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Ben Fountain: Giving Voice to Story


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This episode, we dive into storytelling with award-winning author Ben Fountain.

Through novels and short stories, we discuss exploring a character and their voice, fearlessly embracing big themes and complexity, and he talks about the process of having one of his works adapted into a movie.

  • (00:00) - Chapter 1
  • (00:13) - Understanding Story Voice
  • (07:17) - Character Development in Billy Lynn
  • (24:33) - Exploring Power Dynamics in Literature
  • (30:21) - The Complex Interplay of Power in Haiti
  • (41:34) - Reflections on Beautiful Country Burn Again

  • Ben's Information:

    Ben Fountain’s work has received the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, the Barnes & Noble Discover Award for Fiction, the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize, the PEN-Cerulli Award for Excellence in Sports Writing, and a Whiting Writers Award, and has been a finalist for the National Book Award and runner-up for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Most recently, he has been awarded the Joyce Carol Oates Prize and the Thomas Wolfe Prize, and, along with French author Marc Levy, L’Hermione Award given by the French American School of New York. Fountain lives in North Carolina.

    benfountain.com

    Ben's Books:

    1. Rasputin Swims the Potomac or audiobook
    2. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk or audiobook
    3. Brief Encounters with Che Guevara or audiobook
    4. Devil Makes Three or audiobook
    5. Beautiful Country Burn Again or audiobook


    Ben's headshot photo credit: Laura Overman

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    The Epilogue...By Michael Stubblefield