In this episode of the Rock is Lit Season 4 Reading Series, Brendan Gillen reads from his debut novel, ‘Static’, and offers insight into the story’s themes, characters, and music. The novel follows Paul, a struggling musician in New York City who resorts to theft—of objects, opportunities, and even voices—just to survive and fuel his creative ambitions. As Paul battles heartbreak, band tensions, and family crises, he becomes desperate to hold his life together and make music that matters. ‘Static’ paints a vivid picture of a young artist navigating the challenges of modern life, set against the backdrop of the ever-changing music industry.

Brendan Gillen is an Emmy-winning writer living in Brooklyn. His fiction has twice been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and appears in ‘Wigleaf’, ‘Taco Bell Quarterly’, ‘New Delta Review’, ‘HAD’, ‘X-R-A-Y’, ‘South Carolina Review’, and elsewhere. His debut chapbook, “I've Given This a Lot of Thought,” is available now via Bottlecap Press. His first novel, ‘Static’, was published by Vine Leaves Press (July ‘24).

As a partner and writer/director at Boomshot, Brendan has developed content for ESPN, FanDuel, Condé Nast, Fox Sports, BBC, the U.S. Open, Resy, Anheuser-Busch and others. Before joining Boomshot, he developed his creative and storytelling capabilities at ESPN, producing original content for the FIFA World Cup, the NBA on ESPN, Sunday Night Baseball, Grantland, Monday Night Football, and more.

His work has received attention in the ‘New York Times’, Mashable, the ‘Washington Post’, USA Today’s “For the Win,” SportsIllustrated.com, the ‘Huffington Post’, and People.com, among others. He earned a Sports Emmy for his work on the campaign for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on ESPN.

MUSIC IN THE EPISODE IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:

LINKS:

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Brendan Gillen’s website: https://www.bgillen.com/

Brendan Gillen on Facebook: @Brendan Gillen

Brendan Gillen on Instagram: @beegillen

Christy Alexander Hallberg’s website: https://www.christyalexanderhallberg.com/rockislit

Christy Alexander Hallberg on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube: @ChristyHallberg

Rock is Lit on Instagram: @rockislitpodcast

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