fiction/non/fiction

Latest Episodes:

4: Edmund White and Emily Temple on Writers vs. Writers Nov 15, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, writers Edmund White and Emily Temple talk to hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about writers feuding with each other.

Readings for the episode: · “25 Legendary Literary Feuds, Ranked,” by Emily Temple, Literary Hub.· “YouTube, the Great Radicalizer,” by Zeynep Tufekci, The New York Times.· The Unpunished Vice: A Life of Reading by Edmund White· Caracole by Edmund White· The Breaking Point: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and the Murder of Jose Robles by Stephen Koch· “Ta-Nehisi Coates Deletes Twitter Account Amid Feud With Cornel West,” by Jennifer Schuessler, The New York Times.· “Perchance to dream: In the age of images, a reason to write novels,” by Jonathan Franzen, Harper’s Magazine. (paywall)· “Why experimental fiction threatens to destroy publishing, Jonathan Franzen, and life as we know it: A correction,” by Ben Marcus (paywall) Guests:· Edmund White

· Emily Temple

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3: Jane Coaston and Alexander Chee on Politics, Storytelling, and the Midterms Nov 01, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, reporter Jane Coaston and writer Alexander Chee talk to hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about the upcoming midterm elections.

Readings for the episode: How to Write An Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee · “Max Boot, Jackie Robinson, and the racism problem in the Republican Party,” by Jane Coaston, Vox · “‘False flags,’ explained,” by Jane Coaston, Vox · The Corrosion of Conservatism: Why I Left the Right by Max Boot · Tomb of the Unknown Racistby Blanche McCrary Boyd · I Never Had It Made by Jackie Robinson · “A Party for the Colonel,” by F.T. Kola · Maus by Art Spiegelman

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2: Idra Novey and Esmé Wang Talk Mental Health and Writing Oct 18, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, Idra Novey and Esmé Wang talk to hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about Brett Kavanaugh, Christine Blasey Ford, trauma, and mental health.

Readings for the episode: · The Border of Paradise by Esmé Wang · The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Wang (forthcoming) · Esmé Wang's website · “Perdition Days: On Experiencing Psychosis,” by Esme Wang · “The Silence of Sexual Assault in Literature,” by Idra Novey · Ways to Disappear and Those Who Knew, by Idra Novey · “Good Country People,” by Flannery O’Connor · The Recovering by Leslie Jamison

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1: MFA vs. Everything Oct 04, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, fiction writers Elizabeth McCracken and Tony Tulathimutte and poets Kathryn Nuernberger and Hadara Bar-Nadav talk about graduate programs in creative writing with hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell.

Readings for the episode: · The Program Era by Mark McGurl· “MFA vs POC,” The New Yorker, Junot Diaz· “The Writers’ Workshop,” by Frank Conroy, from Dogs Bark but the Caravan Rolls On· POC Mentorship: Graduate Faculty Writers of Color (from de-canon)· Private Citizens by Tony Tulathimutte· Bowlaway by Elizabeth McCracken (forthcoming in February)

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26: Garrard Conley and SJ Sindu on the Mainstreaming of Queer Identity Sep 20, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, fiction writers Garrard Conley and SJ Sindu discuss writing about queer identity with hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell. In part one, Conley talks about having his book Boy Erased adapted for film, and writing about the evangelical community. In the show’s second half, Sindu talks about writing about the closet, and how the publishing industry imagines readers will react to content about queer people of color. Readings for the episode:

Readings for the episode:· Boy Erasedby Garrard Conley· Marriage of a Thousand Liesby SJ Sindu· Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai · The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth· The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall · Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeannette Winterson

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25: Nathaniel Rich and Juliana Spahr: As the World Burns, Trump Tweets Sep 06, 2018

Show notes

For episode 25 of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, novelist and journalist Nathaniel Rich and poet and activist Juliana Spahr discuss writing about climate change and ecological destruction with hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell. In part one, Rich discusses the history and craft behind his groundbreaking New York Times Magazine article “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change.” Next, Spahr talks about her recent Harper’s poem “A Destruction Story,” Trump’s use of poetry in his recent rallies, and the purpose of ecopoetics.

Readings for the episode: “Losing Earth,” Odds Against Tomorrow, and King Zeno by Nathaniel Rich

“A Destruction Story” and “Gentle Now, Don’t Add to Heartache” by Juliana Spahr

The Jasons: The Secret History of Science’s Postwar Elite by Ann Finkbeiner

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe

John Adams by David McCullough Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boohttps://www.indiebound.org/book/9780812979329 Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPheehttps://www.indiebound.org/book/9780374514310 Nathaniel Rich’s Energy Gang podcast interview

Turtle Island by Gary Snyder

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24: All About the Green: Getting That Big, Fat Writer's Advance Aug 23, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, critic and editor Oscar Villalon and novelist and screenwriter Arthur Phillips discuss book advances and the effects of finances on creativity with hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell. In part one, Villalon explains how advances work, and why the publishing industry uses them. In the show’s second half, Phillips chronicles how his finances have changed over the course of his career as a bestselling fiction writer.

Readings • Prague, The Egyptologist, and The Tragedy of Arthur by Arthur Phillips • City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg • The Girls by Emma Cline • Annals of the Former World by John McPhee • A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe • Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

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23: James Traub and Margot Livesey on Decency vs. Moral Weakness Aug 09, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, writers James Traub and Margot Livesey discuss the idea of morally weak characters with hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell. In part one, Traub talks moral weakness, the concept of decency in the public sphere, and his recent Atlantic article about the Strzok hearing. Livesey explores the morally weak character in her novel Mercury, fiction and moral failings in the private sphere, and famously flawed characters in literary history. Readings • “[Decency Loses Its Moral Force](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/07/have-they-no-sense-of-decency/565415/)” by James Traub • “[Selfishness Is Killing Liberalism](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/02/liberalism-trump-era/553553/)” by James Traub • [John Quincy Adams: Militant Spirit](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780465093830) by James Traub • [The Hidden Machinery: Essays on Writing](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781941040683) and [Mercury](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062437501) by Margot Livesey • 12 Angry Men by Sidney Lumet • [On Liberty](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34901/34901-h/34901-h.htm) by John Stuart Mill • [All The King’s Men](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780156004800?aff=PublishersWeekly) by Robert Penn Warren • [Put Out More Flags](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781619698611?aff=) by Evelyn Waugh • [Homage to Catalonia](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780156421171) by George Orwell • [1984](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/326569/1984-by-george-orwell-with-a-foreword-by-thomas-pynchon/9780452284234/) by George Orwell • Moby-Dick by Herman Melville • [The Good Soldier](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2775/2775-h/2775-h.htm) by Ford Madox Ford • The criticism of F. R. Leavis • “[The Interview](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1957/07/27/the-interview-4)” by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala • [Giovanni’s Room](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781101907740) by James Baldwin • [All the Kings Men](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780156004800?aff=PublishersWeekly) by Robert Penn Warren • [Things Fall Apart](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780385474542) by Chinua Achebe • [Invisible Man](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780679732761) by Ralph Ellison • “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor • “[Drinking Coffee Elsewhere](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/06/19/drinking-coffee-elsewhere)” by ZZ Packer • [Rebecca](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780380730407) by Daphne du Maurier • [A Passage to India](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780156711425) by E. M. Forster • Magneto from The X-Men • [The Stanford prison experiment](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment)

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22: Alice Bolin and Kristen Martin on the Problem With Dead Girl Stories Jul 26, 2018

Show notes

In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, writers Alice Bolin and Kristen Martin talk with Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan about the appeal and popularity of stories that revolve around dead girls and women. Bolin, author of Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession, discusses why we seek out stories that depict violence against women and how we can be more deliberate and reflective in our consumption of true crime. Kristen Martin, author of “Why We Love—and Need to Leave Behind—Dead Girl Stories,” joins in on the discussion about this ubiquitous and problematic trope. Readings: • [Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession](https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062657145/dead-girls/) by Alice Bolin • [“Why We Love—and Need to Leave Behind—Dead Girl Stories”](https://lithub.com/why-we-love-and-need-to-leave-behind-dead-girl-stories/) by Kristen Martin • “[Picturing America](https://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/marcus_f06.html)” by Greil Marcus • [Gone Girl](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781524763671?aff=penguinrandom) by Gillian Flynn • [Helsinki press conference transcript](https://www.vox.com/2018/7/16/17576956/transcript-putin-trump-russia-helsinki-press-conference) on Vox •[Over Tumbled Graves](https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061712838/over-tumbled-graves/) by Jess Walter • [In Cold Blood](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-cold-blood-truman-capote/1101755577) by Truman Capote • [Everything I Never Told You](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780143127550) by Celeste Ng • [What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780735211025?aff=penguinrandom) by Lesley Nneka Arimah • [The Lovely Bones](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lovely-bones-alice-sebold/1100259243#/) and [Lucky](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781501171635) by Alice Sebold • [My Body Is a Book of Rules](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781597099691) by Elissa Washuta • [Dead Girls](http://www.dzancbooks.org/our-books/dead-girls-and-other-stories) by Emily Geminder • [A Time To Kill](http://www.jgrisham.com/books/a-time-to-kill/) by John Grisham • Stranger Things by The Duffer Brothers / Netflix • Twin Peaks by David Lynch / Netflix • [Give Me Your Hand](https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/megan-abbott/give-me-your-hand/9780316547185/) by Megan Abbott • [The God of Small Things](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780006550686) by Arundhati Roy • [The Huntsman](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780142001318) by Whitney Terrell

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21: Mira Jacob and Pamela Paul Talk Reboots & Superheroes Jul 12, 2018

Show notes

Writers Pamela Paul and Mira Jacob talk with V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell about the literary side of reboots, comics, and superheroes. Editor of the New York Times Book Review Pamela Paul (the author of My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues) talks about the relevance and impact of literary retellings and her life as a reader. Mira Jacob, author of the novel The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing and the forthcoming graphic memoir Good Talk: Conversations I’m Still Confused About discusses the role of comics in American mythology, their viability in the digital world, and the intersection of comics and literature. Readings: • [My Life with Bob](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781627796316), [The Starter Marriage and the Future of Matrimony](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/128285/the-starter-marriage-and-the-future-of-matrimony-by-pamela-paul/9780812966763/), Pornified, and [Parenting, Inc.](https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780805089240) by Pamela Paul • [A View of the Empire at Sunset](https://lithub.com/a-view-of-the-empire-at-sunset/) by Caryl Phillips • [Wide Sargasso Sea](http://books.wwnorton.com/books/detail.aspx?ID=4294989814) and [Smile Please](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/299064/smile-please/) by Jean Rhys • “Neither a Borrower nor a Lender Be” from [The Hidden Machinery: Essays on Writing](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781941040683) by Margot Livesey • [Early Work](http://www.earlywork.net/) • [The Perfect Nanny](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780143132172) by Leila Slimani • [Life After Life](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316176491) by Kate Atkinson • [The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780812994780), [Shondaland column](https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/a15168745/mira-jacob-comic-my-past-self/), and "[37 Difficult Questions from My Mixed-Race Son](https://www.buzzfeed.com/mirajacob/questions-from-my-mixed-race-son)" by Mira Jacob • The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon • The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem • Tintin by Hergé • Asterix by René Goscinny, Albert Uderzo, Jean-Yves Ferri • [Amar Chitra Katha](https://www.amarchitrakatha.com/us/) • [The New York Times Book Review Podcast](https://www.nytimes.com/column/book-review-podcast)

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