Mia Alvar – In the Country

Late Night Debut, hosted by Amber Keller

This week we feature Mia Alvar’s debut short story collection, In the Country, published by Knopf. Publishers Weekly calls Alvar’s debut “stunning,” saying, “the yearnings of the characters resonate well beyond the page, and each story feels as rich, as deep, and as crafted as a novel.”

Act 1: Host Amber Keller covers entertaining book news and cool new debuts

Act 2: Co-host authors Lara Vapnyar and Mario Alberto Zambrano discuss Mia Alvar’s debut

Act 3: Lara Vapnyar speaks with Mia Alvar about the process of writing those deep, crafted stories; Russian and Filipino immigrant communities; the collective point of view; and more

Listen to the full episode here:

PURCHASE IN THE COUNTRY HERE

GIVEAWAY: WIN A FREE COPY OF IN THE COUNTRY. LISTEN TO THE EPISODE FOR DETAILS, THEN EMAIL YOUR ANSWER TO [email protected] BY MIDNIGHT ON JUNE 28.

 ABOUT OUR ACT 2 CO-HOST AUTHORS:

Lara Vapnyar came to the US from Russia in 1994. She is the author of the novels The Scent of Pine and Memoirs of a Muse, and two collections of short stories. A Guggenheim fellowship recipient, her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, Harpers and The New Republic.

Mario Alberto Zambrano was a contemporary ballet dancer before writing fiction. Loteria, his first novel, was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers pick for Fall 2013, and was hailed as a best book of 2013 by Booklist. His writing has appeared in FiveChapters, Guernica, Best Gay Stories 2014 and elsewhere.