S6 Ep. 1: Between Fiction and Autofiction: Elizabeth McCracken on Discussing Private Grief in Public

Acclaimed fiction writer Elizabeth McCracken joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell for the show’s fifth anniversary. She reads from her new novel, The Hero of This Book, which she wrote during the pandemic, shortly after her mother’s death. She also discusses what’s involved with tricking herself into writing a novel, particularly one that deals with difficult, almost autobiographical, subject matter. 

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/.

This podcast is produced by Anne Kniggendorf.

Selected Readings:

Elizabeth McCracken

• The Hero of This Book
• The Souvenir Museum
• Bowlaway
• Thunderstruck & Other Stories
• The Giant’s House

Others:

Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 4 Episode 12: WTF, Texas? Lacy M. Johnson and Natalia Sylvester on Surviving the Recent Storm and Unraveling the Whitewashed Myth of Texas

• Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 1 Episode 1: MFA vs. Everything: Four Writers Weigh in
• Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 5 Episode 42: Yiyun Li on Complicated Friendships Real and Imagined
• Fiction/Non/Fiction Season 4 Episode 25: Tolstoy Forever: Brigid Hughes and Yiyun Li on Retweeting a Russian Classic
• Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker 
• “Against Aboutness” by Yiyun Li, Harper’s Magazine
• The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices