Month: March 2017

Advice from a psychic led Annie Hartnett to the residency that helped her finish her fantastic novel, RABBIT CAKE. She and James talk about spending time in cemeteries, writing in yards, giving a good reading, and how to sprinkle naked mole rat facts throughout to make the best fiction. Then, Masie Cochran from Tin House Books talks about discovering RABBIT CAKE and her route to becoming an editor.

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Annie Hartnett

Annie and James Discuss:

“Refresh, Refresh” by Benjamin Percy

GOSSIP GIRL

Newtonville Books

Tin House Books

Hamilton College

Bread Loaf School of English

University of Alabama

Grub Street

Boston Public Library

Kellie Wells

Kobo

The Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference

Mike Scalise

Alex Awards

THE KEPT

REDIVIDER

FIND ME by Laura van den Berg

THE FAMILY FANG by Kevin Wilson

SWAMPLANDIA by Karen Russell

Aimee Bender

Samantha Hunt

THE WILDS by Julia Elliott

Mary Cotton

Jaime Clarke

George Saunders

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Tin House Books

Masie and James Discuss:

(intro)

SWIMMING LESSONS by Claire Fuller

OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS by Claire Fuller

GHOST SONGS by Regina McBride

THE OTHER SIDE by Lacy Johnson

DRYLAND by Sara Jaffe

RELIEF MAP by Rosalie Knecht

(talk)

Katie Grimm of Don Congdon Associates

Michael Farris Smith

Nanci McCloskey

Sabrina Wise

TIN HOUSE

Tin House Writers’ Workshop

Win McCormack

Richard Pine

Inkwell Management

GEEK LOVE by Katherine Dunn

99 STORIES OF GOD by Joy Williams

Jim Shepard

Michael Farris Smith and James figured out pretty early on in the conversation that they were cut from the same cloth. Michael is the author of THE HANDS OF STRANGERS, RIVERS, and his latest novel, DESPERATION ROAD, is out now. He and James discuss following the story, not thinking too hard, realizing something is boring, and how the rise and fall of music can serve as a model for fiction. Then, Steve Iwanski, manager of Turnrow Book Co., talks about his store and recommends books.

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Michael Farris Smith:

https://michaelfarrissmith.com/

Michael and James discuss:

THE MAID’S VERSION by Daniel Woodrell

The Southern Festival of the Book

Square Books

Lemuria Books

Ann Patchett

Newtonville Books

Brookline Booksmith

Porter Square Books

Mississippi Book Festival

Somerset Review

CLMP

Manhattan Public Library

The Pushcart Prize

The Center for Writers at Ole Miss

Publisher’s Weekly

Carolina Wren Press

Hannah Tinti

One Story

Frederick Barthelme

Steven Barthelme

The New Yorker

Jason Isbell

“Fire Away” by Chris Stapleton

Steve Earle

“Breaker’s Roar” by Sturgill Simpson

“You Want it Darker” by Leonard Cohen

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Turnrow Book Co: http://turnrowbooks.com/

James and Steve Discuss:

COMMONWEALTH by Ann Patchett

Lady Gaga

Jamie Kornegay

FURIOUS COOL: RICHARD PRYOR AND THE WORLD THAT MADE HIM by David Henry and Joe Henry

The Alabama Booksmith

Wiley Cash

William Faulkner

Eudora Welty

THE NARROW ROAD TO THE DEEP NORTH by Richard Flanagan

The Greenwood Shakespeare Project

DESPERATION ROAD by Michael Farris Smith

THE STRAYS by Emily Bitto

THE HISTORY OF WOLVES by Emily Fridlund

THE MIDNIGHT COOL by Lydia Peele

Ketch Secor

Old Crow Medicine Show

THE WORLD UNDONE by GJ Meyer

THE LOST CITY OF THE MONKEY GOD by Douglas Preston

THE LOST CITY OF Z by David Grann

ICE GHOSTS by Paul Watson

THE WORLD TO COME by Jim Shepard

LINCOLN IN THE BARDO by George Saunders

SALVAGE THE BONES by Jesmyn Ward

MEN WE REAPED by Jesmyn Ward

SING, UNBURIED, SING by Jesmyn Ward