The Thoughtful Bro

With one of the foremost Native American artists working today in any field, Tommy Orange, talking about his second novel, Wandering Stars.

We discussed the struggle of America to both remember and forget its past; his generative friendship with fellow celebrated novelist Kaveh Akbar; and whether the time has come when white writers of literary fiction will be expected to talk about whiteness.

Pre-order Mark Cecil's upcoming novel Bunyan and Henry.

All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

With the inimitable, incorrigible, ingenious Steve Almond, discussing his new craft book, Truth Is The Arrow, Mercy Is The Bow: A DIY Manual For The Construction Of Stories.

We covered: obsession as the engine for literature; the aims and importance of opening paragraphs; and how one of the ultimate goals of literature is a magnification the inner life, so we might all better understand and forgive one another.

Pre-order Mark Cecil's upcoming novel Bunyan and Henry.

All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

With ultra-fresh debut author Jonathan Escoffery, discussing his celebrated linked collection of stories about Jamaican immigrants, If I Survive You.

Topics included: (1) the impossibility of answering the loaded race question "What are you?" (2) the underserved market of father/son literature, and (3) the rare/extremely necessary topic of men's fashion on Zoom.

Pre-order Mark Cecil's upcoming novel Bunyan and Henry.

All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

With literary podcaster and author Brad Listi, discussing his first novel in 16 years, Be Brief And Tell Them Everything, a work of autofiction exploring the despair, terror, and glory which is the creative life.

We covered: brevity as an aesthetic, writing like there's no tomorrow, and how he builds literary community through his beloved podcast Otherppl.

Pre-order Mark Cecil's upcoming novel Bunyan and Henry.

All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

Why do men turn to rage as a solution to their problems? "Because they feel stuck," says bestselling first-time memoirist Isaac Fitzgerald. We unpacked the underbelly of the two big "mass's," masculinity and Massachusetts, as we discussed his raw, drug-sex-violence laden odyssey of the Bay State, Dirtbag, Massachusetts.

Pre-order Mark Cecil's upcoming novel Bunyan and Henry.

All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

With sleeper hit and absolute runaway debut sensation Shelby Van Pelt, discussing her hopeful, poignant, friendship-with-an-octopus book club novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures.

We discussed finding the voice for her "gentleman philosopher" octopus, how all good book ideas are probably a little bit bananas, and how it's never too late to change, no matter how old you are.

With an intro that discusses Tolkein's famous essay, "On Fairy Stories," about the necessity of fairy tales told to grown ups.

Pre-order Mark Cecil's upcoming novel Bunyan and Henry.

All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

Checking in with poetry slam champ Melissa Lozada-Oliva on her outrageous debut novel Candelaria, which one reviewer described as One Hundred Years Of Solitude meets "The Royal Tenenbaums" meets "Night of the Living Dead."

Topics: (1) writing against the traditional diaspora story, (2) when to follow/break storytelling rules, and (3) representation and the legacy of American Dirt.

Pre-order Mark Cecil's upcoming novel Bunyan and Henry.

All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

With Matt Bell, on his abundant, uncategorizable, epic novel Appleseed. This interview, like Bell's sweeping book, is chock full of ideas that we crammed in the most exciting way into a rather limited space, including: the state of eco-fiction; mashing up ancient mythic tropes and future-tech; and Matt's deep commitment to the richness of language.

Pre-order Mark Cecil's upcoming novel Bunyan and Henry.

All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

What does Shelley Parker-Chan want readers to feel at the end of her debut best-selling fantasy novel She Who Became The Sun? "A feeling of catharsis...the subtitle should be Revenge Of The Genderqueers."

Also discussed: Wuxia, fate v. triumph of will, and historical fanfiction. (Exciting to note: Shelley's second book, which completes the series, has just come out: He Who Drowned The World.)

Pre-order Mark Cecil's upcoming novel Bunyan and Henry.

All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.

A probing convo on American imperialism as seen from abroad; the rich historical and economic complexity of Haiti; and being a creative late-bloomer; with the great Ben Fountain, discussing his new international thriller Devil Makes Three. A true gentleman of American letters; the entire chat was as fresh as it was compelling.

Pre-order Mark Cecil's upcoming novel Bunyan and Henry.

All episodes of The Thoughtful Bro aired live originally on A Mighty Blaze. The Thoughtful Bro is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm.