Hilary Leichter [Host: Sara Rauch]

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Sara Rauch interviews Hilary Leichter.

Hilary Leichter is the author of the novels Terrace House, which came out from Ecco early this fall, and Temporary, which came out, to much acclaim, from Coffee House Press in 2020. Hilary’s writing has appeared in The New Yorker, n+1, The New York Times, Conjunctions, and elsewhere. Her work in Harper’s Magazine won the 2021 National Magazine Award in Fiction.

Sara Rauch is the author of the book-length essay XO, from us at Autofocus Books. She’s also the author of the story collection, What Shines from it, from Alternating Current Press. Her book reviews and author interviews have been featured in the LA Review of Books, Newcity Lit, Lambda Literary, The Rumpus, and elsewhere.

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PART ONE, topics include:

-- boredom and daydreaming

-- the internal/external nature of writing

-- teaching undergrad at Columbia after doing their MFA

-- screenwriting and starting as a playwright

-- writing her first novel Temporary

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PART TWO, topics include:

-- drafting novels in a month

-- writing her new novel Terrace Story

-- book length and access

-- indicating space in fiction

-- an unspoiled emotional experience

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PART THREE, topics include:

-- space and limited space

-- short stories turning into novels

-- the unintentional and intentional parts of writing

--  loneliness and aloneness 

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Podcast theme music provided by Mike Nagel, author of Duplex. Here's more of his project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.

The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton.