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Writers and Storytelling: Roger Rosenblatt

Roger Rosenblatt is the author of five New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and three New York Times bestsellers. He has written seven off-Broadway plays and his essays for Time and the PBS Newshour have won two George Polk Awards, the Peabody, and the Emmy, among others. In 2015, he won the Kenyon Review Award for Lifetime Literary Achievement. He held the Briggs-Copeland appointment in the teaching of writing at Harvard. He is Distinguished Professor of English and Writing at SUNY Stony Brook/Southampton. His new book is Cold Moon: On Life, Love, and Responsibility. He will be joining Lilliam Rivera, Helen Macdonald, and Melissa Faliveno on October 20 to tell stories tied to the theme “Nerves of Steel.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape? Myself, a new book I’m writing; and I can’t escape. If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? America; It must be fiction. Are there any quotes you use to inspire you now or anytime? “Be kind, for everyone you meet is carrying a great burden.” — Philo

Writers and Storytelling: Ian Olasov

Ian Olasov is an adjunct professor and doctoral candidate at the City University of New York Graduate Center. His writing has appeared in Slate, Vox, Public Seminar, and elsewhere. He won the American Philosophical Association’s Public Philosophy Op-Ed Prize in 2016 and 2018. He runs the Ask a Philosopher booth in locations around New York City. His book Ask a Philosopher: Answers to Your Most Important (and Most Unexpected) Questions is out this month. He will be joining Michael Ian Black, Nick Flynn, and Liara Tamani on September 22 to tell stories tied to the theme “All Good Things.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape? All of my reading right now is pretty heavy, but when I want to take a load off, I read Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Psmith stories. If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? Star Trek, no question Are there any quotes you use to inspire you now or anytime? Hard to pick one!

Writers and Storytelling: Nick Flynn

Nick Flynn is the author of This Is the Night Our House Will Catch Fire and three previous memoirs, including the PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award–winning Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, and four volumes of poetry. A professor on the creative writing faculty at the University of Houston, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. He will be joining Michael Ian Black, Ian Olasov, and Liara Tamani on September 22 to tell stories tied to the theme “All Good Things.” Register here for the show! What are you reading right now for solace or escape? Moby Dick If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? our current simulacrum Are there any quotes you use to inspire you now or anytime? “But even so, amid the tornadoed Atlantic of my being, do I myself still forever centrally disport in mute calm; and while ponderous planets of unwaning woe revolve round me, deep down and deep inland there still I bathe me in eternal mildness of joy.”

Writers and Storytelling: Liara Tamani

Liara Tamani lives in Houston, Texas. She holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College. She is the author of the acclaimed Calling My Name, which was a 2018 PEN America Literary Award Finalist and a 2018 SCBWI Golden Kite Finalist, and All the Things We Never Knew. She will join Michael Ian Black, Nick Flynn, and Ian Olasov on September 22 to muse on the theme “All Good Things.” Register here to watch the show live! What are you reading right now for solace or escape? Zadie Smith’s Intimations. It’s perfect for these times. If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? Avatar Are there any quotes you use to inspire you now or anytime? Yes. My go-to quote, which is up on the wall in my study, is by the great Maya Angelou. “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style.”

Writers and Storytelling: Jeff VanderMeer

Jeff VanderMeer’s New York Times-bestselling Southern Reach trilogy has been translated into over 35 languages. The first novel, Annihilation, won the Nebula Award and Shirley Jackson Award, and was made into a movie by Paramount. Other work includes Dead Astronauts, Borne (a finalist for the Arthur C. Clarke Award), The Strange Bird. These novels, set in the Borne universe, are being developed for TV by AMC and continue to explore themes related to the environment, animals, and our future. His most recent novel is A Peculiar Peril (out last month) and his forthcoming novel Hummingbird Salamander has been optioned by Netflix and Michael Sugar (Anonymous Content). His short story “Secret Life” has been made into a graphic novel by Theo Ellsworth. What are you reading right now for solace or escape? I like Eduardo C. Corral’s poetry a lot, so I’m reading his collection Guillotine at the moment. If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? I’m afraid I love this world too much to answer the question. But I’m thinking of one particular fantasy world right now that I’d live inside so I could join whatever revolution is trying to fix it. Are there […]

Writers and Storytelling: Charles Yu

Charles Yu is the author of three books, including the novel How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe (a New York Times Notable Book and a Time magazine best book of the year), and, most recently, Interior Chinatown. He received the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 Award and was nominated for two Writers Guild of America Awards for his work on the HBO series, Westworld. He has also written for shows on FX, AMC, and HBO. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired, among other publications. What are you reading right now for solace or escape? Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell. It’s so good. If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? Steven Universe’s universe! It’s full of love and wisdom. Are there any quotes you use to inspire you now or anytime? “Dude, suckin’ at something is the first step towards being sorta good at something.” — Jake the Dog

Writers and Storytelling: Kevin Mattson

Kevin Mattson grew up in the suburban sprawl known as the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. It was here that he first experienced the “punk rock world” that fueled his formative years. He played in bands, wrote for zines, and became politically active, helping to cofound the organization Positive Force. He now teaches American history at Ohio University and is the author of numerous books that explore the intersection between culture and politics, including Upton Sinclair and the Other American Century, What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?, and We’re Not Here to Entertain: Punk Rock, Ronald Reagan, and the Real Culture War of 1980s America. What books would you recommend and why? Michael Stewart Foley’s Dead Kennedys’ Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables and Michael Fournier’s The Minutemen’s Double Nickels on the Dime. Both books are part of the 33 1/3 series. The first is an excellent read of the first DKs album, which was released at the beginning point of my story (1980); the second a thorough look at the Minutemen’s album that comes out towards the end of my story (1984). Both books show how much depth — including in the realm of ideas — there was to the […]

Writers and Storytelling: Sameer Pandya

Sameer Pandya is the author of the story collection The Blind Writer, which was longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award. He is also the recipient of the PEN/Civitella Fellowship. His fiction, commentary, and cultural criticism has appeared in a range of publications, including the Atlantic, Salon, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and Narrative Magazine. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Asian American Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Members Only is his first novel. What are you reading right now for solace or escape? I’m a big fan of a well-written sports book for escape, particularly at this time when there is so little live sports to watch. I’m rereading Andre Agassi’s OPEN, but now my son is reading it with me. If you could live inside a fictional world, which one would you choose? I’m not sure about living, but I would love to visit Garcia-Marquez’s Macondo and take a good look around. Are there any quotes you use to inspire you now or anytime? The last line of Naipaul’s The Enigma of Arrival: “…I laid aside my drafts and hesitations and began to write very fast about Jack and his garden.” In every new bit of writing, I need to put the hesitations […]

Writers and Storytelling: Marina Budhos

Marina Budhos is an author of award-winning fiction and nonfiction. Marina is the author of the young adult novels Tell Us We’re Home, which was a 2017 Essex County YA Pick, and Ask Me No Questions, recipient of the first James Cook Teen Book Award, an ALA Best Book and Chicago Library’s Best of the Best, among other awards. Her most recent novel is Watched, a follow-up to Ask Me No Questions, which takes on surveillance in a post 9/11 era. Watched received an Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature YA Honor (APALA) and is an Honor Book for The Walter Award (We Need Diverse Books). Her newest novel, The Long Ride, is about three mixed-race girls during a 1970s integration struggle, is due out from Wendy Lamb/Random House in 2019. What are you reading right now for solace or escape? My escape, I must admit, is more good TV series such as Ramy or Insecure or a new documentary series on World War II with colorized footage. However, on reading this summer, thanks to a reading group, I have been diving into E.M. Forster’s works–rereading A Passage to India, Howard’s End, A Room with a View. If you could live […]

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