Otherppl With Brad Listi

T.C. Boyle is the guest. He is the author of twenty-three books of fiction, including The Tortilla Curtain, Drop City, and World's End, for which he won the PEN/Faulkner award. His latest novel, San Miguel, is now available from Viking.  Publishers Weekly raves "Boyle’s epic saga of struggle, loss, and resilience tackles Pacific pioneer history with literary verve…[he] subtly interweaves the fates of Native Americans, Irish immigrants, Spanish and Italian migrant workers, and Chinese fisherman into the Waters’ and Lesters’ lives, but the novel is primarily a history of the land itself, unchanging despite its various visitors and residents, and as beautiful, imperfect, and unrelenting as Boyle’s characters." And Terry Tempest Williams calls it "A saga of women, three women brought to the island by men…Boyle has carved out a beautiful, damp, atmospheric novel, sharp and exacting…[his] spirited novels are a reckoning with consequence laced with humor, insight, and pathos." Monologue topics: finishing the nov

Lisa Carver is the guest.  Also known as Lisa Suckdog, she is a writer and performance artist whose latest book is called Reaching Out with No Hands: Reconsidering Yoko Ono, now available from Backbeat Books.   Zoe Zolbrod, author of Currency, raves "Lisa Carver can reveal surprising depths in Duran Duran lyrics, so imagine what she can do with a subject as rich as Yoko Ono. This book is a searching, brave, weird, great, historically broad, and highly personal interpretation of one of the most confounding artists of the last sixty years." And Rachel Sherman, author of The First Hurt, says "Lisa Carver s prose is the best kind: it reminds you of all the things you know but don t have the words for, and yet still feels completely new. This is a brave work unlike any other I have read." Monologue topics:  insomnia, caffeine, Board excerpt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Kimball is the guest.  He is the author of four books, the latest of which is a novel called Big Ray, now available in hardcover from Bloomsbury.  The Wall Street Journal calls it "[An] astonishingly moving novel... We're left gasping for air... Danny's emotions unfold as slowly as the carefully dispensed facts of the story, and to mesmerizing effect... Big Ray is an appalling tale told with anger, dark humor and surprising tenderness." And Sam Lipsyte raves "Michael Kimball has been writing innovative, compelling and beautifully felt books for years, but Big Ray seems a break-through and culmination all at once. It's funny and terrifying and it's his masterpiece, at least so far.” Monologue topics:  existential questioning, polar bears, the ocean, eating a burrito on the air, Board, fear of finishing.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julie Klam is the guest. She is the author of several books, the most recent of which is called Friendkeeping: A Field Guide to the People You Love, Hate, and Can't Live Without, now available from Riverhead. Kirkus raves "Klam's voice is often flat-out hilarious… [she] never fails to come up with terrific comic vignettes and sharp one-liners… highly entertaining." And the late-great David Rakoff says "Julie Klam is one funny writer.” Monologue topics: salvaging the novel, creative breakthroughs, self-immolation, public freakouts involving nudity, unnecessary trips to Israel, bleak episodes of crushing creative stasis, Board. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

J. Robert Lennon is today's guest.  He is the author of several books, and his latest novel, Familiar, is now available from Graywolf Press. The New York Times Book Review raves “Over the last decade, J. Robert Lennon’s literary imagination has grown increasingly morbid, convoluted and peculiar—just as his books have grown commensurately more surprising, rigorous and fun.” And The Los Angeles Times says "[Lennon} keeps Familiar balanced at a perfect pitch...a literary puzzle, a marvelous trick of the mind." Monologue topics:  Hurricane Sandy, disaster guilt, socializing, exhaustion, weeping Buddha, TNB Book Club. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susan Straight is the guest.  She is the author of several books and has been a finalist for the National Book Award.  Her new novel, Between Heaven and Here, is now available from McSweeney's.  Ayelet Waldman raves "It is only the rarest of novels that cry for a sequel, the most unusual of stories that at once satisfies and leaves the reader aching for more. Susan Straight's remarkable Take One Candle Light A Room is such a novel. And she has satisfied our desires in Between Heaven and Here, a magnificent novel, that manages to be at once unflinchingly real and transcendently beautiful. Susan Straight is one of the very best American writers. If you haven't read her, you're in for a delight and an awakening. If you have, then you're probably as thrilled as I am that she has taken us back to Rio Seco." Kirkus, in a starred review, says "Straight employs glorious language and a riveting eye for detail to create a fully realized, totally believable world." Monologue topics:  letters, mall tag, Indiana, cris

Antoine Wilson is today's guest.  He's the author of two novels, the most recent of which is called Panorama City, now available from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, says "Wilson’s second novel (after Interloper) is fresh and flawlessly crafted as well as charmingly genuine. Oppen Porter is almost 30, a guileless man who lives in a small central California town with his reclusive father in a house overtaken by nature….Oppen experiments with various roles—dedicated worker, student of religion, thinker—eventually finding his place in the world, framing a classic coming-of-age story in an unexpected way." Monologue topics:  Board, literary collage, experimentation, exhaustive cataloging, good news, publication. This podcast now has its own app, available (free!) for the iPhone, iPod, or iPad, and is also availalble (free!) for Android devices. To learn more about the app and how to get access to premium content, please visit http://otherpeoplepod.com/premium-access. Also: Y

Jami Attenberg is the guest. Her new novel, The Middlesteins, is now available from Grand Central Publishing.  Jonathan Franzen raves "The Middlesteins had me from its very first pages, but it wasn't until its final pages that I fully appreciated the range of Attenberg's sympathy and the artistry of her storytelling." Kate Christensen says "The Middlesteins is a truly original American novel, at once topical and universally timeless. Jami Attenberg has created a Midwestern Jewish family who are quintessentially familiar but fiercely, mordantly idiosyncratic. This novel will make you laugh, cry, cringe in recognition, and crave lamb-cumin noodles. This is a stunningly wonderful book." And Kirkus, in a starred review, calls it "Deeply satisfying. . . . A sharp-tongued, sweet-natured masterpiece of Jewish family life." Monologue topics:  social anxiety, silent judging, dinners, paranoia, Indiana, tag, shopping malls, faux pas. This podcast now has its own app, available (free!) for the iPhone, iPod, or iPa

Sean Beaudoin is today's guest.  He's the author of several books, the most recent of which is a novel called The Infects, now available from Candlewick Press.  Publishers Weekly raves "Horror goes hand in hand with dark comedy in this wickedly unpredictable adventure, as Beaudoin simultaneously skewers the fast food industry and familiar zombie tropes." Monologue topics:  ayahuasca, psycho-spiritual breakthroughs, frustration, the Mayan Apocalypse, confronting a mountain lion on a sand dune. This podcast now has its own app, available (free!) for the iPhone, iPod, or iPad, and is also availalble (free!) for Android devices. To learn more about the app and how to get access to premium content, please click right here. Also:  You can subscribe to the show over at iTunes, or at Stitcher. It's free. Or just push PLAY below. Like the podcast? Please take a moment to rate and review it on iTunes. Thank you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paula Bomer is today's guest. She's the author of two books, the most recent of which is a novel called Nine Months, which is available now from Soho Press. Library Journal calls it A raw, darkly funny, at times appalling page-turner.... Mommy lit lovers will be horrified, but Bomer’s debut novel will resonate with fans of quirky, character-driven fiction in the vein of Richard Russo, John Updike, and Tiffany Baker. And Marcy Dermansky calls it Deliciously, dangerously rogue. Monologue topics:  the Other People app, the app, my feelings on the app, how the app works, what you need to know about the app.  Speaking of which:  This podcast now has its own app, available (free!) for the iPhone, iPod, or iPad, and also availalble (free!) for Android devices.  To learn more about the app and how to get access to premium content, please click right here.  Don't forget to subscribe to the show over at iTunes, or at Stitcher. It's free. Or just push PLAY below. Like the podcast? Please take a moment to rate and re

Lorin Stein is the guest.  He is the editor of The Paris Review and the co-editor (with Sadie Stein) of a new anthology called Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story, now available from Picador Paperback Originals.  From the Editors' Note: Some chose classics. Some chose stories that were new even to us. Our hope is that this collection will be useful to young writers, and to others interested in literary technique. Most of all, it is intended for readers who are not (or are no longer) in the habit of reading short stories. We hope these object lessons will remind them how varied the form can be, how vital it remains, and how much pleasure it can give. And Publishers Weekly says: A selection of fiction culled from the influential journal’s archive with a twist: writers often featured in the journal’s pages—Lorrie Moore, David Means, Ann Beattie, Wells Tower, Ali Smith, among others— offer brief critical analyses of their selections, elevating this book from a greatest hits ant

Kathleen Alcott is today's guest.  Her debut novel, The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets, is now available from Other Press. Bookslut raves Heartbreaking, honest, and wholly engrossing, The Dangers of Proximal Alphabets dredges the depth of love that divides us, unites us, and ... Continue reading → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steven Gillis is the author of several books and the co-founder of Dzanc Books.  His latest story collection, The Law of Strings, is now available from Atticus Books. Support independent bookstores! Shop here. Also by Steven Gillis: Liars: A Novel Gillis is the author of six novels and two short story collections. A founding member of the Ann Arbor Book Festival Board of Directors, and a finalist for the 2007 Ann Arbor News Citizen of the Year, Steve taught writing at Eastern Michigan University. In 2004 Steve founded 826Michigan, a mentoring program for students. In 2006 Steve co-founded Dzanc Books. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Launched in 2011. Books. Literature. Writing. Publishing. Authors. Screenwriters. Life. Death. Etc. Support the show on Patreon / get merch.  www.otherppl.com @otherppl Instagram Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to su

Benjamin Wood is the guest.  His debut novel, The Bellwether Revivals, is now available from Viking in the United States and Simon & Schuster in the UK. The Bellwether Revivals was an official selection of The TNB Book Club. Joanna ... Continue reading → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amber Sparks is today's guest.  Her debut story collection, May We Shed These Human Bodies, is now available from Curbside Splendor. Raves Michael Kimball: There was Aesop, Thomas Bulfinch, Edith Hamilton, Angela Carter-and now there is Amber Sparks with a ... Continue reading → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

D.T. Max is the guest.  He's a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and the author of Every Love Story is a Ghost Story:  A Life of David Foster Wallace, now available from Viking. The San Francisco Chronicle calls ... Continue reading → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thad Ziolkowski is the author of the debut novel, Wichita (Tonga Books). Also by Thad Ziolkowski: On a Wave: A Memoir Ziolkowski is the author of Our Son the Arson, a collection of poems, and a memoir, On a Wave, which was a finalist for the PEN/Martha Albrand Award in 2003. In 2008, he was awarded a fellowship from the John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. His essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, Slate, Bookforum, Artforum, Travel & Leisure and Index. He directs the Writing Program at Pratt Institute. Wichita is his first novel. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Launched in 2011. Books. Literature. Writing. Publishing. Authors. Screenwriters. Life. Death. Etc. Support the show on Patreon / get Merch www.otherppl.com @otherppl Instagram  Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com Get Otherppl t-shirts, sweatshirts, etc. The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local,

Leigh Stein is the author of the novel THE FALLBACK PLAN and the poetry collection DISPATCH FROM THE FUTURE (Melville House). Support independent bookstores! Buy your copies here. Also by Leigh Stein: SELF CARE: A NOVEL LAND OF ENCHANTMENT: A MEMOIR WHAT TO MISS WHEN: POEMS *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Launched in 2011. Books. Literature. Writing. Publishing. Authors. Screenwriters. Life. Death. Etc. Support the show on Patreon / get merch.  www.otherppl.com @otherppl Instagram Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Abrams is the guest.  He's the author of the debut novel Fobbit, which is now available from Grove/Atlantic. Publishers Weekly, in a starred reviews, says Abrams’s debut is a harrowing satire of the Iraq War and an instant classic....Abrams, ... Continue reading → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dana Johnson is the guest.  She's the author of the story collection Break Any Woman Down, winner of the Flannery O'Connor award for short fiction, and her debut novel, Elsewhere, California, is now available from Counterpoint. Aimee Bender raves I ... Continue reading → Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices