Host Jason Blitman talks with author Allison King about her debut novel The Phoenix Pencil Company, June's Reese's Book Club selection. They explore themes of memory, the importance of preserving and sharing stories, and yes—pencils. Later, Jason is joined by Guest Gay Reader Jeff Hiller (HBO's Somebody Somewhere), who shares his current reads and discusses his new memoir Actress of a Certain Age.

Allison King is an Asian American writer and software engineer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In technology, her work has ranged from semiconductors to platforms for community conversations to data privacy. Her short stories have appeared in Fantasy Magazine, Diabolical Plots, and LeVar Burton Reads, among others. She is a 2023 Reese’s Book Club LitUp fellow. The Phoenix Pencil Company is her first novel.

Jeff Hiller is an actor, writer and comedian who has appeared on TV shows such as Somebody Somewhere, American Horror Story: NYC, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, 30Rock, and Law and Order: CI, among numerous others. His film roles include Greta, Morning Glory, Ghost Town, and Set it Up, and he has performed on Broadway, off-Broadway, in Shakespeare in the Park, Disney musicals, and regional theater. Jeff regularly performs solo shows at Joe’s Pub at the Public Theatre and improvises at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in LA and NYC.

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