writing

The Light of Recent Events

Many things happening!

First of all, I recorded two stories for Brad Listi’s Otherppl Podcast (now in its 15th year!). The stories are “The Poet” (from Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day) and “The Squid Who Fell in Love with the Sun” (from Tales of Falling and Flying), and you can listen to them now on the special Sept 19 “Story Time” Episode (which is in between Episodes 1054 & 1055, if you’re scrolling through the list), on Spotify or wherever else you like. You can also stare at a picture of me as you listen to it here on YouTube.

Next up! My story “The Book” (from Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day) was chosen as one of 100 stories included in the new Library of America volume American Flash Fiction, edited by David Ulin, which will be out on Oct 6. I’ve been reading and collecting Library of America volumes for years (my absolute favorite is this volume on American Crime Fiction of the 1930s and 40s; every novel in it is a banger), so this is a great honor (I feel like I’ve actually kinda finally made it!). The Table of Contents for this volume is amazing, like something out of a dream, including not just many of my favorite writers (Gertrude Stein, Sherwood Anderson, H.P. Lovecraft, James Thurber, Shirley Jackson, David Goodis, Carson McCullers, Richard Matheson, Joe Brainard, Richard Brautigan, Patricia Highsmith, Donald Barthelme, etc etc etc), but also one of my actual very favorite stories ever written, “Home Run” by Steven Millhauser! It’s a real thrill to be in such company. You can pick up the book via The Library of America website, or wherever else you buy your books. Check out this amazing cover:

Also! If you live in Los Angeles, editor David Ulin will be in conversation with Ivy Pochoda about the volume at the release party at Skylight Books on Wednesday, Sept 23, at 7:00pm—see here for more details.

Okay, moving on…

For those who live in Seattle: My story “The Vatican” (first published here in Electric Literature and as yet uncollected in book form), will be performed live at Town Hall Seattle on Oct 4, alongside stories by Haruki Murakami, Kevin Barry, and Nafissa Thompson-Spires. It’s their Short Stories Live event, titled “Well, That Just Happened.” Doors are at 3pm, and the show starts at 4:00. More information and to buy tickets here.

For those in New York state or environs: My story “The Magic Mountain” (first published in A Public Space, Issue 28, available (sadly only to subscribers) here), will be performed at the Stissing Center in Pine Plains, NY, at 3pm on Oct 5, as part of the Selected Shorts On Tour Event A Touch of Magic. Hosted by WAMC’s Joe Donahue; readers to include actors Griffin Dunne, Colby Minifie, and Bhavesh Patel. For more information and to buy tickets, go here.

And… that might be everything? I think that’s everything. If I remember something else, I’ll be back!

Stories on Selected Shorts + Interview at Humming Fools

I’m having a big month on the Selected Shorts podcast right now, with three of my stories airing in rapid succession! First up, there’s “The Man, the Restaurant, and the Eiffel Tower” (from Tales of Falling and Flying) read by actress Stana Katic on the July 17 episode (Sizzling Summer Travels), then “The Book” (from Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day) read by Jane Kaczmarek on the July 24 episode (Reading Between the Lines), and finally, “The Man and the Moose” (also from Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day) read by Michael Cerveris on the August 14 episode (Perfectly Unmatched). They all do a great job and it is a supreme honor (as always!) to be on Selected Shorts, the one absolutely necessary podcast for short stories. You can listen to those episodes here on their website, or whenever you listen to your podcasts.

In other news, I was interviewed by Karl Stück for the Humming Fools podcast a few weeks ago, and that interview is now live! You can listen to the episode (Number 97) on the Humming Fools website, over on Spotify… and also probably some other places? I don’t know, the internet has become a bit beyond me at this point. Anyway, it was a fun conversation and Karl sent me this drawing they made of me (based on a photo taken by my landlord, Mars Sandoval (thanks Mars!) (and thanks Karl!)).

And I guess that’s all I got for now? I hope you all are doing well and hanging in there! If you’re looking for a good book to read, some recent favorites of mine are Audition by Katie Kitamura, Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny, and Be My Baby: How I Survived Mascara, Miniskirts, and Madness, or, My Life as a Fabulous Ronette by Ronnie Spector (the audiobook of this is especially amazing, as it’s read by Rosie Perez, and she makes every line an emotional journey and a delight).