Selected Prose

Ottessa Moshfegh is today's guest!

Her books include Eileen, her first novel, which was shortlisted for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Man Booker Prize, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction; My Year of Rest and Relaxation, a New York Times bestseller; and her latest book, Death in Her Hands, yet another New York Times bestseller. She's also the author of the short story collection Homesick for Another World, and a novella, McGlue.

ATTENTION: In June, Death In Her Hands is coming out in paperback. Look out for that!

Today's topics include: Garielle Lutz, first person vs. third person, screenwriting, Croatia, writing settings well, dogs, God, and a lot more. 

Enjoy. 

Photograph credit to Andrew Casey

Music credit to Tom Laplaige (@sighpilot)

Bud Smith reads his short story, Rewild, for the Selected Prose Reading Series. This story was originally published in New World Writing. 

Bud is a writer from Jersey City, NJ. He works in heavy construction. His new book, Teenager (Vintage), is coming out in spring 2022. He's written a bunch of wonderful books, including but not limited to Double Bird (Maudlin House), Dust Bunny City (Disorder Press), and Tollbooth (Piscataway House). Find him online at www.coolgoodluck.com and follow him on Twitter at @Bud_Smith.

And check out Episode #2 of Selected Prose to hear my interview with Bud!!!

Greetings comrades.  I spoke with the wildly talented Jon Lindsey about his brilliant and beloved debut novel, Body High, set to drop on May 1st through House of Vlad press. In the words of a very wise man: “This book is dosed. Lick the toad.” Buy your copy ASAP to see what the wise man's on about.  In this episode, Jon and I talk Body High, how to write exciting sentences, grief, Faulkner, writing as catharsis, Giancarlo DiTrapano, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, and a bunch of other stuff. We also drank delicious champagne, courtesy of Jon.  About Body High, Bud Smith says, "Jon Lindsey is a wild man. Body High is the best novel about Los Angeles I've ever read." And Garielle Lutz writes, "Jon Lindsey is the new gleefully heartbreaking voice of California's broken world. The darkening caper at the core of this novel of griefs and raucous self-discoveries unfolds in rioting prose that bursts into crazed poetry around every curve. Body High is the debut of a remarkably gifted writer."  Be sure to follow Jon on Twitter at @JonJonLindsey. And if you liked the show, drop a review on Apple Podcasts.  See you next time. 

A few nights ago, I interviewed the brilliant Shy Watson. She is the author of Horror Vacui from House of Vlad press and Cheap Yellow from Civil Coping Mechanisms. Shy is also the co-founder Blush Lit. Her work has appeared in New York Tyrant and Hobart and many other places.

I read Horror Vacui and loved it for a lot of reasons. If I had to choose some, it would be because it’s hilarious, and dirty, and beautiful, and sad, and happy, and extremely cathartic. It’s separated into sections: poems, then some microfiction, then Quarantine diaries, which bring the entire thing together quite perfectly and in a way that I’ll never forget. Gave me the chills.

Follow shy on twitter @formermissNJ. Hope you enjoy our talk. If you do, or do not, leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or message me on twitter @selectedprose. Always love hearing from you.

Be good.

Hello Hello Hello! Recently I spoke with Grammy-nominated musician and poet Courtney Marie Andrews! Her debut poetry collection, Old Monarch, came out on April 6, 2021. She has a hell of a unique poetic voice, and Old Monarch is a beautiful book.  I'll read this again and again. Lucky for us, she agreed to read a couple of poems during this episode.  Courtney is originally from Phoenix, Arizona, but has traveled the world round. We discuss her upbringing, travels, touring, the wisdom of the Sonoran, being nominated for a Grammy, writing honestly and self-critically, the work of Jack Gilbert, Gabriel García Márquez, John Steinbeck and East of Eden, Annie Dillard, and so much more.  Please find more from Courtney at https://www.courtneymarieandrews.com and support her on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/CourtneyMarieAndrews. Until next time...

Hello Hello Hello! Recently I spoke with Grammy-nominated musician and poet Courtney Marie Andrews! Her debut poetry collection, Old Monarch, came out on April 6, 2021. She has a hell of a unique poetic voice, and Old Monarch is a beautiful book.  I'll read this again and again. Lucky for us, she agreed to read a couple of poems during this episode.  Courtney is originally from Phoenix, Arizona, but has traveled the world round. We discuss her upbringing, travels, touring, the wisdom of the Sonoran, being nominated for a Grammy, writing honestly and self-critically, the work of Jack Gilbert, Gabriel García Márquez, John Steinbeck and East of Eden, Annie Dillard, and so much more.  Please find more from Courtney at https://www.courtneymarieandrews.com and support her on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/CourtneyMarieAndrews. Until next time...

Jon spends a fine spring morning with Garielle Lutz, author of Stories in the Worst Way, I Looked Alive, Partial List of People to Bleach, Divorcer, Assisted Living, The Complete Gary Lutz, and her latest book, Worsted, from SF/LD Books.

Garielle's work has also appeared in Conjunctions, Sleepingfish, NOON, The Quarterly, The Believer, and many other prominent literary journals. She received a literature grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1996, and in 1999 she was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award.

Topics include: Writing great sentences, Gordon Lish, Tyrant Books, Hobart, Ottessa Moshfegh, Big Bruiser Dope Boy, what they teach you/don't teach you in grad school, working/writing with Elizabeth Ellen, the wonderfulness of Giancarlo DiTrapano, Greg Gerke, Jon thanking Garielle 3,000 times for coming on the podcast, and much, much more. 

***SPECIAL PROMOTION*** 

10% off select titles from Tyrant Books with the code SelectedProse21

Ellen Birkett Morris is the author of Lost Girls, a collection of short stories called "a varied set of tales from a skilled practitioner of the short form" by Kirkus Reviews. Her fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, Antioch Review, Notre Dame Review, South Carolina Review, and Santa Fe Literary Review, among other journals. She is a winner of the Bevel Summers Prize for short fiction. Morris is a recipient of a 2013 Al Smith Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council.

On April 18, 2021, Ellen will be teaching a course through Hidden Timber Books called "Finding an Effective Story Ending." Sign up here!

Topics include me getting a mini Goldendoodle, Sherwood Anderson, how to end a short story, how to begin a short story, portraying womanhood in fiction, biases against women writers, Flannery O'Connor, Kentucky, Louisville, Breonna Taylor, whether Kentucky is the midwest or the south, what often times lies beneath southern/midwestern charm, and much more. 

Jon sits down with author and publisher Brian Alan Ellis to discuss his beloved press, House of Vlad, his books, and much more. 

Brian is the author of Sad Laughter (Civil Coping Mechanisms, 2018) and Something to Do with Self-Hate (House of Vlad/Talking Book, 2017). His writing has appeared at Juked, Hobart, Monkeybicycle, Fanzine, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Funhouse, Heavy Feather Review, and Yes Poetry, among other places. He lives in Florida.

Thanks for tuning into the episode. Follow Brian on Twitter at @brianalanellis and follow House of Vlad at @HouseofVlad. 

This week, I sit down with novelist, musician, and counter-terrorism expert Andy Oppenheimer. His novels include Fields of Orion: An Odyssey, and Fields of Orion II: The Mission. In early April, Andy will publish The Hunter’s Story, part three of the trilogy, which we discuss at length. 

Andy’s musical projects include Oppenheimer Analysis, Touching the Void, and Oppenheimer MkII, among other collaborations.

Find him on twitter @AOppenheimer235 and learn more about him and his life's work at www.andyoppenheimer.com.