prompt session leader, she has become an influential figure, admired by her peers and looked up to by young poets and writers. We read four flash stories from her most recent collection Just Outside the Tunnel of Love: "Potato Saga," "All the Electric Things," "Mom's Pumpkin Boyfriend" and "My Father Takes Me to the Rodeo." Support the show

We open Season 2 with Canadian author John Delacourt.  John has a fondness for the arts - especially the creatives who make it all happen. The lives of painters, actors, musicians and dancers occupy a special place in his work, and he brings the worlds they inhabit to life in unique and compelling ways. We read his story "Duende," which was published in Syncopation Literary Review.Support the show

Author Allison Field Bell grew up in California, and has been a desert-dweller for much of her life. She now resides in the desert state of Utah, where she is pursuing her PhD in Prose at the University of Utah. In both her fiction and nonfiction, she explores how being neuroatypical affects the daily routines of individuals in ways that confine and sometimes enlarge their lives. We read her story "River Mountain Summer," which was published in West Branch. https://www.allisonfieldbell.com/Support the show

Wisconsin author Scot Mitchel May boasts an unusual job resume. He's been a short order cook in a fast food joint as well as a staff writer for Wisconsin senators. And now he's a novelist, with a newly-published work, Breakneck, and two other books due to be released later this year. We read his story "Naked Cake," which was published in The Metaworker.  https://www.scottmitchelmay.com/homeSupport the show

Author Kimberly Elkins made her way from the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia to New York City, where her writing career took flight. She began as a playwright, but soon found that writing fiction was her real jam. Her award-winning novel WHAT IS VISIBLE would prove that to the world. We read her story "Boys With Wings," which was published in SLICE Magazine. https://www.kimberlyelkins.com/Support the show

 As the daughter of a mixed-race mother whose own mother had come to the U.S. from Japan, Emily Doyle saw how religion, culture and society held them down, and was moved to choose a different path for herself. It was as a writer that she would find the agency she longed for. We read her story "Thursdays For Haru," which was first published in The Sun Magazine. https://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/565/thursdays-for-haruSupport the show

We continue our series CULTURE IN FICTION with a conversation with Italian-Canadian writers. Josie Di Sciascio-Andrews, Eufemia Fantetti, Lori Sebastianutti and Natalie Welsh join Jon in a conversation about growing up as the children of Italian immigrants in the Toronto area, and the ways in which their cultural heritage has influenced their work. https://on.soundcloud.com/f7n7Z https://nsjcp.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/default/article/view/46/30https://www.eufemiafantetti.com/ https://poetryimages.weebly.com/https://linktr.ee/nataliewelsh285https://lorisebastianutti.com/Support the show

The stories of New York author Carrie Esposito can be searing in their attention to the frailties found in family relationships - whether they're families of origin or families of choice. She understands the ways in which the roles we're given in life - wife, mother, son, father - can push us to our limits as we strive to learn who we really are. We read the story "Man of the House," which was published in Ruminate.   https://www.carrieesposito.com/Support the show