Hello everyone. Today’s guest is the brilliant Nada Alic. She has a new book out called Bad Thoughts (Vintage). It's her debut collection. Buy it wherever books are sold. Selected Prose highly recommends Bad Thoughts. Nada is a refreshingly original writer. Her voice is unique, she's wise beyond her years, and she's hilarious.My favorite stories in…

Patrick Doerksen reads his short story, ‘I Was Promised A Hot Dog,’ for the Selected Prose Reading Series. Patrick holds an MFA from NYU. His stories have appeared in Mysterion, Aurealis, and Penguin Canada's Journey Prize Anthology. He lives in Brooklyn.

Our next guest is professor Brandon Gauthier. Brandon completed his doctorate in Modern History at Fordham University in 2016. He is the Director of Global Education at The Derryfield School and an Adjunct Professor of History for Fordham University. His first book, BEFORE EVIL: Young Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao, and Kim came out in April…

Bud Smith is today's guest. His latest novel is called TEENAGER and its from Vintage Books. Make sure to follow Bud on twitter. Make sure to read the book and spread the good word on the internet.What Else? I've been reading a wonderful little book of poems called OMG THE DAY by Theo Thimo. Big Recommend!What Else? If you enjoy the show, please lea…

Ryan Napier is the author of Four Stories about the Human Face (Bull City Press). He lives in Massachusetts. More at ryannapier.net and @ryanlnapier on Twitter.

A short story from Sam Price titled The Sequel.Sam lives in Pennsylvania.

Today's guest is Marlowe Granados! Marlowe is a writer living in Toronto. Happy Hour is her debut novel. Marlowe is also a filmmaker and hosts a podcast called The Mean Reds, a show highlighting women-led films. She has an advice column in The Baffler titled "Designs for Living." And as if all this wasn't impressive enough, Marlowe also works in fa…

Brittney Uecker is a librarian, writer, and Scorpio living in rural Montana. Her work has been featured in HAD, Taco Bell Quarterly, Kalopsia, and others. She is a Best of the Net nominee for fiction and tweets (@bonesandbeer). This story originally appeared in Dark Entries Journal in October of 2021.…

Today's guest is the great Hannah Lillith Assadi. Her new novel, The Stars Are Not Yet Bells, was published by Riverhead in early January. It was named a Most Anticipated book of the year by The Washington Post, Good Morning America, Bustle, Lit Hub, Hey Alma, and The Millions. I recommend Stars, especially if you're fond of unreliable narrators, t…

A short story by Joanna Acevedo. Joanna is the author of the poetry collection The Pathophysiology of Longing (Black Centipede Press, 2020) and the short story collection Unsaid Things (Flexible Press, 2021). She was a finalist for the Editor’s Chapbook Prize in Fiction from the Southern Humanities Review, and received her MFA in Fiction from New Y…

The final 10 pages of the novel Jenny in Corona by Stuart M. Ross Stuart Ross (@myskypager) is a writer from Queens living in Chicago. Jenny in Corona (from Tortoise Books) is his first novel.

Michael McSweeney reads a chapter from his upcoming novel, Heroman Michael is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, where he lives with his partner and cat.

Allie Rowbottom is today's guest! Allie is the author of the New York Times Editors’ Choice memoir Jell-O Girls (Little Brown) and the upcoming novel Aesthetica (SoHo Press). Allie's writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, Salon, Lit Hub, No Tokens, NY Tyrant, The Drunken Canal, Bitch, and elsewhere. She has a PhD in literature and creative writing fr…

Mark Leidner is today's guest! Mark is a brilliant, hilarious, and extraordinarily talented poet, fiction writer, filmmaker, and more! I've read two of his books, Under The Sea (Tyrant) and Returning the Sword to the Stone (Fonograf Editions), and each of them filled me with joy, made me laugh hysterically, and provided me with a sense of proximity…

Harris Lahti's work has appeared in Bomb, Sleepingfish, Epiphany, New York Tyrant, Hobart, and elsewhere. He edits fiction for Post Road and Fence, and paints houses for a living in New York's Hudson Valley. Recently, he finished his first novel, The Foreclosure Gothics. Read more: harrislahti.com.

Today's guest is Marcus Pactor. His new book is Begat Who Begat Who Begat, from Astrophil Press. His first book, Vs. Death Noises, won the 2011 Subito Press Prize for Fiction. His story, “Megaberry Crunch” was selected for Best Small Fictions 2021. His work has most recently appeared in 3:AM Magazine, Juked, and Harsh. He lives and works in Jackson…

Today’s guest is the great Gary Shteyngart! He’s the author of Super Sad True Love Story, Lake Success, Absurdistan, and more. His latest novel, Our Country Friends, was released earlier this month. It’s a hilarious, clever novel set in the pandemic, described by Kirkus reviews as "The Great American Pandemic Novel only Shteyngart could write." Go …

Troy James Weaver is today's guest! Troy is the author of Witchita Stories, Temporal, Marigold, Visions, and Selected Stories. His work has appeared in NY Tyrant, Hobart, The Southwest Review, and many others. He lives in Wichita, Kansas with his wife and dogs. We discuss absurdism, humor, Beckett, first person narrative, working and writing, works…

Do It Like This was written and recorded by Dalton Monk. The story originally appeared in New York Tyrant. Dalton's other stories have appeared in New York Tyrant, Hobart, and Joyland. He lives in West Virginia.

Duncan Birmingham is today's guest! His latest book is called 'The Cult In My Garage' (Maudlin House) and it's wild and hilarious and great. ****Get a 10% DISCOUNT when you use the code "PROSE10" at checkout on Maudlin House's website! Link: https://shop.maudlinhouse.net/#the-cult-in-my-garage Duncan is a writer living in LA. He's worked on a bunch…

Trout Fish lives in The River City and hangs out with his shirt off in the sun, looking at water or trees, thinking about cool stuff, and then bangs on his typewriter back home. T.F. also plays music and frequents the house show scene, always cracking up with the locals, a true man of the people. Twitter: @troutfishfarms Soundcloud: www.soundcloud.…

Dmitry Samarov, everyone! Dmitry is a painter and writer living in Chicago. He is the author and illustrator of six books. He sends out a newsletter every Monday. An absurd amount of his work is collected at his website, which is seventeen years old now. SUPPORT SELECTED PROSE! Follow, subscribe, review, and become a Patron! Music by Tom Laplaige (…

Andrea Bartz is today's guest! Andrea is the author of the bestselling and critically-acclaimed novels The Lost Night and The Herd. Her latest book, We Were Never Here, was published earlier this month through Ballantine books. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Women's Health, Martha Stewart Living…

Today's guest is Tao Lin. Tao is the author of ten books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. His fourth novel, Leave Society, was published on August 3, 2021, by Vintage. He also runs Muumuu House, an independent, small press publishing company based in New York, which he started in 2008. Learn more about Tao and his work at www.taolin.us, and foll…

Big Bruiser Dope Boy is today's guest. BBDB's books include Something Gross (Apocalypse Party), Foghorn Leghorn (Clash Books), Your First Real Boyfriend & Other Poems, and After Denver (11:11 Press). Today's topics include: Garielle Lutz (as usual), zoom funerals, Sam Pink, editing while you write, Gay Death Trance, power, and finding your own writ…

I spoke with Gerald Brennan about writing historical fiction, nuclear weapons, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, life as a West Point cadet, and much more. Gerald earned a B.S. in European History from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University in New York. He's the author of "Infinite …

I interview Darin Strauss and discuss his life, career, and approaches to writing fiction. Darin's latest book, The Queen of Tuesday, was just released in paperback. The book, Darin's follow-up to his best-selling National Book Critics Circle Award-winner, Half a Life, is highly acclaimed and was a finalist for the Joyce Carol Oates Award in Fictio…

Ottessa Moshfegh is today's guest! Her books include Eileen, her first novel, which was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Man Booker Prize, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction; My Year of Rest and Relaxation, a New York Times bestseller; and her latest book, Death in Her Hands, yet another New York Times b…

Bud Smith reads his short story, Rewild, for the Selected Prose Reading Series. This story was originally published in New World Writing. Bud is a writer from Jersey City, NJ. He works in heavy construction. His new book, Teenager (Vintage), is coming out in spring 2022. He's written a bunch of wonderful books, including but not limited to Double B…

Greetings comrades. I spoke with the wildly talented Jon Lindsey about his brilliant and beloved debut novel, Body High, set to drop on May 1st through House of Vlad press. In the words of a very wise man: “This book is dosed. Lick the toad.” Buy your copy ASAP to see what the wise man's on about. In this episode, Jon and I talk Body High, how to w…

A few nights ago, I interviewed the brilliant Shy Watson. She is the author of Horror Vacui from House of Vlad press and Cheap Yellow from Civil Coping Mechanisms. Shy is also the co-founder Blush Lit. Her work has appeared in New York Tyrant and Hobart and many other places. I read Horror Vacui and loved it for a lot of reasons. If I had to choose…

Hello Hello Hello!Recently I spoke with Grammy-nominated musician and poet Courtney Marie Andrews! Her debut poetry collection, Old Monarch, came out on April 6, 2021. She has a hell of a unique poetic voice, and Old Monarch is a beautiful book. I'll read this again and again. Lucky for us, she agreed to read a couple of poems during this episode. …

Jon spends a fine spring morning with Garielle Lutz, author of Stories in the Worst Way, I Looked Alive, Partial List of People to Bleach, Divorcer, Assisted Living, The Complete Gary Lutz, and her latest book, Worsted, from SF/LD Books. Garielle's work has also appeared in Conjunctions, Sleepingfish, NOON, The Quarterly, The Believer, and many oth…

Ellen Birkett Morris is the author of Lost Girls, a collection of short stories called "a varied set of tales from a skilled practitioner of the short form" by Kirkus Reviews. Her fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, Antioch Review, Notre Dame Review, South Carolina Review, and Santa Fe Literary Review, among other journals. She is a winner of the B…

Jon sits down with author and publisher Brian Alan Ellis to discuss his beloved press, House of Vlad, his books, and much more. Brian is the author of Sad Laughter (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2018) and Something to Do with Self-Hate (House of Vlad/Talking Book, 2017). His writing has appeared at Juked, Hobart, Monkeybicycle, Fanzine, Vol. 1 Brooklyn,…

This week, I sit down with novelist, musician, and counter-terrorism expert Andy Oppenheimer. His novels include Fields of Orion: An Odyssey, and Fields of Orion II: The Mission. In early April, Andy will publish The Hunter’s Story, part three of the trilogy, which we discuss at length. Andy’s musical projects include Oppenheimer Analysis, Touching…

Unity reads Angel for the Selected Prose Reading Series. Unity is a writer and artist who lives in upstate New York with many feral cats and alter egos.

Primo Updoo by Justin Brooks is a hilarious and alarming journey through an imminent future of Instagram faces, made-to-order cosmetic surgeries, and meme-based social status. Justin Brooks is a writer and artist from Brooklyn, NY. Find this story at Waxing and Waning, and his artwork @justinbrooks_art on Instagram. *Episode artwork by Yaroslav Dan…

Timi Sanni is an award-winning writer, poet, literary prodigy, and biochemistry student from Lagos, Nigeria. His work has appeared in X-R-A-Y, Palette, Fitrah Review, and elsewhere. Enjoy the episode. And if you enjoy our podcast, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and tell us all your thoughts and dirty secrets.…

Timi Sanni reads a work of flash fiction titled Like Foreign Things That Take The Name Of Love. This piece was originally published by Art Most Terrific. The story is posted below: Mama tucks me between her skinny legs as she plaits my hair. She pulls the cutting comb through my hair and parts it with both hands. Then she begins to weave. Her hands…

Hello, everyone. It’s February 16, 2021, we’re still inside, still listening to podcasts to help pass the time. We're thrilled about this episode. Jon and Liz interview author Avner Landes. His upcoming book, Meiselman: The Lean Years, is really something special. Hilarious, heartwarming, beautifully written. It’s something any of us writers dream …

David Leo Rice reads his short story Sanity House, originally published in Ligeia Magazine. David's upcoming story collection, Drifter Stories, will be published by 11:11 Press in June 2021. David's latest novel, A Room In Dodge City: Vol 2, was recently published by Alternating Current Press. Brian Evenson calls it: "The Künstlerroman on acid, a h…

In this episode, I chat with Delicious Tacos (delicioustacos.com / twitter: @delicious_tacos). He's the author of the outstanding novel Finally, Some Good News, as well as story collections The Pussy, Savage Spear of the Unicorn, and Hot Naked Kittens. He's also working on his second novel, titled True Love, which we discuss in the episode. Other t…

Jon and Liz sit down with Sam Pink to discuss his new book Ice Cream Man and Other Stories, and his other books, which are all awesome.We also discuss how everyone needs some rat in them, character development and finding the singular quality in others, the pros and cons of self publishing, working in restaurants, Mary Robison's Why Did I Ever, com…

This week, Selected Prose welcomes a new co-host, Liz Ayre. Liz is a talented fiction writer from LA and an MFA student in the Creative Writing Program at NYU. Thrilled to have her on board! Jon and Liz talk at length with author Elle Nash. Elle is the author of the novel Animals Eat Each Other (Dzanc Books), which was featured in the The Oprah Mag…

Elle Nash reads her short story, Summer Thighs, originally published in Tarpaulin Sky. Elle Nash is the author of the novel Animals Eat Each Other (Dzanc Books). Her collection of stories, Nudes, is forthcoming from SF/LD Books in 2021. Her stories and essays have appeared in publications like Guernica, New York Tyrant, Literary Hub, The Fanzine, T…

I interviewed B.R. Yeager, author of the new novel Negative Space (Apocalypse Party). B.R. is also the author of Amygdalatropolis (Schism Press) and Pearl Death (Inside the Castle) You can find him on twitter @BRYeager. He lives in western Massachusetts.In this episode, we discuss Negative Space, how to write fiction involving the internet, New Eng…

Derick Dupre reads his short story, The Death of James Polk. This story was originally published in Spork Press. Derick is a writer based in Arizona. His work has appeared in Hobart, New York Tyrant, The Collagist, Eyeshot, and elsewhere. He's been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and was a finalist for the Lamar York Prize for Fiction. Check out his…

I sit down with Alisson Wood at the Lillian Vernon Creative Writers House in Greenwich Village to discuss her new memoir, Being Lolita. We talk about her story, the craft of memoir writing, Nabokov, fairy tales, growing up, memory, vulnerability in art and life, and a whole lot more. Check out her essays in the New York Times, Catapult, and Epiphan…

Alisson Wood reads the opening of her new memoir, Being Lolita. Alisson is a highly acclaimed writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Catapult, and Epiphany. She's also the the founder and editor in chief of Pigeon Pages, and a graduate of the NYU Creative Writing program. Stay tuned for my upcoming interview with Alisson, where we di…