Gulf Coast

Yasmin Zaher joins Vanessa Golenia to discuss her debut novel, THE COIN. Their conversation touches on what it means to write intuitively without outlines or plans or even a structure in mind, about letting a novel's secrets remain elusive, and the value of humor in dark times.

Designer Flora Chan joins poetry editor, Marshall Woodward, to discuss what makes a "good" book cover, how authors can have a stronger voice in the design process, and what design can do (if anything) to combat current book banning trends. 

Nick Flynn joins co-hosts Vanessa Golenia and Maha Ahmed to discuss his latest collection of poetry, LOW. In this episode, we discuss finding poetic inspiration at church, near-death experiences, and the ways nascent AI is made for poetry.   Music by Ryan Bollenbach and cover art by Kearstyn Boucher.

We invited Cate Pasquarelli to discuss her recent project, The Museum of Embellished History—an art installation that presents a "museum show" about the fictional events of New Bantam, Connecticut. In this episode, we talk about what makes small towns a natural backdrop for disaster narratives and what blurring fact and fiction in art can tell us about the stories we want to believe in.    Music by Ryan Bollenbach and cover art by Kearstyn Boucher.

Connor Towne O'Neill is the producer of White Lies — the NPR podcast documentary which became a Pulitzer Prize Finalist for its work reinvestigating the unsolved murder of civil rights activist, Rev. James Reeb. Its most recent season puts fresh eyes on the 1991 Talladega Prison Riot. Connor joins us to discuss the art of investigative storytelling, the "entry fiction" doctrine, and why stories that have been long thought dead are worth revisiting decades later.    A special thanks to our sound engineer, Sarah Nguyen. Music by Ryan Bollenbach and covert art by Kearstyn Boucher.

Fiction Editor, Madeleine Gaudin, is joined by Pulitzer Prize finalist, Kelly Link, to discuss her recent collection, White Cat, Black Dog, in addition to her forthcoming debut novel, The Book of Love (Feb 2024). In this episode, Madeleine and Kelly discuss the novel as a process of questioning, the inherent pleasure-design in romance, fairy tale, and coming-of-age narratives, and what judges look for in fiction competitions. 

Levi Vonk and Axel Kirschner join Vanessa Golenia to discuss Border Hacker, a work of narrative nonfiction that tells the story of their friendship and how they met on a migrant caravan in 2015. In this episode, they discuss a multi-narrator approach as a form of counter-exploitative storytelling, the elusiveness of writing multiple truths, and having a book release party when you're under the threat of violence for its publication. As we mentioned on the show, if you're interested in helping Axel you can send donations to @Levi-Vonk (Venmo) or [email protected] (PayPal)   A special thanks to our sound engineer, Sarah Nguyen. Music by Ryan Bollenbach and covert art by Kearstyn Boucher.

Joe Hall joins Ryan Bollenbach to discuss Joe's new book Fugue and Strike. In this episode, Joe and Ryan discuss the inextricable relationship between climate change and capitalism, the fugue state of labor, the politics of striking, and the relationship between activism and publication.    A special thanks to our sound engineer, Sarah Nguyen. Music by Ryan Bollenbach and covert art by Kearstyn Boucher.

Sabrina Orah Mark joins Ryan Bollenbach and Vanessa Golenia to discuss her new memoir, Happily: A Personal History-with Fairytales. In this episode, the award-winning fiction writer and poet discusses the process of turning a successful column into a book, the ethics of writing about children, and the special wisdom found in fairytales. 

Peter Turchi joins Vanessa Golenia to discuss his new book, (Don't) Stop Me If You've Heard This Before, essays on the craft of fiction writing. In this episode, Turchi discusses what writers can learn from other art mediums, why omniscient narrators fell out of vogue, and the pitfalls of MFA workshops.