Claire Fuller started writing to compete in a local short story slam. Then she started to win. Soon after, she earned an MA and has since written two novels, OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS and SWIMMING LESSONS. She and James talk about the torture of writing new material, the joy of editing, the reader response theory, and the practice of listening to music while writing. Plus, year-end reading recommendations from some of 2017’s guests!

Claire Fuller

Claire and James discuss:

Penguin Books

Tin House Books

Masie Cochran

Fuzzy Felt Green

WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE by Shirley Jackson

THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O’Brien

THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers

HOUSEKEEPING by Marilynne Robinson

LEGEND OF A SUICIDE by David Vann

Iron & Wine

Sam Beam

Townes van Zandt

TURN OUT THE LIGHTS (album) by Julien Baker

Margot Livesey

SOY SAUCE FOR BEGINNERS by Kirstin Chen

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (dir by Coens)

THERE WILL BE BLOOD (dir by PT Anderson)

MICHAEL CLAYTON (dir by Tony Gilroy)

ZODIAC (dir by David Fincher)

IDAHO by Emily Ruskovich

A SEPARATION by Katie Kitamura

Year-End Recommendations from:

Annie Hartnett, author of RABBIT CAKE:

THE HISTORY OF WOLVES by Emily Fridlund

THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY by Hannah Tinti

BORNE by Jeff VanderMeer

MOTHERIST by Kristen Iskandrian

THE MOTHERS by Brit Bennett

PERFECT LITTLE WORLD by Kevin Wilson

GOD, THE MOON, AND OTHER MEGAFAUNA by Kellie Wells

ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy

 

Anne Valente, author of OUR HEARTS WILL BURN US DOWN:

THE ANIMATORS by Kayla Rae Whitaker

SING, UNBURIED, SING by Jesmyn Ward

THE HOUR OF LAND by Terry Tempest Williams

 

Tim Weed, author of A FIELD GUIDE TO MURDER AND FLY FISHING:

ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy

HAVANA GOLD by Leonardo Pedura

 

Robert Repino, author of D’ARC:

THE ART OF COMIC BOOK WRITING by Mark Kneece

THE NEST by Kenneth Oppel

 

Amy P. Knight, author of LOST, ALMOST: 

STEPHEN, FLORIDA by Gabe Habash

THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt

OUTLINE by Rachel Kusk

 

Rachel Cantor, author of GOOD ON PAPER:

WE THE DROWNED by Carsten Jensen

THE LONG DRY by Cynan Jones

HOMESICK FOR ANOTHER WORLD by Ottessa Moshfegh

THE OLD FILTH TRILOGY by Jane Gardham

TUESDAY NIGHTS IN 1980 by Molly Prentiss

STORIES OF YOUR LIFE by Ted Chiang

THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY by Hannah Tinti

MEMOIR OF A POLAR BEAR by Yoko Tawada

 

Michael Farris Smith, author of DESPERATION ROAD: 

STONER by John Williams

THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD dir by Andrew Dominik

 

Kelly J. Ford, author of COTTONMOUTHS: 

THE FACT OF A BODY by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich

HERE COMES THE SUN by Nicole Dennis-Benn

A SEAT AT THE TABLE (album) by Solange

 

Daniel Wallace, author of EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES:

HEATING & COOLING: 52 MICRO-MEMOIRS by Beth Ann Fennelly

THE BOOK OF RESTING PLACES: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF WHERE WE LAY THE DEAD by Thomas Mira y Lopez

In order to learn to write, Frank Bill broke down the fiction that he loved. The lessons those books taught him have served him through a collection of short stories and two novels, the latest of which is THE SAVAGE. He and James talk about universe building, skipping the middle, and the film adaptation of DONNYBROOK. Plus, Jesse Donaldson on his tour of Kentucky for ON HOMESICKNESS.

Frank Bill

Frank and James discuss:

BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy

DETROIT: AN AMERICAN AUTOPSY by Charlie LeDuff

BEAT TO A PULP

THE MISSOURI REVIEW

“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

Jason Starr

THE KILLER INSIDE ME by Jim Thompson

FIGHT CLUB by Chuck Palahniuk

Fyodor Dostoevsky

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS by Ernest Hemingway

THE ECSTATIC by Victor LaValle

JOE by Larry Brown

FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS by Hunter S. Thompson

Pink Floyd

Jamie Bell

James Badge Dale

Margaret Qualley

Frank Grillo

KINGDOM

James Landry Hebert

Tim Sutton

The Old Testament

DEADWOOD

David Milch

SUTREE by Cormac McCarthy

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN by Cormac McCarthy

Andrew Vachss

TRUE DETECTIVE

JAWS

SCALPED by Jason Aaron

Sean McDonald

Emily Bell

Jackson Howard

Jesse Donaldson

Jesse and James discuss:

Odysseus

The Israelites

Michel de Montaigne

Augusten Burroughs

West Virginia University Press

IN PLACE series

Becca Wadlinger

Danielle Delph

The Wolly Worm Festival

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

Parnassus Books

Square Books

LEXINGTON HERALD LEADER

Carry A. Nation House

Magoffin County Historical Society

Melanie Caine

Larry Flynt

Linda Riley

TUNNELING TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH by Kevin Wilson

Brier Books

Wild Fig Books

Crystal Wilkinson

Morris Books

The Kentucky Headhunters

Brandon Atwell

George Clooney

Nick & Nina Clooney