In this episode of Loblolly Press: In Conversation, guest host Matt Sawyer sits down with Emma Ensley, author of The Computer Room (Loblolly Press, September 4, 2025). Recorded live at City Lights Bookstore, this conversation traces how Ensley’s work captures what it meant to grow up both online and in small-town Georgia.

“I think a lot about the two places I grew up — the South, and the internet. Those shaped me as much as anything else.”— Emma Ensley

Ensley reads from her stories “Babyland” and “The Computer Room,” offering glimpses into Cabbage Patch “births,” Sims pregnancies, and the surreal, tender ways childhood imagination collides with digital spaces as we grow into adulthood. The discussion digs into how the book balances humor with heartbreak, the design instincts that shaped her prose, and the role of religion, nostalgia, and constraint in short story craft.

What we cover in this conversation

* Why Ensley set her stories in the hybrid space of Georgia and the early internet

* Using the Wayback Machine to research message boards, Seventh Heaven fanfiction, and 2000s pop culture

* The challenge (and joy) of structuring short stories like contained plays or designs

* How religion, mission trips, and youth group culture surface in subtle but powerful ways

* The role of nurture and unreal “births” across the collection

* What she misses most about growing up online, from LimeWire misfires to Napster paranoia

* Creating the Computer Room audio zine with musician Lorg, mixing Sims sound effects, dial-up tones, and Ensley’s narration

Ensley also talks about the darker side of internet culture in stories like “You’re Such an Inspiration” and “Cave Girl,” which trace the beginnings of influencer culture, online body image, and retreat from digital life.

Fall at Loblolly Press

* The Computer Room by Emma Ensley — debuted Sept 4, reviewed in Hood of Bone Review. Dispatch from Launch Party in Zona Motel:

And this thoughtful essay on Emma’s audiozine for The Computer Room:

* Proud Roads by Kelly Riedesel — poems on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene, out Sept 27

* A Field Guide to North American Trees by Garrett Ashley (with Good Printed Things) — chapbook out Oct 7; full-length Habitats coming April 2026

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Episode Credits

🎤 Hosted by: Andrew Mack & Matt Sawyer

👥 Guest: Emma Ensley

🎧 Produced by: Loblolly Press

🎶 Music: Summersteen by Tony Sopiano

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