In this episode of Read Between the Lines, Molly Southgate sits down with award-winning author Bob Johnson to discuss his gripping new short story collection, The Continental Divide. These fourteen stories shine a light on a side of the Midwest few dare to explore—where violence simmers beneath the surface, and moral choices are rarely black and white.

From a country woman forced into a Sophie’s Choice for her family’s survival, to a small-town marshal hunting his own son for murder, and a former football star confronting his role in a brutal locker room ritual, Johnson captures the haunting complexities of human nature along the St. Lawrence Divide in northern Indiana.

About Bob Johnson Bob Johnson is an award-winning short story writer and graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His work has been published by The Common, Philadelphia Stories, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, The Barcelona Review, and more. His story The Continental Divide was named Short Story of the Year in The Hudson Review. He lives in South Bend, Indiana.

🔗 Links & Resources

Purchase The Continental Divide at Bookshop.org: 

https://bookshop.org/a/10588/9781960329646

 

Keywords: Bob Johnson, The Continental Divide, short story collection, Midwestern literature, Iowa Writers’ Workshop, dark fiction, literary fiction, rural America stories, morality and violence, St. Lawrence Divide, award-winning author, American short stories, Midwest noir, contemporary fiction, author interview.

Hashtags: #ReadBetweenTheLinesPodcast #BobJohnsonAuthor #TheContinentalDivide #MidwestFiction #ShortStoryCollection #LiteraryFiction #DarkFiction #MidwestNoir #AmericanAuthors #AuthorInterview #IowaWritersWorkshop #BookDiscussion #NewBooks2025 #FictionPodcast #ContemporaryFiction

 

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