Selected Prose

Today's guest is the great Hannah Lillith Assadi. Her new novel, The Stars Are Not Yet Bells, was published by Riverhead in early January. It was named a Most Anticipated book of the year by The Washington Post, Good Morning America, Bustle, Lit Hub, Hey Alma, and The Millions. I recommend Stars, especially if you're fond of unreliable narrators, the slippery nature of memory, and the Great Mystery. 

In this interview, we discuss creating and executing unreliable narrators, Faulkner, toying with time and chronology, the good and bad of publishing, Hannah's revision process, death and dying, the afterlife, and more.

Not only is Hannah a brilliant writer, but she's also a professor of creative writing at Columbia's MFA program. You'll learn much from her, I have no doubt.

*Support the podcast by recommending it to a friend or an enemy, leaving a review on Apple Podcasts, or subscribing to the Selected Prose Patreon*

A short story by Joanna Acevedo.   Joanna is the author of the poetry collection The Pathophysiology of Longing (Black Centipede Press, 2020) and the short story collection Unsaid Things (Flexible Press, 2021). She was a finalist for the Editor’s Chapbook Prize in Fiction from the Southern Humanities Review, and received her MFA in Fiction from New York University in 2021.

The final 10 pages of the novel Jenny in Corona by Stuart M. Ross  Stuart Ross (@myskypager) is a writer from Queens living in Chicago. Jenny in Corona (from Tortoise Books) is his first novel.

Michael McSweeney reads a chapter from his upcoming novel, Heroman

Michael is a writer and editor based in Brooklyn, where he lives with his partner and cat.

Allie Rowbottom is today's guest! 

Allie is the author of the New York Times Editors’ Choice memoir Jell-O Girls (Little Brown) and the upcoming novel Aesthetica (SoHo Press). Allie's writing has appeared in Vanity Fair, Salon, Lit Hub, No Tokens, NY Tyrant, The Drunken Canal, Bitch, and elsewhere. She has a PhD in literature and creative writing from the University of Houston and an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts and has taught fiction and non-fiction at the University of Houston, CalArts, and Catapult.

In this episode, we discuss her upcoming book at length, explore the depths of Instagram and influencer culture, and Allie gives us invaluable lessons on incorporating the language of the social media into our work.

Thrilled to have Allie on the show. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram and keep your eyes out for Aesthetica, coming soon. 

If you like the show, please leave me a REVIEW on Apple Podcasts and/or support us on Patreon. 

Music by @SighPilot

Mark Leidner is today's guest!

Mark is a brilliant, hilarious, and extraordinarily talented poet, fiction writer, filmmaker, and more! I've read two of his books, Under The Sea (Tyrant) and Returning the Sword to the Stone (Fonograf Editions), and each of them filled me with joy, made me laugh hysterically, and provided me with a sense of proximity to The Great Mystery that is this life.

I love Mark's work. If you haven't read him, I suggest you do so, pronto! Also, follow him on twitter because he is extremely funny (@markleidner)

Enjoy this interview!

Patreon: www.patreon.com/selectedprose

Twitter: @SelectedProse

Harris Lahti's work has appeared in Bomb, Sleepingfish, Epiphany, New York Tyrant, Hobart, and elsewhere. He edits fiction for Post Road and Fence, and paints houses for a living in New York's Hudson Valley. Recently, he finished his first novel, The Foreclosure Gothics. Read more: harrislahti.com.

Harris Lahti's work has appeared in Bomb, Sleepingfish, Epiphany, New York Tyrant, Hobart, and elsewhere. He edits fiction for Post Road and Fence, and paints houses for a living in New York's Hudson Valley. Recently, he finished his first novel, The Foreclosure Gothics. Read more: harrislahti.com.

Today's guest is Marcus Pactor. His new book is Begat Who Begat Who Begat, from Astrophil Press. His first book, Vs. Death Noises, won the 2011 Subito Press Prize for Fiction. His story, “Megaberry Crunch” was selected for Best Small Fictions 2021. His work has most recently appeared in 3:AM Magazine, Juked, and Harsh. He lives and works in Jacksonville, Florida.

Follow Marcus on twitter - @MarcusPactor 

*If you enjoy the show, please follow the podcast on twitter @SelectedProse, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, and support us on Patreon*

Today’s guest is the great Gary Shteyngart! He’s the author of Super Sad True Love Story, Lake Success, Absurdistan, and more. His latest novel, Our Country Friends, was released earlier this month. It’s a hilarious, clever novel set in the pandemic, described by Kirkus reviews as "The Great American Pandemic Novel only Shteyngart could write." Go read it immediately!

It’s an honor for me personally to have Gary on the podcast. I admire him as a writer and as a teacher of craft. He was kind enough to provide many invaluable lessons in this episode. I hope you enjoy.

I also want to mention that on December 16, I will be hosting an in-person reading at KGB bar in New York. Message me for details.

Finally, if you like the show, please support me on Patreon and/or leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

Photo by Brigitte Lacombe

Music by @SighPilot