The Lives of Writers

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Kaycie Hall interviews Lauren Elkin.Kaycie Hall is the lead editor of our online journal Autofocus. She's also a writer and literary translator, whose work has appeared in Peach Mag, Neutral Spaces, Triangle House Review, and other journals. Lauren Elkin is a writer and translator of many books, most recently the author of Art Monsters: Unruly Bodies in Feminist Art and the UK translator of Simone de Beauvoir's previously unpublished novel The Inseparables. UK and US versions of her novel Scaffolding are coming out later this year.____________PART ONE, topics include:-- winding down publication publicity-- growing up focused on the performing arts -- Lauren's previous book Flâneuse-- Lauren's new book Art Monsters-- intervening in the conversation around feminism-- the temptation to make the book about one person____________PART TWO, topics include:-- pregnancy shifting the shape of the book -- the pandemic contributing to the shifting-- Lauren's translation  work-- managing reading hours (or not)-- a forthcoming novel____________Podcast theme music  by Mike Nagel, author of Duplex and Culdesac. Here's his music project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton.Episode and show artwork by Amy Wheaton.

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Erin Slaughter interviews Chin-Sun Lee.Chin-Sun Lee is the author of the debut novel Upcountry (Unnamed Press 2023), listed among Publishers Weekly’s Big Indie Books of Fall 2023, and is one of Poets & Writers’5 Over 50 for 2023. She’s also a contributor to Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology (Madville Publishing 2023) and the New York Times bestselling anthology Women in Clothes (Blue Rider Press/Penguin 2014). Her stories, essays, and reviews have appeared in Electric Literature, Literary Hub, The Georgia Review, The Rumpus, Joyland, and The Believer Logger, among other publications. More at www.chinsunlee.com. Erin Slaughter is the author of the short story collection A Manual for How to Love Us and the poetry collections The Sorrow Festival, and I Will Tell This Story to the Sun Until You Realize That You Are the Sun. She is the managing editor of Autofocus  and was formerly the editor/co-founder of literary journal and chapbook press The Hunger. Her writing has appeared in Lit Hub, Electric Literature, CRAFT, The Rumpus, Prairie Schooner, Split Lip Magazine, and elsewhere____________PART ONE, topics include:-- finishing a first book tour-- seeing a first novel go into the world--previous work in the fashion industry-- life in LA after movie young from Korea-- arts and writing growing up--publishing a debut novel in your 50's- pressure and expectations on following-up a novel____________PART TWO, topics include:-- Chin-Sun's debut novel Upcountry-- balancing three voices-- process changing from short stories to the novel-- process changing from completed book to WIP-- cults-- class-- the unknown-- penance____________PART THREE, topics include:-- place as character -- writing about 2009/10-- the possibility of writing something into being by accident-- living in New Orleans-- the next novel--Erin's WIP --the beauty and cosmetic industry_______________Podcast theme music  by Mike Nagel, author of Duplex and Culdesac. Here's his music project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton.Episode and show artwork by Amy Wheaton.

Trey Moody, the author of Autoblivion, is interviewed by Jeff Alessandrelli. They discuss Trey's upbringing in San Antonio, his early writing experiences, and his journey to becoming a writer. They also talk about Trey's decision to pursue a PhD, the differences between his first and second book, and the significant life events that shaped his writing. The chapter concludes with a discussion on his latest book, Autoblivion, and his upcoming project, a book-length lyric essay.

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Lena Crown interviews Jehanne Dubrow.Jehanne Dubrow is the author of nine books of poems, including most recently, Wild Kingdom (Louisiana State University Press, 2021), and three books of creative nonfiction, throughsmoke: an essay in notes (New Rivers Press, 2019), Taste: A Book of Small Bites (Columbia University Press, 2022), and Exhibitions: Essays on Art & Atrocity (University of New Mexico Press, 2023).Lena Crown is a book editor for us at Autofocus Books. Her essays are published or forthcoming in The Rumpus, Guernica, Gulf Coast, Narratively, North American Review, The Offing, and elsewhere, and her poems have appeared in Bellevue Literary Review, The Boiler, Poet Lore, No Contact, and Variant Lit.____________Full conversation topics include:-- writing routines and book juggling-- switching modes of writing/thinking-- teaching trauma writing-- starting as an encouraged visual artist-- Rothko-- writing young -- working on Taste: A Book of Small Bites and then Exhibitions: Essays on Art and Atrocity--  the research process for a braided essay-- rendering place and many different countries-- the "snapshots" and "galleries" in the book-- ekphrasis-- using the body and becoming a surface-- finding (and using) different forms-- the problem of beauty-- possession and dispossession-- discomfort-- fact and pathos-- organization and ordering-- flash/prose poem form-- her next book Civilians-- frivolity_______________Podcast theme music  by Mike Nagel, author of Duplex and Culdesac. Here's his music project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton, author of Home Movies.Episode and show artwork by Amy Wheaton.

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Jeff Alessandrelli interviews LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs.LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs is a poet and sound artist. She is the author of the poetry collections, Village (Coffee House Press, 2023)  and TwERK (Belladonna, 2013), in addition to three chapbooks. Her interdisciplinary work has been featured at the Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Walker Art Center. Jeff Alessandrelli is the author of several books, including the poetry collection Fur Not Light. His novel And Yet is being reissued this year by Future Tense Books. He is also the director and co-editor of the small presses Fonograf Editions and Bunny Presse.____________PART ONE, topics include:-- growing up and still living in Harlem-- living in the Bay Area and other places too-- freelance music writing for a time, then going to school-- first developing with play-- early life as a poet --trying out different things while going to writing programs -- getting an MFA but finding buddies in Cave Canem________PART TWO, topics include:-- the success of her first full-length poetry collection TwERK-- the uncertain path to the first collection-- residencies -- the new poetry book VILLAGE, out last year with Coffee House-- a decade between books -- the complexity and modes of VILLAGE-- giving time-- a webinar series related to the book_______________Podcast theme music  by Mike Nagel, author of Duplex and Culdesac. Here's his music project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton.Episode and show artwork by Amy Wheaton.

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Aaron Burch interviews Lindsay Hunter.Lindsay Hunter is the author most recently of the novel Hot Springs Drive (Roxane Gay Books, 2023). She's also the author of two story collections, Daddy's and Don't Kiss Me, and the novels Ugly Girls and Eat Only When You're Hungry. She hosts the literary podcast I'm A Writer, But.Aaron Burch is the author of the essay collection A Kind of In-Between and editor of How to Write a Novel: An Anthology of 20 Craft Essays About Writing, None of Which Ever Mention Writing, both from Autofocus Books. He's also the author of several other books, including the novel, Year of the Buffalo. He is currently the editor of Short Story, Long and the co-editor of WAS (Words & Sports) and HAD. ____________PART ONE, topics include:-- Lindsay's love of Halloween-- Lindsay at 16 -- the prospect of sex as teen with a Christian upbringing-- first wanting to be an actress but always writing-- Lindsay's history hosting Quickies! and performing readings-- writing that's fun to write-- her book DADDY'S coming out of the reading series-- truly seeing in your writing--  working with Zach Dodson of Featherproof Books-- co-starting the podcast I'M A WRITER BUT -- recently experiencing burnout____________PART TWO, topics include:--a reading of the beginning of HOT SPRINGS DRIVE-- working with Roxane Gay on the novel for her new imprint-- figuring out the structure of the new novel-- trusting the plot and pushing herself-- leveling up-- writing about sex and food and the body-- point of view in the novel-- accidentally writing a mystery-- new works in progress_______________Podcast theme music  by Mike Nagel, author of Duplex and Culdesac. Here's his music project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton.Episode and show artwork by Amy Wheaton.

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Kevin Maloney interviews Mike Nagel.Mike Nagel is the author of Duplex (Autofocus Books, 2022) and now the author of Culdesac (Autofocus Books, 2024). He also wrote the music for this podcast and a column called The Unintentionalist for the literary magazine Little Engines.Kevin Maloney is the author of The Red-Headed Pilgrim (Two Dollar Radio, 2023), Horse Girl Fever (CLASH Books, 2024), and Cult of Loretta (Lazy Fascist, 2015).____________Full conversation topics include:-- a new temporary living situation-- writing junk mail for a living-- Vonnegut-- writing the Unintentionalist column for Little Engines-- starting in music early and writing later-- early influential books-- Mike's surprise breakout hit DUPLEX-- quitting drinking after publishing the book-- the new book CULDESAC, a sequel of sorts to DUPLEX-- the troubling titling the new book-- following up a first book that gets some attention-- writing as a way to bring meaning to mundanity-- thinking about health in mid-life and in the new book-- the comedy in Mike's work -- revising and not knowing if something is working-- seamless drifting and losing the point-- unintentionalism-- Jamba Juice as character--  the high stakes of the every day____________Podcast theme music also provided by Mike Nagel. Here's more of his project: Yeah Yeah Cool Cool.The Lives of Writers is edited and produced by Michael Wheaton.Episode and show artwork by Amy Wheaton.

Autofocus Books authors Aaron Burch, Kristine Langley Mahler, Danny Caine, and Holly Pelesky read selections from their books  and interview each other briefly about the work they've read.Aaron Burch is the author of the essay collection A Kind of In-Between and editor of How to Write a Novel: An Anthology of 20 Craft Essays About Writing, None of Which Ever Mention Writing, both from Autofocus Books. He's also the author of several other books, including the novel, Year of the Buffalo. He is currently the editor of Short Story, Long and the co-editor of WAS (Words & Sports) and HAD. Kristine Langley Mahler is the author of two nonfiction books: A Calendar Is a Snakeskin  (Autofocus Books, 2023) and Curing Season: Artifacts (West Virginia University Press, 2022). She directs Split Lip Press.Danny Caine is the author of the poetry collections Picture Window, Continental Breakfast, El Dorado Freddy's, and Flavortown, as well as the books How to Resist Amazon and Why and How to Protect Bookstores and Why. He's a co-owner of the Raven Book Store, Publishers Weekly's 2022 bookstore of the year. Holly Pelesky is the author of the essay collection, Cleave, from Autofocus Books. She also writes fiction and poetry and co-edits Vast Chasm literary magazine.________________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. He publishes Autofocus Books and produces The Lives of Writers. His essay Home Movies will be out from Bunny Presse in Feb 2024.

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Michael Wheaton interviews Lexi Kent-Monning.Lexi Kent-Monning is the author of the novel, The Burden of Joy, which is out now from Rejection Letters Press. Her writing has been published or is forthcoming in XRAY, Joyland, Tilted House Review, Neutral Spaces, Little Engines, and elsewhere.An excerpt from The Burden of Joy, titled "The Nurse's Lament", was published previously in Autofocus.Michael Wheaton is the publisher of Autofocus Books and producer of The Lives of Writers. His essay Home Movies will be out from Bunny Presse in Feb 2024.____________PART ONE, topics include:-- working customer service for a tech company-- previous work doing indie music publicity-- previous work as an assistant to actresses & celebs-- growing up near Big Sur and the CA/NY push-pull____________PART TWO, topics include:-- Lexi's first novel The Burden of Joy-- fragments turning into a memoir turning into a novel-- doppelganger characters and therapy as a writing tool-- specific and vital writing about sex and intoxication-- admitting hard things to yourself for the writing-- heartbreak and childhood repercussions____________PART THREE, topics include:-- hindsight and the epilogue-- the pull toward personal writing-- the person you are when you write vs publish the book-- promoting a first book____________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.

On today's episode of The Lives of Writers, Mike Nagel interviews Parker Young.Parker Young is the author of the the short story collection Cheap Therapist Says You're Insane (Future Tense Books) . His stories have appeared in  X-R-A-Y, HAD,  Juked, and elsewhere. A story from Parker's collection, "On the Toilet," was originally published in Autofocus.Mike Nagel is the author of Duplex (Autofocus Books, 2022). He lives in Plano, Texas. He also wrote the music for this podcast.____________PART ONE, topics include:-- living in the same building as family-- maintaining relationships as an adult-- writing spaces and getting into a creative state-- the stoics and blaming-- favorite childhood books-- being inspired by unexplainable writing____________PART TWO, topics include:-- not being into screenwriting-- tension rather than plot-- Parker's story collection CHEAP THERAPIST SAYS YOU'RE INSANE-- getting a story started and variations in getting it done-- writing and revising and collecting stories over a long period of time-- sequencing a book that can be sequenced many ways____________PART THREE, topics include:--last minute changes to the book-- working with small presses in general and Future Tense in particular-- putting out a first book-- what to do after a first book-- Thomas Bernhard____________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.Episode and show artwork by Amy Wheaton.