In this episode of Long Distance from The Archive Project, debut novelist Jean Kyoung Frazier talks with Amanda Bullock about Pizza Girl. Set in Los Angeles, the eponymous Pizza Girl is a pregnant 18-year-old who falls into obsession with an older woman for whom she delivers pizza. In this discussion, Frazier talks about her writing practice, including some surprising real-life inspirations for this sharp, funny book. She explores Los Angeles as the book’s setting and wonders at how distance from a place or situation can provide the needed perspective to write. She also touches on how things such as our 2010s nostalgia and the book’s striking cover art add depth to this truly enjoyable reading experience.

“For so long it felt like the only way I could talk about romantic feelings or attraction towards women was through a male voice… I really do feel like I wrote Pizza Girl at the right time, when I was finally feeling more at home in my skin.”

On her writing practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: “There are many periods where I can’t write a word. Whether it’s because of what’s going on on the news, the sadness everywhere, the vileness. Sometimes I think you just need to be okay not writing and not doing anything productive.”

Jean Kyoung Frazier lives in Los Angeles. Pizza Girl is her debut novel.

Books Jean Kyoung Frazier mentions in this episode:

A selection of independent, Black-owned bookstores that will ship book orders during the COVID-19 pandemic: