F***ing Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Shorts: Jabari Asim, poet

Welcome to our second installment of Shakespeare’s Shorts, where your favorites from F***ing Shakespeare host the virtual book tour that no one would have wanted before COVID-19, but that is now giving us a literary lifeline as we’re locked inside! Join us as we keep our thumbs on the pulse of amazing new literature, so it doesn’t get lost to quarantine. And we have a particularly special guest on today’s episode! Jabari Asim’s poetry book Stop and Frisk comes out this Friday, Juneteenth 2020, f...

Shakespeare's Shorts: Lee Matalone, novelist

HEY! We made a thing: it’s the Virtual Book Tour Quarantine edition of F***ing Shakespeare, we’re calling SHAKESPEARE’S SHORTS! We wanted to get out there and see what’s happening in the land of books — talk with authors who have books out now, right this second, when it’s very hard to be out in the world with a new book because you can’t actually be out in the world. One of those people who is all dressed up with a fancy new book, and nowhere to go, is the incredible Lee Matalone. Her new book,...

Bonus #AWP20 with Bloomsday Literary—Chris Cander and Amy Hanson

We have one more bit of brightness to send your way with this interview of two writers in the AWP Writer 2 Writer Mentorship program, mentor Chris Cander and mentee Amy Hanson. Chris was unable to attend the conference, like so many, but we were able to catch up virtually with both of them just after the conference closed. Short story writer Amy Widmoyer Hanson ’s writing has won the 2018 New Letters Prize for Fiction and the 2016 Iowa Review award judged by Kelly Link. She has been nominated fo...

Official podcast of #AWP20 LIVE with Bloomsday Literary—Day 3

Fantastic advice from the authors, poets, & industry professionals at #AWP20. This is part one of a three-episode series featuring Bloomsday Literary’s partnership with #AWP20 to bring you all the literary goings-on from this year’s conference. Here’s Day Three! Richard Z. Santos 1:22 Santos’ debut novel Trust Me came out on 3/31/20 from Arte Público Press. The main character is an “East Coast political hack” who moves from D.C. to Sante Fe and “stumbles into corruption and danger.” We talke...

Official podcast of #AWP20 with Bloomsday Literary—Day 2

Anna Lena Phillips Bell 0:58 Anna Lena is the editor and art director for Ecotone * and an editor for Lookout Books at the University of North Carolina—Wilmington. She talks about Ecotone’s mission and aesthetic, how to balance the two for publication, and dishes about her absolute stunner of a craft book, A Pocket Book of Forms. *While recording the episode, I refer to Anna Lena as an editor at Ecotone. She is the editor and art director there. My sincerist apologies for the goof on the tape. P...

F***ing Shakespeare Shorts

Official podcast of #AWP20 LIVE with Bloomsday Literary—Day 1

Fantastic advice from the authors, poets, & industry professionals at #AWP20. This is part one of a three-episode series featuring Bloomsday Literary’s partnership with #AWP20 to bring you all the literary goings-on from this year’s conference. Angela “AJ” Super 0:00 Angela Super is the author of Erebus Dawning , forthcoming from Aethon Books. We caught up with her while she took a break from woman-ing the table for the Debut Novelists 2020 booth. She hands out lovely advice to up and coming...

Phong Nguyen, novelist

Today on the show, Phong Nguyen, an absolute treasure trove of Twain trivia, author of The Adventures of Joe Harper . We do talk lots about writing dialect and the editors that love/hate it, why three-quarters of your way into writing a manuscript is the absolute sweet spot, and how living in Missouri and not Brooklyn is actually a blessing for the working writer. There’s the key, kids, get out of your big city cultural meccas and get thee to the Midwest! Our most prized nugget to come out of th...

Abbigail Rosewood, novelist

On today’s show, we have novelist Abbigail Rosewood. Jessica, Phuc, Abbigail, and I discussed the virtues of buying hibiscus plants from people who unofficially sell them on the streets of Brooklyn. We bring you another arousing author-psycho-therapy session starring Your Past, and how maybe you shouldn’t always listen to workshops and/or the things professors say out loud but maybe should not. Bonus: Jessica explores her abiding love and avocation for place as character . . . Basically if this ...

Jericho Brown, poet

On this episode of F***ing Shakespeare, our guest is the one and only Jericho Brown. Poets, lovers, and one who desires to hear beautiful language spoken by a beautiful voice, this episode is for you. We talk about Brown’s duplex, a poetic form he created for his new book “The Tradition,” his passion for his work and how he also doesn’t drive a Bentley. I’m not going to ruin the surprise or anything, but Jericho sings. That’s all I’m gonna say; just listen. Brown’s writing can be found here: His...

Bryan Washington, novelist

In today’s episode we have the 100% on-fire novelist, Bryan Washington, penning effing beautiful and raw stories straight out of the streets of Houston for his story collection Lot . He shares his ridiculously envy-enducing publishing journey for you, adding another to the longitudinal study that proves the traditional path to publication is a mythical creature in line with the hippogriff, the Lochness, and the chupacabra. Other topics of discussion include: chupacabras, the Katy suburb of Houst...

Mark Haber, novelist

In the studio today to open SEASON 4 of the show—that’s right y’all F***ing Shakespeare is on our 4th season! To celebrate we have Houston’s own lit genius, Mark Haber. He’s our first returning guest, so we must be doing something right. He’s definitely doing all the things right. He’s here to talk Tolstoy’s dog problem, melancholy, the fun-house mirror situation that is eastern European and central American literary scenes. His rich new novel Reinhardt’s Garden is discussed, as well as how to c...

Season 4 Announcement

PSA-Houston Writers Coalition 2

Sarah Stankorb, journalist

Read all of Sarah’s work, but if we were forced to choose, here’s the place to start: Until We All Have Voices in Catapult Fabric of a Community, Gone Threadbare: A Tour of Ohio’s New Trump Country in Catapult The Crusading Bloggers Exposing Sexual Abuse in Protestant Churches in The Washington Post Magazine Teaching My Daughter That God Might Be a Girl in The Washington Post Rebecca Todd Peters take on male-dominated speech in the church Getting Elected Upended My Home Life. But Here’s What I H...

PSA-Houston Writers Coalition

Edan Lepucki, novelist

Novelist and genre shapeshifter Edan Lepucki is our guest on today’s show. Expert writing tips include: what to do when you realize you’ve spent four years writing two different novels that are actually the same, spoiler alert: Instagram poetry is probably not the answer. We talk about how having a baby is a great way to make you finish a project, and the value of an editor who is really good at telling you you’re brilliant. Also: Phuc does virtual marriage counseling sponsored by the I.T. depar...

Tillie Walden, graphic novelist

Photo by Wayne Alan Brenner Today we settle the great debate once and for all: drafting, or revising? Our guest, graphic novelist, Tillie Walden, weighs in. (Spoiler alert: write, write, write, and think about perfection later.) We also consider the value of the “traditional” story, how Tillie prioritized the truth of her emotions when drawing her memoir, and the quirky publishing journey that started to grab hold of her in high school. Listen in and find out why, in the end, we’re all just half...

Anna Meriano, middle grade author

Photo credit: Rita Meriano Ever wondered what you should do if your professor thinks you should write literary fiction, but you know you’re going to write something else? Today’s guest, Anna Meriano, talks about how much she appreciated that prof and also why choosing to disregard his suggestion was the best decision she could have made. Also, we investigate the weird and fascinating triple Venn diagram of the arts, people who speaks Spanish, and firefighters in Houston. Follow Anna on twitter @...

Jessica Wilbanks, memoirist

Jessica’s Writing We Discussed When I Spoke in Tongues: A Story of Faith and Its Loss “From Essay to Book: On ‘Mirrorings’” in Essay Daily “On the Far Side of the Fire: Life, Death and Witchcraft in the Niger Delta” in Longreads Suggested Reads and Honorable Mentions from Jessica Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje Bluets by Maggie Nelson Cameron Dezen Hammon’s upcoming memoir, This is My Body: A Memoir of Religious and Romantic Obsession “Shitty First Drafts” from Bird by Bird by Anne Lam...

Catherine Baab-Muguira, freelancer

Get ready for some perfect hot takes on today’s episode of F***ing Shakepeare with freelancer Catherine Baab-Muguira. She looks behind the curtain at the self-appointed guardians of the world of culture, celebrates indulging a rabbit hole of eccentric ideas as a freelancer, and we all have a laugh about how her outstanding personal essay on her highlights helped propel her career.* Plus, we endlessly appreciate Cat for being real with us about writing, success, and mental illness as she crowns P...

Special LIVE edition — AWP2019, Day 2

Erika Thorkelson 3:57 Erika Thorkelson holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and is currently a sessional instructor at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. She is a regular contributor of arts and culture writing to the Vancouver Sun and Edmonton Journal as well as a host and operator on The Storytelling Show on Vancouver Co-op Radio. Erika joins us at AWP to discuss Room Magazine, Alicia Elliot, indigenous writing, and red lipstick. Gary McDowell 5:13 Dr. G...

Special LIVE edition — AWP2019, Day 1

James Charlesworth 3:56 James Charlesworth is the recipient of a Martin Dibner Fellowship from the Maine Community Foundation. He attended Penn State University and Emerson College in Boston and his debut novel, The Patricide of George Benjamin Hill (published by Arcade) was released January 15th, 2019. He joins us at AWP to talk about his publishing journey from 2007 to 2019, wherein he learned the art of failure...er, patience. Hannah Meredith 8:59 Hannah Meredith teaches Composition and Sopho...

Special LIVE edition — Texas Book Fest, Day 2

Lowell Mick White 1:16 White is the author of three novels and two story collections and is also editor at Alamo Bay Press . His work has been featured in Callaloo , Iron Horse Literary Review , and Short Story , and I've won the Dobie-Paisano Fellowship, awarded by the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas Institute of Letters. He’s been the National Endowment for the Arts Artist-in-Residence at the federal prison in Bryan, Texas, and is currently an Instructional Assistant Professor of E...

Special — Mark Pryor and the Texas Book Festival, Day 1

Mark Pryor 01:50 Mark Pryor, novelist Amber Elby, YA novelist Dylan Powell, mystery writer George Vance McGee, author Daniel Peña, novelist Leza Cantoral, author and panda Cat with book Phuc with dog Mark Pryor is the author of ten novels, including The Hollow Man , which introduced everyone’s favorite misanthrope*, Dominic. His latest, The Book Artist , a Hugo Marston novel, launches February 2019. He has also published the true-crime book As She Lay Sleeping . A native of Hertfordshire, Englan...

Special LIVE edition—Bobby Byrd, poet and publisher

published by Cinco Puntos Press We were lucky enough to speak with Bobby Byrd, who along with Lee Byrd, founded Cinco Puntos Press in 1985 in El Paso, Texas. Cinco Puntos’ distinguished list of authors includes Joe Hayes, Christine Engla Eber, Daniel Bowles, and Beto O’Rourke. Since those early years, Cinco Puntos has gone on to win several distinctions from various arts organizations, among them a Cultural Freedom Fellowship from the Lannan Foundation and five publishing grants from the Nationa...

Chris Cander, novelist

Chris Cander opens our all-female Season 3 of F***ing Shakespeare with a lovely conversation about witnessing magic in the every day, and how learning to really notice is the only rule she knows how to follow in crafting stories. We talk about adverbs and bull riding. And we discuss her publishing journey which sounds more like the world’s meanest conceived prank for a writer than something that actually ends happily. But happily it does, lending hope and the admonition to never give up to us al...

Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, Poet Laureate of Houston

Houston’s Poet Laureate Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton closes our season 2 with a bang. We clink glasses as we talk about the intersection of poetry and community, and she explains how limiting her allotment of news to her once-a-week date with Trevor Noah keeps her sane, and we petition Hollywood to make more movies about breastfeeding moms. The sight gag opportunities are boundless. Plus, Phuc doesn’t turn off his audio notifications and Jess turns into a ghost, but a ghost who can still text. Bonus ...

Ches Smith, novelist

Novelist Ches Smith talks about being depressed and vulnerable while being male, the inherent difficulties of writing characters who act suspiciously like a lot of the people you work with — but WHO ARE NOT THEM — and how writing metafiction offers a way to take the undesireable parts of yourself to their logical and worst conclusions, so you can (and should) avoid doing that exact same thing on social media. Also, we fantasize about what it would be like if Kate could ever remember the titles o...

Leslie Contreras Schwartz, poet

On today’s podcast, we talk with Leslie Contreras Schwartz about how poetry may not be therapy but it is, thankfully, a form of connection in a sometimes lonely world. And even though you won’t hear Jess’s voice on today’s show, you will feel her influence as we discuss the fear and uncertainty implicit in engaging in art in the age of Trump. And get your pens ready, or your goodreads app open, as Leslie recommends a whole slew of new books that you’ll need on your bookshelf. But don’t ask to bo...