Ad Aster

Ad Aster

By Aster LitArtsBooks
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Ad Aster episodes

  • Asterisms: the Connections Between Writers (ft. Daniel Liu & Sunny Vuong)

    Join Daniel and Sunny as they explore their friendship in the teen writing community—from their friendship origin story to being founders and Editors-in-Chief of teen writing magazines to meeting writers as people after reading their works intimately. Navigating the constellations of online competition, college matriculation, plagiarism, and gaining confidence in their work,  Daniel and Sunny have a heart-to-heart about the joys and intricacies of growing together as teen writers. 


    Daniel Liu is a writer. He is the recipient of the 2023 Lin Arison Excellence in Writing Award. He was selected as the 2022 Foyle Young Poet of the Year by The Poetry Society and as a finalist for the 2022 Adroit Prize in both poetry and prose by Arthur Sze and Kali Fajardo-Anstine. He was a 2023 YoungArts National Finalist and has been recognized by the Pulitzer Center, Bennington College, Columbia College Chicago, and others. His works are forthcoming or have appeared in The Adroit Journal, Diode, Tinderbox, Sixth Finch and elsewhere. He is currently working on a collection on memory.


    Sunny Vuong is a Scholastic Awards National Gold and American Voices medalist, and a scholarship winner with a Silver with Distinction medalist for her portfolio.  She was the 2022-2023 second place winner for poetry in the Bennington Young Writers’ Awards contest. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Interstellar Literary Review. Her work is featured or forthcoming in Diode, Strange Horizons, and Kissing Dynamite, among others. She currently studies molecular biology and English at Yale.



    35 min
  • The Social Impact of the Writer (with Poupeh Missaghi): Trans(re)lation, Fragmentation, and Importance of Asking Questions

    Join poet, editor, and translator Poupeh Missaghi as well as Ad Aster hosts Emma and Celina to reflect on her work. We discuss Missaghi’s book trans(re)lating house one, what it means to be a writer and reporter during times of violence and crisis, and how to subvert traditional narratives of backwardness and victimhood with aesthetics, form, and emphasis of questions over answers.


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    1. What is the role of the writer or artist in times of turmoil and crisis?
    2. What does it mean to translate(re)late? What should we keep in mind when joining together stories?
    3. What is lost in creating content for the “other”? How does one subvert expectations of “traumaporn” and victimhood in marginalized literature through questions, aesthetics, and form?
    4. What is the relationship between searching for the truth and searching for how to tell the truth? In what ways can fragmentation reveal a more accurate truth?
    5. What is the strength in revisiting questions and open ended text, in intentional form and style? How do we ask questions when we know there isn’t an answer? Is reporting/writing/exploration just a labyrinth of stories?
    6. How can young writers and artists explore and create for positive social change?


      7. Poupeh Missaghi is a writer, translator, and editor. Her debut book trans(re)lating house one (Coffee House Press, 2020) is a hybrid investigation of the role of the witness through the frame of the 2009 protests in Iran. her second book Sound Museum, forthcoming from Coffee House Press in 2024, investigates the history of global torture enterprise. her translation of Nasim Marashi’s I’ll be Strong for You was published in 2021 (Astra House), and she has two other translation books forthcoming in 2023 and 2024. An assistant professor of literary arts and studies at the University of Denver and a faculty mentor at Pacific Northwest College of Art MFA, she is currently based in Denver, Colorado.


      links

      ⁠trans(re)lating house one

      Poupeh Missaghi - Words Without Borders

      Mapping Tehran

      Visual Spotlight: Some Artists on Developing a New Visual Language of Protest

      The Many Voices of the Displaced

      Nowruz Journal 



      45 min
    7. Navigating *International* Opportunities (Part II)

      In part 2 of our series on writing competitions, Emma, Ari, and Daisy talk about how to find competitions and opportunities, submitting strategies, and introduce some international writing competitions in poetry, short stories, and more, with input from guest Anna Feng on her own experience winning a Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award. 

      In addition to the international contests mentioned in the episode, we’ve compiled a list of many others for you to explore! The link to that list is here. The transcript for this podcast episode is available on our website, asterlit.org. Listen to part 1 of this series on writing competitions wherever you get your podcasts.

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      notable moments: 

      0:33 - Finding writing opportunities & how to connect with the writing world

      10:44 - Submission strategies & advice

      11:30 - Different approaches to writing & submission

      16:05 - Introducing international contests!

      27:45 - Guest Anna Feng on the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award

      29:29 - Outro

      links

      Chill Subs

      Duotrope

      Princeton High School Contests 

      National Youth Poet Laureate Program

      Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes

      UK Poetry Society

      San Jose EASTSIDE

      Escapril

      Inktober (drawing)

      Golden Triangle haiku contest

      Sundress Publications

      MORE COOL CONTESTS!

      31 min
    8. Navigating Writing Competitions (Part I)

      Join Emma and Daisy as they explore the application process for upcoming (U.S. based*) writing competitions! Listen to first hand advice and experiences from Bennington, YoungArts, and Scholastic Winners

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      /ˌad ˈa-str ep ˌ-sōd 'twen-ty /to͞o/ /n.

      1. Mosaic of tips and reflections from past Bennington Young Writers Awards, YoungArts, and Scholastic winners

      2. Joanna - Meaningful form (hermit poems!) (as a reformed STEM + Elon Musk stan)

      3. Emily - “Someone should be able to pick up your piece off the ground and know that it’s yours”+ send what you love!

      4. Kate - You learn a lot from the process of applying + last-minute submitting panic + Covid YoungArts experience

      5. David - Be true to your craft and style

      6. Emma - Slightly stealing mini jam from scholarship breakfast in NYC

      7. Daisy - Contests or not, it’s all about the craft


        8. notable moments:


        0:25 - Meet Daisy!

        2:12 - Bennington Young Writers Awards (international)

        2:57 - Joanna Liu (2022-2023 Bennington YWA Winner in Creative Nonfiction)

        9:50 - YoungArts Competition (US)

        12:16 - Emily Pickering (2023 YoungArts Finalist in Creative Nonfiction)

        15:46 - Kate Choi (2021 YoungArts Finalist in Play)

        20:40 - David Chen (2022 YoungArts Merit Winner in Creative Nonfiction, 2023 Honorable Mention Winner in Creative Nonfiction)

        26:28 - Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (US)

        28:10 - Emma Zhang (2022 Scholastic Best in Grade and Gold Medal in Personal Essay & Memoir)

        31:10 - Other contests

        34:03 - Outro


        links

        Bennington Young Writers Awards (poetry, fiction, nonfiction | Nov 1)

        Joanna Liu, “Diagnosis of Familial, Lateral Curvatures”

        Ran Zhao, “How Did Li Bai Die?” (hermit crab poem)

        YoungArts Competition (creative nonfiction, novel, play or script, poetry, short story, spoken word | Oct 13)

        Emily Pickering, “Speak” (p. 71)

        Kate Choi, “All’s in the Past Now” (p. 28)

        David Chen, “Two-Faced” (p. 35)

        David Chen, "Self" (p. 75) 

        Scholastic Art & Writing Awards (critical essay, dramatic script, flash fiction, journalism, humor, novel, personal essay & memoir, poetry, science fiction & fantasy, short story, writing portfolio for seniors | varies)

        *Some other contests*

        Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest

        Leonard L. Milberg ’53 High School Poetry Prize

        The Princeton Ten-Minute Play Contest

        Columbia College Chicago Young Authors Writing Competition

        The Adroit Prizes for Poetry and Prose


        *P2 will include international comps + advice on finding writing opps!




        35 min
      8. “Lacuna" Exploring our Fall 2023 Theme—Gaps Within Literature, History, and Experience

        Join Editor in Chief Emma Zhang and Managing Editor Celina Naheed as we discuss our literary magazine theme for fall 2023: Lacuna.  

        Originating from the latin etymon Lacus, meaning “lake,” the word Lacuna is defined as an unfilled interval, or gap; as in, a gap filled with water, like the ones in history, or like our perception of the world, translation, black-out poetry, the editing process, and the diaspora experience. 

        What does lacuna mean to you? Submit your own exploration to our Fall 2023 Issue of Aster Lit: asterlit.org/submit⁠!


        Pieces referenced:

        Erasure in Three Acts: An Essay by Muriel Leung

        https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet-books/2021/11/erasure 

        Dispatch in Two Parts: The Arab Body Writes Itself In

        https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/dispatch-in-two-parts-the-arab-body-writes-itself-in/

        Winter Tangerine Skins Issue: http://www.wintertangerine.com/shedding-skins-toc

        Someday I’ll love [Redacted] by Daniel Liu https://www.indigoliteraryjournal.com/issue-four/daniel-liu 

        Follow us on Instagram: 

        @ aster.lit

        Or email us

        Submit to our fall issue: Lacuna by November 10th: asterlit.org/submit

        Guidelines and details on the website.


        If you have any episode ideas or feedback, please fill out this form: https://forms.gle/zyF2NWsBQ8qX8Cg36



        34 min
      9. The Joy of Writing: Hybrid Forms, Writing + Tech, Being Creative in a Competitive Society

        Join Emma and Fiona as we talk to Lucy Zhang about hybrid writing, growing tech implications for the literary arts (or the lack thereof), self-teaching writing from works we admire, and how to have creative freedom in a competitive world and economy.


        ad as•ter ep•i•sode 20 n.

        1. An interview with the incredible Lucy Zhang
        2. Hybrid form (aka the undoing of form), writing + technology meditations: the authors joy of expression
        3. Writing in a competitive/tech cooperate culture
        4. "Great writers steal, bad writers copy" — learning writing from training wheels, and what it means to have a literary voice
        5. The exploring of "Emotional Truths"
        6. Can writing/humanities be taught?
        7. Advice for young writers!

          8. Lucy Zhang writes, codes, and watches anime. Her work has appeared in CRAFT, The Spectacle, Redivider, and elsewhere. Find her at https://lucyzhang.tech or on Twitter @Dango_Ramen.

          1 hr
        8. Language, Literature, and Serendipity with Poet & Translator Sean Zhuraw
          In this interview with the incredible poet & translator Sean Zhuraw, we discuss Zhuraw’s experience translating The Starchild and The Starlit Path by German poet Theodor Däubler. We explore linguistic, cross-cultural, and generational identities and connections, especially as they are enriched or represented through translated literature. We also examine experience vs. expression and ways in which we all translate!
          43 min
        9. Getting Published as a Teen Writer with Ariana Thornton

          Ariana Thornton is a teen poet, artist, and environmental activist whose many awards include being recognized as the poetry theme winner for Issue 5 of Aster Lit! Today we chat with Ariana about her journey as a storyteller, how she self-published her chapbook Creation Stories while in high school, and her advice to young writers wanting to get their work published and shared with a wider audience.

          18 min
        10. Writing, Remembrance, and Truth

          Do we write to remember or do we remember in order to write? To what extent do we change our memories to write better stories? How does writing filter and dictate what matters enough to be remembered? Join Zara and Emma for an episode of reminiscence and existential musings as we explore the relationship between writing and memory, inspired by our Fall 2022 theme: remembrance.

          32 min
        11. It’s About Time! (Literally): Making Peace With and Questioning the Concept of Time in Literature and Beyond
          Join Liz and Caroline as they traverse a conversational journey that transcends space (Caroline is currently in Oregon and Liz is IN NYC, which are sadly not within driving distance), and the titular topic (Time); coming of age during the pandemic and beyond, the time-bending nature of love, and our favorite literature on time. If you’re a fan of heart-wrenching New Yorker poems,  hopeful romantics, or passionate rants about the non-linear progression of time aka Jeremy Bearimy (shout out to “The Good Place”, beloved), this is the podcast episode for you!
          27 min

        About Ad Aster

        From the publisher's feed

        Introducing our podcast Ad Aster, an offshoot of Aster Lit! Come aboard as we traverse the creative universe together, interview published authors, and share our experiences as young writers from around the world.