fiction/non/fiction

Latest Episodes:

S4 Ep. 19: A Cycle of Disappearance: Shir Alon and Joseph Farag On How Palestinian and Israeli Literature Has Handled the Ongoing Conflict Jun 17, 2021

Show notes

Scholars Shir Alon and Joseph Farag join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss how Palestinian and Israeli writers have written about the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Farag talks about the evolution of the portrayal of the Palestinian self in literature throughout history, as well as some of the themes and writers discussed in his book, Palestinian Literature in Exile: Gender, Aesthetics and Resistance in the Short Story. Alon explains how the unprocessed trauma of the history of massacre and expulsion of Palestinians seems to stage an appearance in Israeli literature every decade. She also talks about Dolly City by Orly Castel-Bloom, Minor Detail by Adania Shibli, and Funeral at Noon by Yeshayahu Koren.

To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel, and don't miss our brand-new website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Shir Alon

Static: Labor, Temporality, and Literary Form in Middle Eastern Modernisms (forthcoming book)
“The Ongoing Nakba and the Grammar of History,” LA Review of Books
“No One to See Here: Genres of Neutralization and the Ongoing Nakba”
“Gendering the Arab-Jew: Feminism and Jewish Studies After Ella Shohat”

Joseph Farag

Others:

Amos Oz
David Grossman
Facing the Forests by A. B. Yehoshua
Khirbet Khizeh by S. Yizhar
The Old New Land (Altneuland) by Theodor Herzl
Men in the Sun, Palestine's Children: Returning to Haifa and Other Stories, andAll That's Left to You: A Novella and Other Stories by Ghassan Kanafani
"A Lover from Palestine," "ID Card," and many others by Mahmoud Darwish
The Ship by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra
Wild ThornsandPassage to the Plaza by Sahar Khalifeh
Eye of the MirrorandA Balcony Over the Fakihani by Liana Badr
Nathan Alterman
Funeral at Noon by Yeshayahu Koren
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli
Dolly City by Orly Castel-Bloom
The Sound of Our Steps by Ronit Matalon
Waltz with Bashir (film) by Ari Folman
The Pessoptimist by Emile Habibi
Divine Intervention, The Time that Remains, and It Must Be Heaven (films) by Elia Suleiman

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S4 Ep. 18: In the Soup: Sean McDonald and Monica West On Publishing During, and After, a Pandemic Jun 03, 2021

Show notes

Editor and publisher Sean McDonald and novelist Monica West join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss how the “reopening” of the country is affecting authors and the publishing industry. First, McDonald, founder of MCD Books, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, talks about publishing in the pandemic, and how that experience may shape the industry going forward. Then, West reads from her debut novel, Revival Season, and shares what it’s been like to launch a book during (fingers crossed!) the pandemic’s waning days.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Sean McDonald

Monica West

Revival Season

Others:

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S4 Ep. 17: Biden Boom? Carolin Benack and Sanjena Sathian on the Fiction of the Economy and the Dangerous Appeal of Excess May 20, 2021

Show notes

Scholar Carolin Benack and novelist Sanjena Sathian join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss how literature and economics intersect. First, Benack talks about the theoretical storytelling that is economics, and reads from her article on the topic. Then, Sathian reads from her debut novel Gold Diggers and talks about the American obsession with excess, and how our fluctuating economy impacts our relationship with wealth and reinvention.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Carolin Benack

“Economists are more like storytellers than scientists – don't let the Nobel for 'economic sciences' fool you”

Sanjena Sathian

Gold Diggers

Others:

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S4 Ep. 16: Making It New: Michael Kleber-Diggs and Kao Kalia Yang on How Minnesota's Famed Literary Scene is Reacting to Racial Injustice at Home May 06, 2021

Show notes

Poet Michael Kleber-Diggs and memoirist Kao Kalia Yang join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss Minnesota’s complex history with immigrants, as well as how the Twin Cities’ literary scene is responding in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. First, Kleber-Diggs reads from his forthcoming debut poetry collection, Worldly Things, and talks about being a Black poet in Minnesota. Then, Yang reflects on her experience entering the literary community as a Hmong refugee, and reads from her new book, Somewhere in the Unknown World: A Collective Refugee Memoir.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Michael Kleber-Diggs

Worldly Things
There’s a Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis edited by Tracy K. Smith and John Freeman
“Letter From St. Paul: On the Complex Flavors of Black Joy,” Literary Hub
You. Are. Not. Welcome. Here. Being Black in Minnesota | Essay Minnesota Reformer

Kao Kalia Yang

Somewhere in the Unknown World
The Latehomecomer
The Song Poet
A Map Into The World
The Shared Room
The Most Beautiful Thing
What God Is Honored Here?: Writings on Miscarriage and Infant Loss by and for Native Women and Women of Color co-edited with Shannon Gibney

Others:

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S4 Ep. 15: Workshop Politics: Matthew Salesses on Centering Traditionally Marginalized Writers Apr 22, 2021

Show notes

Bestselling novelist Matthew Salesses joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the politics, history, and context driving different modes of teaching fiction writing. After sharing an excerpt from his new book Craft in the Real World, Salesses explains how the traditional creative writing workshop model fails marginalized writers, and why examining craft questions through a range of lenses should matter to both writers and readers. He also reads from his new novel Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear, which is a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Matthew Salesses

Others:

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S4 Ep. 14: This Is Who We Are: Gish Jen and Peter Ho Davies on the Long History of Anti-Asian Racism in the U.S. Apr 08, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by acclaimed writer Gish Jen and novelist Peter Ho Davies to reflect on recent and historic violence against Asian Americans. First, Jen reads her recent New York Times op-ed about the generational differences in how Asian Americans see anti-Asian racism. She also imagines a way forward, explaining that we need to elevate and recognize stories of trauma as well as strength in Asian American experiences. Then, Davies talks about Asian representation in literature and films, and reads from his novel The Fortunes, and its section about the tragic 1982 murder of Vincent Chin, which prompted major shifts in Asian American political organizing. Davies also discusses his latest book, A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself.

To hear the full episode, subscribe to the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. And check out video excerpts from our interviews at LitHub’s Virtual Book Channel and Fiction/Non/Fiction’s YouTube Channel.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Gish Jen

“The Generational Split in How Asian-Americans See the Atlanta Shootings,” New York Times
The Resisters
The Girl at The Baggage Claim
Tiger Writing
World and Town
The Love Wife
Who’s Irish?
Mona In The Promised Land
Typical American

Peter Ho Davies

Others:

“Covering the Atlanta massacre from inside the Korean community,” by Shinhee Kang, Columbia Journalism Review
“Jay Leno Apologizes for Years of Anti-Asian Jokes,” by Daniel Victor, New York Times
Media Action Network for Asian Americans
Miss Saigon by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil
Madame Butterfly by Puccini
M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang
Passing by Nella Larsen
Terrific Mother by Lorrie Moore
Rising Sun, film by Philip Kaufman
The Karate Kid, film by Robert Mark Kamen
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, film by Steven Spielberg
The Duke of Deceptionby Geoffrey Wolff
The Great Santini by Pat Conroy
“Adam Purinton Pleads Guilty In Olathe Bar Shooting, Still Faces Federal Hate Crime Charges,” by Andrea Tudhope, KCUR
Kundiman
Asian American Writers' Workshop – The Margins

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S4 Ep. 13: Cancel Culture or Consequences Culture?: Meredith Talusan and Matt Gallagher on Accountability in Literature and Media Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by award-winning author and journalist Meredith Talusan and acclaimed writer Matt Gallagher. Talusan reads from her memoir Fairest, and talks about representation in literature, the intersections of their identity as an Asian and transgender woman, and why transphobia is a recurring theme in conversations about problematic faves. Then, Gallagher shares his take on “cancelling” problematic authors, and discusses his recent Intercept article about the new film Cherry, which is adapted from Nico Walker’s autobiographical novel. In the piece, Gallagher parses ethical storytelling and how the American romanticization of crime can depend on the perpetrator’s identity. He also reads from his most recent novel, Empire City.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Meredith Talusan

Matt Gallagher

Others:

A Letter on Justice and Open Debate, Harper’s Magazine
Artists and Writers Warn of an ‘Intolerant Climate.’ Reaction Is Swift. by Jennifer Schuessler and Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times
She Pulled Her Debut Book When Critics Found It Racist. Now She Plans to Publish. by Alexandra Alter, New York Times
How British Feminism Became Anti-Trans by Sophie Lewis, New York Times
Francis Hodgson Burnett
Roald Dahl
Ezra Pound
Enid Blyton
Another Country by James Baldwin
The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' by Chinua Achebe
“On Stalin” by W.E.B. Du Bois
The Woman Warrior: A Memoir of Girlhood Amongst Ghostsby Maxine Hong Kingston
The Mikado by W.S. Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan
Miss Saigon by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil
Madame Butterfly by Puccini
M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang
Cathy Park Hong
Julie Otsuka
The Lover by Marguerite Duras
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Perspective | So you’re being held accountable? That’s not ‘cancel culture.’ by Margaret Sullivan

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S4 Ep. 12: WTF, Texas?: Lacy M. Johnson and Natalia Sylvester on Surviving the Recent Storm and Unraveling the Whitewashed Myth of Texas Mar 11, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by author Lacy M. Johnson and novelist Natalia Sylvester. First, Johnson recalls her personal experience through the recent storm, and talks about the ongoing debate over deregulation and privatization of the Texas energy grid. Then, Sylvester unravels the whitewashed, exceptionalist myth of Texas, elevates its Mexican, Black and Indigenous history, and talks about what it means for her, a Latinx, Peruvian immigrant woman, to be a “Texas writer.” Johnson reads from the forthcoming edited volume, More City Than Water: A Houston Flood Atlas; Sylvester reads from her new YA novel, Running.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Lacy M. Johnson

More City Than Water: A Houston Flood Atlas (forthcoming, University of Texas Press)
The Reckonings: Essays
The Other Side: A Memoir
Trespasses: A Memoir

Natalia Sylvester

Others:

2666 by Roberto Bolaño
Cite Design Alliance
Cormac McCarthy
Dear Twin by Addie Tsai
Donald Barthelme
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room Documentary
ERCOT
"‘Frozen Windmills’ aren’t to blame for Texas’s power failure" by Salvador Rizzo
"Houston is a cheap place to live - if you don’t count the trauma tax" by Raj Mankad
How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang
James A. Michener
Katherine Anne Porter
Lonesome Dove: A Novel by Larry McMurtry
Lot and Memorial by Bryan Washington
Necropolitics by Achille Mbembe
Outlawed by Anna North
"Perry says Texans willing to suffer blackouts to keep feds out of power market" by James Osborne
Public Utilities Commission of Texas Memo
Red Salmon Arts by Raúl Salinas
Refusing To Forget Project by Benjamin Johnson, John Morán Gonzalez, and Sonia Hernández
Tarfia Faizullah
"Texas Won’t Reduce $16 Billion In Electricity Charges From Winter Storm" by Matthew S. Schwartz
The Great American Bubble Machine by Matt Taibbi
The President’s Daughter by Ellen Emerson White
The Shock Doctrine The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein
The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron by Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind
Treme

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S4 Ep. 11: COVID Doesn't Know Boundaries: Uzodinma Iweala, Bindu Shajan Perappadan and Suhasini Raj on How African Countries and India Have Handled COVID-19 Feb 25, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by author, medical doctor, and Africa Center CEO Uzodinma Iweala and Delhi-based journalists Bindu Shajan Perappadan and Suhasini Raj. First, Iweala unpacks flawed stereotypes about health and healthcare in Africa. Reading from his book, Our Kind of People, Iweala draws parallels between the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic, and discusses how certain African countries, including Nigeria and Tanzania, have fared over the past year. Then Perappadan of The Hindu and Raj of The New York Times talk about their coronavirus coverage, and explain how past crises have influenced the response to COVID-19 in different Indian states.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Uzodinma Iweala

Bindu Shajan Perappadan

“Online Memorial to COVID-19 Victims Going Live on January 30,” The Hindu

Suhasini Raj

“The Virus Trains: How Lockdown Chaos Spread Covid-19 Across India” by Jeffrey Gettleman, Suhasini Raj, Sameer Yasir and Karan Deep Singh, with photographs by Atul Loke, New York Times
“I Covered Coronavirus Victims. Then My Family Members Became Victims, Too.” New York Times

Others:

Crisis in the Red Zone by Richard Preston
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
The Farewell (film) by Lulu Wang
“The coming of age of the Africa Centers for Disease Control” by Aloysius Uche Ordu, Brookings
“Africa’s COVID-19 Denialist-in-Chief” by Lynsey Chutel, Foreign Policy
National Covid Memorial

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S4 Ep. 10: 'A Certain Kind of Hunger': Chang-rae Lee on Writing About Connection While We're Worlds Apart Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

In this week’s episode of Fiction/Non/Fiction, co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan are joined by award-winning author Chang-rae Lee. Lee talks about the varied cast of characters in his new novel, My Year Abroad, writing about sensory and social experiences, and how he dove into his own growing feelings of isolation through the Trump administration and then the pandemic.

This podcast is produced by Andrea Tudhope.

Selected readings:

Chang-rae Lee

Others:

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