Special LIVE edition — AWP2019, Day 2

Erika Thorkelson 3:57

Erika Thorkelson holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and is currently a sessional instructor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. She is a regular contributor of arts and culture writing to the Vancouver Sun and Edmonton Journal as well as a host and operator on The Storytelling Show on Vancouver Co-op Radio. Erika joins us at AWP to discuss Room Magazine, Alicia Elliot, indigenous writing, and red lipstick.

Gary McDowell 5:13

Dr. Gary L. McDowell holds a Ph.D., Western Michigan University. He is an Associate Professor of English at Belmont University, specializing in Creative Writing and contemporary American poetics. His current collection of lyric essays is titled, Caesura: Essays (Otis Books/Seismicity Editions, 2017)

Poet, essayist, and magician Gary McDowell gabs about indie presses, how he fell in love with writing lyrical essays, and how he found his way to Otis. He has other titles, including Mysteries in a World that Thinks There are None (Burnside Review Press, 2016). Find him on Twitter @poetwritesnovel.

Kate Hope Day 22:18

Kate Hope Day holds a BA from Bryn Mawr College and a PhD in English from the University of Pittsburgh. She was previously an associate producer at HBO. If, Then, is her first novel.

Kate tells us about her new book, which is set in Clearing, Oregon and begins as a family drama until some strange things begin happening. Listen as she shares about If, Then, her New York Times Article, “Carrying the Ghosts of Lives Unlived,” her publishing journey, and juggling writing with raising children.

Her book can be found in indie bookstores or online at any major retailer. It is also available in audio format. Read, “Carrying the Ghosts of Lives Unlived.”

J. Kasper Kramer 33:15

Kramer earned her MA in Creative Writing at UTC, where she now teaches English. Her work can be found in The Rumpus, The Coachella Review, and Catalpa. Her debut novel, The Story That Cannot Be Told, is forthcoming from Simon & Schuster/Atheneum in October 2019. She joins us to talk about being a young adult writer, how fantasy and reality are separated in literature, and why the two should be blended.

LaRue Cook 42:29

LaRue Cook is a PhD student in Creative Writing at Georgia State University, where he also teaches. His debut book, Man in the (Rearview) Mirror: That Time I Left Corporate America, Became an Uber Driver, and Lived to Write About It was published in March, 2019. His fiction has appeared in Noctua Review, Washington Square Review, and Barely South Review, among other places, while his nonfiction has appeared in such publications as ESPN The Magazine, The Bitter Southerner, and Reader’s Digest.

LaRue Cook tells us about his debut book and the journey he took from writing journalism to fiction. He describes the kind of anonymity Uber provided as he worked during the 2016 Presidential race and how that enabled him have conversations he wouldn’t normally have with people whose loyalties varied.

Paolo “Lanegan” Bicchieri 48:40

Paolo is a novelist, poet, and journalist. He graduated in 2016 from Western Washington University with a major in Journalism/Public Relations and a minor in Education and Social Justice. Kate and Paolo bond over The Sympathizer and discuss his writing interests, to wit: fantasy. For more information about Paolo, visit www.paolobicchieri.com or on Twitter @paoloshmaolo. Click here, for more information about 826 Valencia.

James Brubaker and Aviation Gin 55:00

James Brubaker is the author of Liner Notes (Subito Press), Pilot Season (Sunnyoutside Press), Black Magic Death Sphere: (Science) Fictions (Urban Farmhouse), The Taxidermist’s Catalog (forthcoming from Braddock Avenue Books), and a number of short stories that have appeared online and in print. He is the director of Southeast Missouri State University Press and the editor of Big Muddy.

Kate and Phuc share some gin and tonic with James and talk AWP conspiracy theories, booth psychology, and other more serious topics such as writing, mortality, time travel, and Michael Stipe. Also, drink responsibly.

Jamison Lee 1:15:20

Jamison Lee received his PhD in English Studies with a focus in Creative Writing from Illinois State University. He teaches at North Idaho College and his novel titled, To Deer at Swim (Lit Fest Press), was published in February, 2019.

Jamison reads an excerpt from his novel, which follows four different characters whose lives intersect in sinister ways. We delve into his publishing journey with Lit Fest Press and celebrate how many times the word “urinal” was used in a single paragraph.

Olivia Robinson 1:30:05

Olivia has worked in newsrooms such as Ottawa Citizen and the Haliburton Echo. She is rabble.ca’s Jack Layton Journalism for Change Fellow in 2019 as well as a 2019 Joan Donaldson CBC News Scholarship recipient. She holds a Master of Journalism from Carleton University. Olivia and Phuc discuss how diverse the audience is for young adult literature and Olivia shares how she looks back at older work for evidence of who she was and who she has become.

Daryhl Covington 1:40:02

Darhyl Covington is a student of African American studies, English, Creative Writing, and Graphic Design. He joins Phuc to talk about being a student at The University of Michigan and the possibilities of creating a new path toward what it means to be a black writer in America where western storytelling and philosophy are more studied than the same subjects from eastern and middle eastern cultures.