This week we visit with Nic Brown in Clemson, South Carolina. 

Nic Brown is a writer and a musician. He has published several books, including the memoir Bang Bang Crash (Counterpoint 2023), which was named a book of the year by Library Journal and Booklist, and the novels In Every Way (Counterpoint 2015), Doubles (Counterpoint 2010), and Floodmarkers (Counterpoint 2009), which was selected as an Editors' Choice by The New York Times Book Review. His newest book, Violent Femmes' Violent Femmes, will be published by Bloomsbury on May 14, 2026, as part of their 33 1/3 series of books about music. 

Nic's writing has appeared in The New York Times, Oxford American, and the Harvard Review, among many other publications. 

A graduate of Columbia University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Nic has served as the Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi and is now a professor at Clemson University.

He is also a drummer. With his first band, Athenaeum, he released two records on Atlantic Records. The first single off their first album peaked at #14 on the Billboard Alternative Rock charts. He has since recorded and toured with many acts, including Ben Lee, Longwave, Skeleton Key, Kim Richey, Matt Pond PA, and Eszter Balint. 

For more on Nic: nicbrown.net

Nic's Books on the Bed:

Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson

Swimming Studies by Leanne Shapton

Light Years by James Salter

A Man Named Doll by Jonathan Ames

Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel

The Complete Guide to Stonescaping: Dry-Stacking, Mortaring, Paving & Gardenscaping by David Reed

Matt's Gifts for Nic: 

What Doesn't Kill You Open Your Heart by Max Hipp

Streets of Nashville by Michael Amos Cody