The Writer and the Critic

Welcome to 2023! On this first episode for the year your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, chat briefly about the Locus Recommended Reading List in which Hard Places gets a mention. Huzzah! The books up for discussion this month are Every Version of You by Grace Chan [6:25] and The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings [39:05].

For listeners interested in spec fic dealing with the second generation immigrant experience, Ian also recommends Flux by Jinwoo Chong.

And Kirstyn has found unbounded delight in a silly little browser add-on, Tabby Cat.

Next month, the two books on the slab will be:

LOTE by Shola Von Reinhold

Animal Life by Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

On this final episode of The Writer and the Critic for 2022 your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, spend a few minutes musing over the missing of podcasts, the breaking of awards, and the end of time as we know it. The books up for discussion this month are January Fifteenth by Rachel Swirsky [9:30] and Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen [39:00].

The interview with Samantha Allen that was mentioned in this episode can be read here.

The fabulously sartorial Jules Mond can be found on Instagram @seemeswoon.

And for listeners curious to know what Ian's beautiful William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review actually looks like, here it is complete with box:

Kirstyn promises to mail it to him before the end of the year. Maybe.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 109:10 for final remarks.

The first episode of 2023 will be uploaded in February 2023 and the two books on the slab will be:

Every Version of You by Grace Chan

The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, spend a few minutes discussing the work of Peter Straub, who sadly passed away this month. Listeners might like to revisit Episode 17 in which Kirstyn and Ian, along with special guest Rob Shearman, discuss Straub's marvelously unsettling collection, Houses Without Doors.

The books up for discussion this month are Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum [10:25] and Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield [34:00].

Kirstyn also highly recommends The Ghost Sequences by A.C. Wise from her new favourite small press, Undertow Publications.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 108:20 for final remarks.

Next month, the two books on the slab will be:

January Fifteenth by Rachel Swirsky

Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, spend a few minutes discussing the aftermath of COVID-19 by which Kirstyn was unfortunately struck down last month. She is not happy about it.

The books up for discussion this month are Such a Pretty Smile by Kristi Demeester [4:10] and Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett [29:25].

Ian also heartily recommends Pond by Claire-Louise Bennett and Berg by Ann Quin.

Congratulations are due to Ian as well for his recent nomination for the William Atheling Jr Award for Criticism or Review! And a gracious reminder that Kirstyn's new collection, Hard Places, is available now from Trepidatio Publishing.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 104:40 for final remarks.

Next month, the two books on the slab will be:

Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, first take some time to shamelessly plug Kirstyn's forthcoming collection of short fiction, Hard Places, out soon through Trepidatio Publishing.

The books up for discussion this month are Dance Move by Wendy Erskine [9:55] and Ariadne, I Love You by J. Ashley-Smith [36:05].

Listeners may also want to check out other books by the same authors, including Sweet Home by Erskine and The Attic Tragedy by Ashley-Smith. The two interviews with J. Ashley-Smith mentioned on the podcast can be found at Tomes and Tales and paulsemel.com.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 102:05 for final remarks, including an unexpected and possibly ill-advised foray into Top Gun.

Next month, the two books on the slab will be:

Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond,  quickly dispense with a (mostly) non-political intro and general discussion of post-apocalyptic narratives.

The books up for discussion this month are Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin [5:25] and And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin [44:40].

This excellent review of Manhunt by Lee Mandelo was mentioned in the podcast, and these two by Liam McBain and Christ are also well worth a read.

For listeners who would like to know what Lucy, the High-Flying Cat of Interruption, looks like, here she is in her bed atop the bookcase:

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 108:40 for brief final remarks.

Next month, the two books on the slab will be:

Dance Move by Wendy Erskine

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond,  are tired and cranky but still manage to preamble only briefly in the murk of COVID-19 and bad segues before getting to the point of it all. They think.

The books up for discussion this month are two novels: Devotion by Hannah Kent [5:20] and The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan [35:20].

The review of The School for Good Mothers that Kirstyn mentioned was this one by Ilana Masad in The Washington Post.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 109:30 for brief final remarks.

Next month, the two books on the slab will be:

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, dispense with lengthy preambles and get pretty much straight into it.

The books being discussed this month are two collections of short fiction: I Would Haunt You if I Could by Seán Padraic Birnie [2:10] and Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby [28:50].

For those listeners who enjoyed the Seán Padraic Birnie collection, Kirstyn would also like to draw your attention to a recent short story of his, "Funny Faces" over at The Dark.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 48:50 for a minor rant about novels vs collection plus brief final remarks.

Next month, the two books up on the slab will be:

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, begin by discussing the state of the world, farts in jars and a possible niche side project involving uncontrollable sobbing.

The books being flensed this month are The Wych Elm by Tana French [5:10] and My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley [37:15].

Ian would also like to make sure you know about the new short story that Kirstyn has had published in The Dark. You're welcome.

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:04:25 for brief final remarks.

Next month, the two books up on the slab will be:

Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby

I Would Haunt You if I Could by Seán Padraic Birnie

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!

On this first episode of The Writer and the Critic for 2022, your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, begin with an exciting announcement: Kirstyn will have some actual books being published this year! She's a writer again! Huzzah!

Ahem. The books up for discussion this month are When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut [6:08] and A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofal [52:35].

If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:18:15 for final remarks including a discussion about just what we mean when we say "novel" and why we might need to find some new words to describe long-form fiction.

Some helpful links for things mentioned in this episode:

• Burnt Sugar and the Never Afters series by Kirstyn McDermott available from Brain Jar Press

Next month, the two books up on the slab will be:

The Wych Elm by Tana French

My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley

Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!