The Downtown Writers Jam

One of our favorite authors, Wanda M. Morris, stopped by the Bunker for an After Party storytelling Q&A with Brad. Her latest book, Any Where You Run, is out now. Wanda and Brad swapped stories about their parents, shared their best advice to writers, and talked about how writing helps them make sense of the world.

Plus, they had a callback to Brad's favorite Wanda story: how she wrote her first book without anybody knowing until it was done!

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Designer David Lee Csicsko dropped by the Bunker for a Jam Session about his latest project, LGBTQ+ Icons: A Celebration of Historical LGBTQ+ Icons in the Arts. David and Brad discussed their strange overlapping experience in the Indianapolis theatre scene, his work as a graphic designer, and the process he and his writing partner went through in narrowing down the 50 stories they wanted to tell in this book.

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Author Felice Cohen dropped by the Bunker to talk about her latest book, Half In: A Coming-of-Age Memoir of Forbidden Love. Be warned, Felice came ready with some amazing stories. She and Brad went on a long, winding road through her life. They talked playing sports growing up, her fearless drive to explore, family, and even a little bit about living in that very tiny New York apartment. (But not too much. Just, um, a little.)

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One of Brad's favorite guests, author Sergio Troncoso, dropped by the bunker After Party to talk about his latest novel, Nobody's Pilgrims. The two talked about Sergio's evolution in thinking about "voiceless" characters, the "flow" in writing, and probably other topics we could put in quotes.

Oh, and the time Sergio met George W. Bush.

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Author and professor Natalia Molina stopped by the Bunker to talk about her latest book, A Place at the Nayarit: How a Mexican Restaurant in Los Angeles Nourished its Community. Natalia and Brad has a long, wide-ranging discussion about comedians (Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler in particular), audio books, meeting famous people, and the trauma of academia.

Plus, how place intersects with race, class, and gender in America.

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Author and journalist Keri Blakinger stopped by the Bunker to talk about her memoir, Corrections in Ink, a fascinating examination of the women's prison system told through the lens of somebody who made it to the other side of incarceration. It's a fantastic book, and one you want to read. Of course, Keri and Brad talked about the rest of her life: growing up as a competitive skater, trying to fit in, and navigating her career as a journalist after.

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Journalist and author Katie Hafner stopped by the Bunker to talk about her debut novel, The Boys. She and Brad took a stroll through some of the difficult times she had growing up and as a professional, but swerved through the difficulties of switching from nonfiction to fiction. And the joy of writing about goodness.

Oh, and we forgot to mention that Katie not only influenced Brad's early career, she also taught a class he took at Berkeley. (There's only a few fanboy moments.)

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Author Emi Nietfeld stopped by the Bunker to talk about her memoir, Acceptance, which is—in many ways—a story about the cost of surviving. For that, you can check out the book. She and Brad took a walk through her childhood in Minnesota, her almost modeling career, her search for her own identity, and ultimately the road where she found her own path through...everything.

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Author Angelique Pesce stopped by the Bunker to talk with Brad about her latest book, American Pastime, and the importance of family. She grew up working in her father's bakery. She went to law school because of her grandfather. She started a nonprofit because of her grandmother. And she watched her mother blazer her own career. All of those forces shaped her journey as a writer, a producer, and filmmaker.

It is—in the mythological way that we tell ourselves these stories—the American Dream.

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Author Elisabeth Sharp McKetta came back to the Bunker After Party to talk about her latest book, Awake with Asashoryu and Other Essays.

She joined Brad to tell some stories about why it's so hard to sit in the chair to write, why writers only really believe the bad reviews, what it means to be a writer, and the joy of making things (and being in a family that makes things)!

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