I'm a Writer But

Today, Luke Geddes (Heart of Junk) talks to us about his ideal relationship with his fans, how readings can go wrong, the unique way his book found a publisher, kitsch and pop culture, his record company, and more! 

Luke Geddes holds a PhD in comparative literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati. He lives in Milwaukee, WI. He is the author of the novel Heart of Junk, the short story collection I Am a Magical Teenage Princess, and his writing has appeared in Conjunctions, Mid-American Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Washington Square Review, The Comics Journal, Electric Literature, and elsewhere. 

SPECIAL SHOW NOTES: Sam Sweet! Hadley Lee Lightcap! All Night Menu! Luke's Halloween-themed TV project: TV GRIME

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Today, Simon Jacobs (String Follow) joins us to talk about nailing the tone of his new novel, starting with a very tight draft and “blowing it out from the middle,” finding an agent, being the son of a successful writer, revising the book to make space for the reader, childhood haunted houses, and more! 

Simon Jacobs is from Dayton, Ohio, and lives in Portland, Oregon. He is the author of the novels String Follow (MCD/FSG, 2022) and Palaces (Two Dollar Radio, 2018), and of two collections of short fiction: Masterworks (Instar Books, 2019), and Saturn (Spork Press, 2016), a collection of David Bowie stories.

His other fiction has appeared in Tin House, Black Warrior Review, Joyland, and Paper Darts.

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Today, Tim Jones-Yelvington (Don't Make Me Do Something We'll Both Regret) talks to us about their new book, writing about sex, using existing language or text to create friction to rub up against, working toward accessing a more traditional narrative form, their work in social movement contribution, the influence of pop culture, their favorite camp authors, and more! 

Tim Jones-Yelvington is the author of the fiction volumes Don't Make Me Do Something We'll Both Regret (Texas Review Press), This is a Dance Movie! (Tiny Hardcore Press), Strike a Prose: Memoirs of a Lit Diva Extraordinaire (co•im•press), and Evan’s House and the Other Boys Who Live There (Rose Metal Press), and the poetry volumes Become on Yr Face (DIAGRAM/New Michigan Press) and Colton Behavioral Therapy (Gazing Grain Press). 

The stories in Don't Make Me Do Something We'll Both Regret are linked by their exploration of queer evil. The mystery of desire and sting of rejection drive a child to violence. Boys enter the forest, naive to what lurks within. A pack of pop stars-turned-lovers strike a terrible bargain to preserve their youth. Its characters are gnostics and mystics, ogres and queens whose defiance of the normative both liberates and confines. 

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Today, Chantal V. Johnson talks to us about capturing the traumatized mind of a brilliant woman, her unique writing process, her use of dialogue and argument, going to auction, retiring from the law, and more! 

Chantal V. Johnson is the author of the debut novel Post-Traumatic, published by Little, Brown in April of 2022. Post-Traumatic has been longlisted for the 2022 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, named a Best Debut Novel of 2022 by Debutiful, and hailed as a "sharp psychological novel" by The New Yorker. Chantal graduated from Stanford Law School and worked as a tenant lawyer for over seven years. She lives in New York. 

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Today, A.M. Homes (The Unfolding) joins us to talk about her new book, the current trash fire that is our democracy, releasing a timely book in such an intense time, writing and revising such a conversational novel, and more! 

A.M. Homes is the author of thirteen books, among them the bestselling memoir The Mistress’s Daughter; the novels This Book Will Save Your Life, The End of Alice, and Jack; and the short story collections Days of Awe, The Safety of Objects, and Things You Should Know. She also writes for film and television and teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Princeton University. 

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Today A. Natasha Joukovsky (The Portrait of a Mirror) joins us to talk about working in the corporate world while writing her novel, funding her own writing retreat to France, her favorite types of books, the world of management consulting, Proust, and more!  

A. Natasha Joukovsky holds a BA in English from the University of Virginia and an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business. She spent five years in the art world, working at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York before pivoting into management consulting. The Portrait of a Mirror is her debut novel. She lives in Washington, D.C.

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Today, Shane Kowalski talks to us about being funny, starting his writing career on Tumblr, working with Kevin Sampsell on Future Tense, formerly working for the post office, his favorite writers, and more!

Shane Kowalski is the author of Small Moods (Future Tense). He lives in Pennsylvania. 

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Today, Sandra Newman talks to us about bringing concept into form, considering how much power women have in the world, thinking deeply about gender, being non-binary, the controversy about her book, and more! 

Sandra Newman is the author of the novels The Heavens, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and The Country of Ice Cream Star, longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and NPR, as well as several other works of fiction and nonfiction. Her writing has appeared in Harper’s and Granta, among other publications. She lives in New York City. Her new novel is The Men, a dazzling, mind-bending novel in which all people with a Y chromosome mysteriously disappear from the face of the earth. 

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Today, Leyna Krow joins us to talk about her special blend of historical fiction and magical realism, working with featherproof and Viking, having a short story optioned by Hollywood, doing research about the Spokane fire, Miriam Toews, and more! 

Leyna Krow is the author of the debut novel, Fire Season, and the story collection I’m Fine but You Appear to Be Sinking, a Believer Book Award finalist. Her next book, Sinkhole and Other Inexplicable Voids is forthcoming on Viking in 2023ish. She lives in Spokane, Washington with her husband, two kids, and an old dog. 

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Today Justin Taylor joins us to talk about recording his own audio book, taking a frank, fair look at his father and himself as a son, finding a narrative in a personal/true story, how writing memoir helped re-teach him how to write a novel, what being a professor gives to him in his own practice, and more!

Justin Taylor is the author, most recently, of the memoir Riding with the Ghost, as well as three books of fiction: Flings, The Gospel of Anarchy, and Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Bookforum, BOMB and The Baffler, among other journals. He has taught creative writing in every time zone in the contiguous United States, including (but not limited to) stints in New York, Tennessee, New Hampshire, Mississippi, Indiana, Oregon, and Montana. He lives in Portland, Oregon. His next novel, Reboot, is forthcoming from Pantheon. 

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