Listen Now

In our first episode recorded at the Sewanee Writers' Conference in the summer of 2022, Alexander Chee (How to Write an Autobiographical Novel) talks to James about his career, being the most photographed author in history, the late Randall Kenan, and Courtney Love. Plus legendary editor and founder and President of Words Without Borders, Alane Mason.  Apply to the Sewanee Writers' Conference by March 15!  Buy Alexander Chee's books!  Buy Black Folk Could Fly: Selected Writings by Randall Kenan!  Check out Words Without Borders! Check out Bea Troxel's music!  Produced/ Mixed by Ryan Shea.  Subscribe! Rate! Enjoy!  Instagram: tkwithjs  Twitter: @JamesScottTK tk with js at g mail dot com 

In our fourth and final episode recorded at the Sewanee Writers' Conference in the summer of 2021, Elena Passarello (Animals Strike Curious Poses) tells James about sleeping in Elvis's teenage bedroom, getting advice from long-haul truckers, and having screams sent to her. Plus the legendary Mary Flinn of Blackbird.  Apply to the Sewanee Writers' Conference by March 15!  Buy Elena's books!  Check out Blackbird!  Check out Bea Troxel's music!  Produced/ Mixed by Ryan Shea.  Subscribe! Rate! Enjoy!  Instagram: tkwithjs  Twitter: @JamesScottTK tk with js at g mail dot com   

Only the great Carl Phillips could warrant an episode all to himself. Recorded at the Sewanee Writers' Conference in 2021, James and Carl discuss assembling a collection, enjoying feeling lost, letting go of the argument, and putting a wedge between yourself and the unbearable.  Sewanee Writers' Conference 2022 Applications due March 15!  Buy Carl's books at indie bookstores.   Music courtesy of Bea Troxel.  Produced/ Mixed by Ryan Shea.  Insta: tkwithjs / Tw: @JamesScottTK / https://tkpod.com

The third summer of conversations recorded at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference (2021) continues with M.O. Walsh (The Big Door Prize), who gives a writing tip James has used ever since, then chats about writing a novel you like, being under the influence of John Prine, and writing one of the greatest cocktail scenes ever. Plus, independent editor and member of the collective 5E Editors, Liz Van Hoose.      Sewanee Writers' Conference 2022 Applications due March 15!  Buy M.O. Walsh's books.  Work with Liz Van Hoose or 5E Editors.  Music courtesy of Bea Troxel.  Produced/ Mixed by Ryan Shea.  Insta: tkwithjs / Tw: @JamesScottTK / https://tkpod.com

The third summer of conversations recorded at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference (2021) opens with the brilliance of Katie Kitamura (Intimacies, A Separation), who talks to James about pushing back on expectations, writing things you don't think you can, having your best reader in your own house, and the ghosts of edits past. Plus, the also brilliant author (The Office of Historical Corrections) and The Sewanee Review Editor-at-Large Danielle Evans.      Sewanee Writers' Conference 2022 Applications due March 15!  Subscribe to The Sewanee Review.  Buy Katie and Danielle's books from independent booksellers.  Music courtesy of Bea Troxel.  Produced/ Mixed by Ryan Shea.  Insta: tkwithjs / Tw: @JamesScottTK / https://tkpod.com

The second summer of conversations recorded at the Sewanee Writers' Conference continues with playwright Rachel Bonds, who tells James about finding her voice in a one-act, using jealousy as a job coach, being on the writing treadmill, and recognizing the struggles of those close to us. Plus, actor and Performing Prose co-founder Sean McIntyre.      http://www.sewaneewriters.org/ 2020 Applications due March 15! - Rachel Bonds   Rachel and James discuss:  Olivier Sultan (agent)  St. Andrew's-Sewanee School  Lisa D'Amour  Barack Obama  James Agee  George Saunders  Jennifer Egan  Kevin Wilson  - Sean McIntyre: https://www.performingprose.com/ Sean and James discuss:  THE SOPRANOS  Drew Barrymore  Middlebury College  Steve Yarbrough  Jim Shepard  ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare  THE SIMPSONS  LES MISERABLES music by Claude-Monet Schonberg "Master of the House"  Emily Nemens  Tim O'Brien  SEINFELD  BREAKING BAD  THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA by Edward Albee  Dan O'Brien  Marilyn Nelson  SLINGS AND ARROWS  Keanu Reeves  The Stratford Festival  Performing Prose  Emily Shain  Anne Ray  Sewanee Writers' Conference  -  Music courtesy of Bea Troxel from her album, THE WAY THAT IT FEELS: https://www.beatroxel.com/ -  http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK /Instagram: tkwithjs / FB: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

The second summer of conversations recorded at the Sewanee Writers' Conference continues with Tim O'Brien, who tells James about winning the National Book Award, writing THE THINGS THEY CARRIED while on a break from another book, not leaving a sentence until it's finished, being a father, knowing death, and recognizing the maybeness of it all. Plus, Missouri Review editor Speer Morgan.      http://www.sewaneewriters.org/ 2020 Applications due March 15! - Tim O'Brien  Buy Tim's books: Buy Tim O'Brien's Books From Independent Booksellers Tim and James discuss:  Sewanee Writers' Conference  Dan O'Brien  Christine Schutt  THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP by John Irving  THE STORIES OF JOHN CHEEVER by John Cheever  Lizzie Borden  Jack the Ripper  "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor  "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Carol Oates  WAR AND PEACE by Leo Tolstoy  THE BIBLE  BILLY BUDD, SAILOR by Herman Melville  Wyatt Prunty  Emily Nemens  Ernest Hemingway  - Speer Morgan: https://www.missourireview.com/ Speer and James discuss:  Middlebury College  The New England Review  Greg Michaelson  Jack Kerouac  Mark Twain  Tennessee Williams  Christine Schutt  The Dead Sea Scrolls  Kris Somerville's Curio Cabinet  Mike McClaskey Dan O'Brien  "Fields of Empire" by Joan Silber  Daniel Woodrell Susan Vreeland  Joanna Scott  Raymond Carver  Robert Olen Butler  Naguib Mahfouz Gregory Rabassa  Philip K. Dick  Ursula Le Guin  Russell Banks  PBS  Henry Green Robert Bly  Stephen Dunn  TR Hummer  Dave Smith  Annie Proulx Edmund White  Ernest Gaines  Larry Brown  John Updike  Margaret Walker  Peter Matthiessen  Richard Ford  "Awakening to Jake" by Jillian Weiss  Henry James  Edith Wharton  CHERNOBYL  "Snow" by Kermit Frazier  A FAITHFUL BUT MELANCHOLY ACCOUNT OF SEVERAL BARBARITIES LATELY COMMITTED by Jason Brown "Those Deep Elm Brown's Ferry Blues" by William Gay  -  Music courtesy of Bea Troxel from her album, THE WAY THAT IT FEELS: https://www.beatroxel.com/ -  http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK /Instagram: tkwithjs / FB: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

The second summer of conversations recorded at the Sewanee Writers' Conference begins with James speaking with Marilyn Nelson, who has written poetry in many forms and for many audiences. Marilyn tells James about her fears of being pigeonholed as well as her love of musicality, embodying voices, and finding a way forward. Plus, Copper Canyon Executive Editor Michael Wiegers.      - Marilyn Nelson: https://marilyn-nelson.com/ Buy Marilyn's books: Shop your local indie bookstore for Marilyn Nelson Marilyn and James discuss:  Andrea Davis Pinkney Igor Stravinsky  Maurice Manning  Wyatt Prunty Childcraft Books  Sara Teasdale  Gwendolyn Brooks  Linda Ronstadt "Songs for My Father"  Norton's Anthology of Children's Literature  Stephen Roxburgh Front Street Publishing Augusta Savage  - Michael Wiegers: https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/authors/michael-wiegers/ Copper Canyon Press: https://www.coppercanyonpress.org/ Michael and James discuss:  The New York Times  Goodreads  Amazon Michiko Kakutani  Ocean Vuong  RAILSPLITTER by Maurice Manning  Melissa Stein  Coffee House Press  W.S. Merwin  Robert Graves  Alan Brilliant  Unicorn Press  -  Music courtesy of Bea Troxel from her album, THE WAY THAT IT FEELS: https://www.beatroxel.com/ -  http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK /Instagram: tkwithjs / FB: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

Kevin Wilson's fifth book, the novel NOTHING TO SEE HERE, is a perfect combination of everything that made his previous work so singular: the humor and edge of THE FAMILY FANG, the intensity of his short fiction, and the heart and earnestness of PERFECT LITTLE WORLD. He and James talk depicting basketball, writing being fun and versatile, keeping it short, and lacking a radar for weirdness. Plus, Ecco executive editor Zachary Wagman.   - Kevin Wilson: https://www.wilsonkevin.com/ Buy NOTHING TO SEE HERE: Buy NOTHING TO SEE HERE Kevin's work mentioned: "Blowing up on the Spot", PERFECT LITTLE WORLD, TUNNELING TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, THE FAMILY FANG, Buzzfeed essay: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/kevinwilson/i-cant-save-my-son-from-the-anxiety-ive-passed-on-to-him.  Kevin and James discuss:  PLOUGHSHARES  Laura van den Berg  Lee Boudreaux  Harry Potter  The Southern Voices Festival  "A to B" from A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD by Jennifer Egan  Caki Wilkinson  Latina Davis  Kim Woodley  Grundy County  Franklin County  Kansas State  University of Florida  Patrick Ewing  Hakeem Olajuwon  Kevin McHale  THE DART LEAGUE KING by Keith Lee Morris  "Boys Town" by Jim Shepard  Harvard University  THE NEW YORKER  Calvin Trillin WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE by Shirley Jackson  A MEMBER OF THE WEDDING by Carson McCullers  MRS. CALIBAN by Rachel Ingalls  GOODBYE, VITAMIN by Rachel Khong  TREASURE ISLAND!!! by Sara Levine  BAD MARIE by Marcy Dermansky  THE LONGSHOT by Katie Kitamura  TRAIN DREAMS by Denis Johnson  Christine Schutt  Steven Millhauser  Larry Bird  Johnny Storm, "The Human Torch"  Julie Barer  Ecco  Greensboro Review  Nicole Kidman  Keith Urban  Christopher Walken  Ryan Call  - Zachary Wagman: @zackwagman Zack and James discuss:  THE FAMILY FANG BABY, YOU'RE GONNA BE MINE  PERFECT LITTLE WORLD  Saturday Night Live  ALA  The Lead Read  The Today Show  Vintage  Crown  Dennis Lehane  Dan Halpern  Hogarth  Knopf  New England Patriots  Gillian Flynn  Pulitzer Prize  Nobel Prize  YOUR HOUSE WILL PAY by Steph Cha  COLD STORAGE by David Koepp - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/ Instagram: tkwithjs

Calvin Hennick jokingly calls his memoir, ONCE MORE TO THE RODEO, "every thought I've ever had," and the book touches on fatherhood, manhood, race, family, alcohol, baseball, and countless other topics, all considered on a road trip to his childhood hometown with his young son. He talks to James about having the memoir roundly rejected until it won the Pushcart Press Editor's Award, walking around naked in front of the reader, and not solving all of the world's problems. Plus, the legendary Bill Henderson of Pushcart Press. - Calvin Hennick: https://twitter.com/calvinhennick?lang=en Buy ONCE MORE TO THE RODEO: Buy ONCE MORE TO THE RODEO Calvin and James discuss:  The Chunky Monkeys  THE BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE Grub Street Boston Red Sox  Adam Jones  Baltimore Orioles Curt Schilling  Fenway Park  GET OUT dir by Jordan Peele  Cooperstown, NY  Baseball Hall of Fame  PLEASANTVILLE dir by Gary Ross  Jackie Robinson Millicent Bennett Grand Central Publishing  Pushcart Editor's Prize  Bill Henderson  APOCALYPSE NOW dir by Francis Ford Coppola  BUSINESS INSIDER  Alex Marzano-Lesnevich Chip Cheek  Whitney Scharer  Jenn DeLeon  THE BODY PAPERS by Grace Talusan  Franz Kafka  James Joyce  - Bill Henderson: http://pushcartprize.com/ Buy THE PUSHCART PRIZE ANTHOLOGY: Buy the PUSHCART PRIZE ANTHOLOGY Bill and James discuss:  THE KID THAT COULD  THE PUBLISH IT YOURSELF HANDBOOK by Bill Henderson  The Pushcart Prize  Anais Nin  Buckminster Fuller  Ralph Ellison  Joyce Carol Oates  Doubleday  THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW PUBLISHERS WEEKLY  Mattel Toys  Random House  WW Norton & Co.  ESQUIRE  Central Park  ONCE MORE TO THE RODEO by Calvin Hennick Little, Brown  Millicent Bennett  POETS & WRITERS  Cooperstown  Fenway Park  Boston Red Sox  WASHINGTON POST  YOU ARE NOT A GADGET by Jaron Lanier  GARDEN STATE by Rick Moody  THE TALE OF THE RING: A KADDISH: A PERSONAL MEMOIR OF THE HOLOCAUST by Frank Stiffel  A DAY LIKE ANY OTHER: THE GREAT HAMPTONS HURRICANE OF 1938 by Genie Chipps Henderson  - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK/ Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

Two incredible authors discuss their debuts. First, Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne tells James about her Tennessee-set HOLDING ON TO NOTHING (Blair), reading while driving (?), Dolly Parton, time machines, and two beer guitars. Then Amy Kurzweil on her depiction of three generations, including her grandmother surviving the Holocaust, in FLYING COUCH: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR (Black Balloon Books). They go over the deceptive naïveté of comics, how she learned to depict her story, and the inside dirt on NEW YORKER cartoons.   - Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne: http://ecshelburne.com/ Buy HOLDING ON TO NOTHING: Buy HOLDING ON TO NOTHING Elizabeth and James discuss:  Blair Publishing  Amherst College  James Patterson  TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee  THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY  Mark Barr  The Novel Incubator at Grub Street  Lisa Borders  Michelle Hoover  FREEDOM by Jonathan Franzen  "Little Sparrow" by Dolly Parton  "Down in the Valley" by The Head and the Heart  Grand Ole Opry  TRAMPOLINE by Robert Gipe  ROMEO AND JULIET by William Shakespeare William Gay  George Singleton  - Amy Kurzweil: http://amykurzweil.com/ Buy FLYING COUCH: A GRAPHIC MEMOIR: Buy FLYING COUCH Amy and James discuss:  BART SIMPSON'S GUIDE TO LIFE: A WEE HANDBOOK FOR THE PERPLEXED by Matt Groening  CALVIN AND HOBBES by Bill Watterson  MAUS by Art Spiegelman FUN HOME: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC by Alison Bechdel  PERSEPOLIS by Marjane Satrapi  Voice/Vision Holocaust Survivor Oral History Archive at University of Michigan  "What the son wishes to forget the grandson wishes to remember." - Marcus Lee Hansen  THE NEW YORKER  MOBY DICK by Nathaniel Hawthorne  Marcel Proust    Bob Mankoff  - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

Between his work as an ad writer and software developer, Mark Barr worked on a classic tale set in 1930s Tennessee that would become his debut novel, WATERSHED. He talks to James about being a Southern voice, identifying as a meat-and-potatoes stylist, setting quotas for his writing, breaking problems down into their smallest components, and fudging the details. Then, Tavia Gilbert discusses being an audiobook narrator.  - Mark Barr: https://www.readmarkbarr.com/ Buy WATERSHED: Buy WATERSHED Mark and James discuss:  Southern Independent Booksellers Association  The Charles Frazier Cold Mountain Series Fund  Meg Reid  Betsy Teter  Malaprop's Bookstore/ Cafe  THE PRETTIEST STAR by Carter Sickels  CBGBs  THE NEXT GREATEST THING: FIFTY YEARS OF RURAL ELECTRIFICATION IN AMERICA by Richard A. Pence and Patrick Dahl  New Coke  Harry Potter  The Engineering Library and UT-Austin  Tennessee River Falstaff Karmann Ghia  Raytheon  Scholastic Book Club  THE PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster  Terry Brooks  B. Dalton Bookstore  THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner  Flannery O'Connor  Eudora Welty  William Gay  SUTTREE by Cormac McCarthy  Ron Rash  - Tavia Gilbert: http://taviagilbert.com/ Tavia and James discuss: The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies  Maine School of Art  NERVES OF STEEL by Captain Tammy Jo Shults THE MEN AND THE GIRLS by Joanna Trollope narrated by Davina Porter  LIBRARY JOURNAL  FIRST THEY KILLED MY FATHER: A DAUGHTER OF CAMBODIA REMEMBERS by Loung Ung   BEING MEAN: A MEMOIR OF SEXUAL ABUSE AND SURVIVAL by Patricia Eagle  BE FRANK WITH ME by Julia Claiborne Johnson  - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

The latest novel from Alix Ohlin, DUAL CITIZENS, depicts the lives of two sisters as they navigate family, art, love, and life. She tells James about the depicting the whoosh of time, rewatching Hitchcock's VERTIGO, recommitting yourself, establishing patterns, putting things into your basket, and missing wolf licenses. Plus, Alix's friend and agent, Amy Williams.     - Alix Ohlin: https://alixohlinauthor.com/ Buy DUAL CITIZENS: Buy DUAL CITIZENS from indie bookstores. Buy Alix's other books: Buy Alix Ohlin's books from independent booksellers Alix and James discuss:  The Neopolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante  Alice Munro  VERTIGO dir by Alfred Hitchcock Jimmy Stewart REALITY BITES dir by Ben Stiller  Winona Ryder  Bread Loaf Writers' Conference  Daniel Johnston  Henry Darger  Tony Gilroy  "What Writers Really Do When They Write" by George Saunders: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/04/what-writers-really-do-when-they-write Margot Livesey  Michael Ondaatje  Walter Murch  THE CONVERSATIONS: WALTER MURCH AND THE ART OF EDITING FILM by Michael Ondaatje: Buy THE CONVERSATIONS IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE by Walter Murch: Buy IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE HITCHCOCK by Francois Truffaut: Buy HITCHCOCK- TRUFFAUT TRUST EXERCISE by Susan Choi: Buy TRUST EXERCISE THE OUTLINE TRILOGY by Rachel Cusk: Buy THE OUTLINE TRILOGY - Amy Williams: https://williamsliterary.com/ Amy and James discuss:  THE GEORGIA REVIEW  I HATE TO SEE THAT EVENING SUN GO DOWN by William Gay  Sloan Harris  Eric Simonoff  Alix Ohlin  Radcliffe Publishing Course  Harvard University  Knopf  Gary Fisketjon  Doubleday  David Gernert Michener Center for Writers  Denis Johnson Jim Magnuson  SLACKER dir by Richard Linklater  VERTIGO  Alice Munro  Lincoln Michel  Jean Craighead George - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

It started as a short story in grad school, but Gabriel Urza kept coming back to what would eventually be his novella THE WHITE DEATH: AN ILLUSION. He talks to James about feeling like a child in the face of magic, having trouble extricating past from present, portraying the ambiguity of the supernatural, working through your problems when writing, and reading that's like eating a bag of chips. Plus, Tyler Glauz-Todrank from Bear Pond Books in Montpelier, VT on fall releases.    - Gabriel Urza: http://gabrielurza.com/ Buy THE WHITE DEATH: AN ILLUSION: http://nouvellabooks.com/the-white-death-by-gabriel-urza/ Gabriel and James discuss:  Charles Dickens  ANGELS & DEMONS by Dan Brown  Kurt Vonnegut  The Ohio State University  "Fantasy for Eleven Fingers" by Ben Fountain  the Magic Castle  "Eisenheim the Illusionist" by Steven Millhauser Jeff Mcbride Mt. Hood  Sewanee Writers' Conference  Bread Loaf Writers' Conference  Annie Hartnett  Hannah Tinti  Loch Ness  Claire Vaye Watkins THE THIRD HOTEL by Laura van den Berg  PALE FIRE by Vladimir Nabokov  Deena Drewis  - Tyler Glauz-Todrank  Bear Pond Books, Montpelier, VT: https://www.bearpondbooks.com/ Tyler and James discuss:  BUNNY by Mona Awad: Buy BUNNY Bear Pond Books  Rivendell  James Baldwin  WHO KILLED MY FATHER by Edouard Louis trans. by Lorin Stein: Buy WHO KILLED MY FATHER New Directions Press  LIE WITH ME by Philippe Besson trans. by Molly Ringwald: Buy LIE WITH ME LOT: STORIES by Bryan Washington: Buy LOT  THE WORD FOR WOMAN IS WILDERNESS by Abi Andrews: Buy THE WORD FOR WOMAN IS WILDERNESS  Two Dollar Radio  HARD MOUTH by Amanda Goldblatt: Buy HARD MOUTH GRAND UNION: STORIES by Zadie Smith: Buy GRAND UNION IN THE DREAMHOUSE: A MEMOIR by Carmen Maria Machado: Buy IN THE DREAM HOUSE Graywolf Press RED AT THE BONE by Jacqueline Woodson: Buy RED AT THE BONE NOTHING TO SEE HERE by Kevin Wilson: Buy NOTHING TO SEE HERE  TUNNELING TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH by Kevin Wilson: Buy TUNNELING TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH  THE FAMILY FANG by Kevin Wilson: Buy THE FAMILY FANG  AN AMERICAN SUNRISE by Joy Harjo: Buy AN AMERICAN SUNRISE   Ben Lerner  ON SWIFT HORSES by Shannon Pufahl: Buy ON SWIFT HORSES OUT OF DARKNESS, SHINING LIGHT by Petina Gappah: Buy OUT OF DARKNESS, SHINING LIGHT  Scribner  EYES BOTTLE DARK WITH A MOUTHFUL OF FLOWERS by Jake Skeets: Buy EYES BOTTLE DARK WITH A MOUTHFUL OF FLOWERS  Richard Avedon  Milkweed Editions  HUNGER MOUNTAIN  HOMIE by Danez Smith: Buy HOMIE  HOW WE FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES by Saeed Jones: Buy HOW WE FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES  Simon & Schuster  Maggie Nelson  WE THE ANIMALS by Justin Torres: Buy WE THE ANIMALS  EROSION: ESSAYS OF UNDOING by Terry Tempest Williams: Buy EROSION: ESSAYS OF UNDOING  MAKE IT SCREAM, MAKE IT BURN: ESSAYS by Leslie Jamison: Buy MAKE IT SCREAM MAKE IT BURN YEAR OF THE MONKEY by Patti Smith: Buy YEAR OF THE MONKEY  CONFESSIONS OF THE FOX by Jordy Rosenberg: Buy CONFESSIONS OF THE FOX - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

It took Amanda Goldblatt eight years to write her debut novel, HARD MOUTH. The result is a brilliantly inventive work combining style with emotional impact and classic storytelling. She and James talk about their long friendship, cutting the apocalypse, summoning (or not) imaginary beings, making rules for novels, and remembering the books they read as kids. Plus, Amanda's agent from Frances Goldin Literary Agency, Caroline Eisenmann.  - Amanda Goldblatt: https://amandagoldblatt.com/ Buy HARD MOUTH: Buy HARD MOUTH from your local indie bookstore! Amanda and James discuss:  Washington University  THE CUPBOARD  Eugene Pallette  Caroline Eisenmann  Turner Classic Movies  POND by Claire-Louise Bennett  MY MAN GODFREY  HATCHET by Gary Paulsen  THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON by Johann David Wyss Harry Potter THE HUNGER GAMES  E.T.  J Dilla  VOX  Notorious B.I.G.  Andre 3000  MF Doom  Talib Kweli  Kerri Webster  Gordon Lish  Gary Lutz  Amy Hempel  Sam Lipsyte  Christine Schutt  "The Sentence is a Lonely Place" by Gary Lutz  Jim Shepard  Mary Ruefle  Tim O'Brien  Marilynne Robinson Denis Johnson  Cormac McCarthy  - Caroline Eisenmann: https://goldinlit.com/agents/ Caroline and James discuss:  NOON  James Salyer  Mary Gaitskill  Annie Proulx  Ottessa Moshfegh  Halle Butler  Claire Messud  Nell Zink  Garth Greenwell  Jack Kerouac  Ernest Hemingway  I KNOW YOU KNOW WHO I AM by Peter Kispert  ICM  GOING DUTCH by James Gregor  Simon & Schuster  THE LOVE AFFAIRS OF NATHANIEL P by Adelle Waldman  THE LONGING FOR LESS: LIVING WITH MINIMALILSM by Kyle Chayka - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

The debut novel by Miciah Bay Gault, GOODNIGHT STRANGER, is an intoxicating mix of mystery and grief set in a sandy, salty place. And sexy triplets. She tells James about adjusting the level of magic, breaking the rules, sagging middles, writing as an act of faith, and facing the threat of writing something new. Plus, publicist Laura Gianino.   - Miciah Bay Gault: https://www.miciahbaygault.com/ Buy GOODNIGHT STRANGER: Buy GOODNIGHT STRANGER from an Indie Bookstore Miciah and James discuss: Jenni Ferrari-Adler  Union Literary  Daniel Torday  John Cheever  Shirley Jackson  THE X-FILES  Fox Mulder  Dana Scully  POPEYE dir by Robert Altman  Harry Nilsson  WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE by Shirley Jackson  THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt  THE HUNDRED-YEAR HOUSE by Rebecca Makkai  - Laura Gianino  Laura and James discuss:  Park Row Books  Harlequin Enterprises  Harper Collins  Laura Brown  THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW  THE BOSTON GLOBE  PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY  BOOKLIST  LIBRARY JOURNAL  SHELF AWARENESS  KIRKUS REVIEWS  LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE by Celeste Ng  O MAGAZINE  VANITY FAIR  Amazon  George Saunders  ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY  COSMOPOLITAN  Oprah's Book Club  Reese Witherspoon's Book Club  THE CACTUS by Sarah Haywood  THE MILLIONS  Goodreads  THE FALMOUTH ENTERPRISE  THE TODAY SHOW  - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

In reporting several food articles, Kevin Alexander found the same stories coming up again and again: genius chefs opened one-of-a-kind restaurants in places like Portland and San Francisco, and in the on-rush of attention struggled to maintain their excellence. In short, we lived through a golden age of American cuisine that is now already over. This era is captured is Alexander's captivating BURN THE ICE. Plus, former Esquire editor and current agent, David Granger.  - Kevin Alexander:  Buy BURN THE ICE: Buy BURN THE ICE from your local indie bookstore.   - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

A random sign for free dogs inspired Mary Miller to drop a manuscript she'd been researching and create the character of Louis McDonald, Jr. for her hilarious and heartbreaking novel, BILOXI. She tells James about feeling indebted to her characters, teaching herself to write, looking in holes with her dog, needing to find joy, and reading with John Grisham. And bologna. And feet licking. Plus a chat with Bennet Johnson from Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI.  - Mary Miller: http://www.maryumiller.net/ BUY BILOXI: Buy BILOXI from an Indie Bookseller ALSO BY: BIG WORLD, THE LAST DAYS OF CALIFORNIA, ALWAYS HAPPY HOUR  Mary and James discuss:  Frederick Barthelme Jerry Seinfeld  THE MOTEL LIFE by Willy Vlautin  THE OFFICE  THE MOVIEGOER by Walker Percy  THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt  Books-A-Million ZOETROPE ON WRITING by Stephen King  BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott  Elizabeth Ellen  Aaron Burch  Square Books  Lemuria Book Store  Bennet Johnson  Literati Bookstore Parnassus Books John Evans  Richard Howorth Lisa Howorth  Grisham Writers in Residence  John and Renee Grisham  Michener Center for Writers  Ann Patchett  Ole Miss  Mississippi State  Claudia Smith Chen Kevin Sampsell  REM  Elizabeth Spencer  Tom Franklin  Beth Ann Fennelly  W. W. Norton & Company  Charlie Day  IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA - Bennet Johnson  Literati Bookstore: https://www.literatibookstore.com/ Literati Cultura: https://www.literatibookstore.com/literati-cultura-collectors-club Bennet and James Discuss:  Mike & Hilary Gustafson  SING, UNBURIED, SING by Jesmyn Ward  ON EARTH WE'RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS by Ocean Vuong  YOU KNOW YOU WANT THIS by Kristen Roupenian  OHIO by Stephen Markley  MIDWEST LITERARY WALK PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee  HAWKING by Jim Ottaviani  "Boys Town" by Jim Shepard  Calvin Trillin  Amy Hempel  Mary Ruefle  Kevin Wilson  Hannah Pittard  Lorrie Moore  Ernest Hemingway  Literati Book Store Presents  John U. Bacon  Randall Munroe Sister Helen Prejean  Salman Rushdie  Jonathan Safran Foer  - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

Christian Kiefer had great reservations about writing his beautiful new book, PHANTOMS. He tells James how he found the story, and the steps he took to tell it. They also talk about capturing bear consciousness, being haunted by one's own work, finding joy in music and writing, and those troublesome flugelhornists. And then our old friend Christopher Boucher discusses his new novel, BIG GIANT FLOATING HEAD.  - Christian Kiefer: https://www.facebook.com/christian.kiefer.9/ Buy PHANTOMS: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780871404817 Also by: THE INFINITE TIDES, THE ANIMALS, ONE DAY SOON TIME WILL HAVE NO PLACE LEFT TO HIDE.  Christian and James discuss:  Matt Salesses  MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA by Arthur Golden  SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS by David Guterson  Jamil Zaki  Deena Drewis  Nouvella Books  ORIENTALISM by Edward Said  CULTURE AND IMPERIALISM by Edward Said  NOTHING EVER DIES by Viet Thanh Nguyen  Vintage Contemporaries  Tobias Wolff  Robert Stone  Richard Ford  Tim O'Brien  SOPHIE'S CHOICE by William Styron  ABSALOM, ABSALOM by William Faulkner  Henry James  Nathaniel Hawthorne  Emile Zola  Lauren Groff  San Francisco Zoo  GHOST TANTRAS by Michael McClure  Benjamin Percy  Ingmar Bergman  Andrei Tarkovsky  THE WHITE DEATH by Gabriel Urza THE LAST REPATRIATE by Matthew Salesses  THE SENSUALIST by Daniel Torday  HOW TO SHAKE THE OTHER MAN by Derek Palacio  IF YOU'RE NOT YET LIKE ME by Eden Lepucki  FLY-OVER STATE by Emma Straub  A FAMILIAR BEAST by Panio Gianopoulos Miles Davis  John Coltrane  WILDERNESS OF MIRRORS, Lawrence English Nicholas Brittell  THE DISINTEGRATION LOOPS, William Basinksi  Lyle Lovett  George Jones JESUS' SON by Denis Johnson PURE HOLLYWOOD by Christine Schutt  Barry Hannah  GERHARD RICHTER PAINTING (documentary)  John Keene  Magnolia Electric Company  Jason Molina  CANADA by Richard Ford  Sewanee  - Christopher Boucher: http://www.christopherboucher.net/ Buy BIG GIANT FLOATING HEAD: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781612197579 Also by: HOW TO KEEP YOUR VOLKSWAGEN ALIVE, GOLDEN DELICIOUS.  James and Christopher discuss:  Melville House  Kurt Vonnegut  THE PARIS REVIEW  Ben Greenman  Boston College  Oregon State  "People Like That Are The Only People Here" by Lorrie Moore  "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor  "Araby" by James Joyce  Looney Tunes  Elmer Fudd Bugs Bunny  - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

A night spent drinking and writing about his parents' divorce uncovered an urgent need in Stanford professor Jamil Zaki to author THE WAR FOR KINDNESS: BUILDING EMPATHY IN A FRACTURED WORLD. He and James talk about how empathy can literally grow parts of the brain, hating the term hard-wired, facing the problems of the world today, and (sigh) STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. Plus Michael Nye returns to talk about reviving and relaunching STORY.  - Jamil Zaki: https://profiles.stanford.edu/jamil-zaki Buy THE WAR FOR KINDNESS: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780451499240  Jamil and James discuss:  STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION  Deanna Troi  The Good Samaritan  Princeton  Manchester United  Liverpool  Allen Iverson  Bill Nye Borderlinks  Life After Hate  WRECK-IT RALPH Contact Theory  Angela King THE NEW YORK TIMES  Defensive dehumanization  Amanda Cook  Gareth Cook  Bread Loaf Writer's Conference  Carl Sagan   - Michael Nye: http://mpnye.com/ Subscribe to STORY: https://www.storymagazine.org/ Michael and James discuss:  STORY  Lee K. Abbott Travis Kurowski  AWP Conference  Dave Housley  BARRELHOUSE MISSOURI REVIEW  RIVER STYX BOULEVARD  HUNGER MOUNTAIN ONE STORY PLOUGHSHARES   "Nude" By Claudia Hinz  "World's End" by Clare Beams  Valerie Cumming  Ohio State "Amputation of the Angels" by Kyle Minor LaTanya McQueen Shanie Latham THE PARIS REVIEW THE KENYON REVIEW BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES Anne Valente  Michael Croley  COLUMBUS ALIVE - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/