On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Lee Cole about his new novel FULFILLMENT. Lee is also the author of GROUNDSKEEPING. He was born and grew up in rural Western Kentucky. A recent graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop, he now lives in Houston, Texas.
Jun 24, 2025•28 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Kevin Wilson about his latest novel RUN FOR THE HILLS. Kevin is the New York Times bestselling author of five novels, including Now Is Not the Time to Panic, Nothing to See Here, and The Family Fang, as well as two story collections. His work has received the Shirley Jackson Award and been selected as a Read with Jenna book club pick. He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, with his wife and two sons.
Jun 10, 2025•30 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Benjamin Bradley about his latest mystery WHAT HE LEFT BEHIND. Benjamin Bradley is a member of both Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. He's the author of the Shepard & Kelly Mystery series through Indies United Publishing House and his short fiction has appeared in literary magazines including Reckon Review and Flash Fiction Magazine . He works in public health and homelessness and lives in Raleigh,...
May 28, 2025•27 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot profiles publisher Loblolly Press with poet and founder Andrew Mack. Loblolly Press champions underrepresented Appalachian and Southern stories by empower emerging writers. Andrew is also the author of the poetry chapbook BEASTS OF CHASE which is a haunting chapbook that explores the intersection between nature and humanity, survival and violence. He lives with his husband in Asheville, North Carolina.
May 13, 2025•33 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Kelly Mustian about her new novel THE RIVER KNOWS YOUR NAME. Kelly Mustian is the USA Today bestselling author of The Girls in the Stilt House and The River Knows Your Name. She is the recipient of the Mississippi Library Association's 2023 Author Award for Fiction, and The Girls in the Stilt House was shortlisted for the 2022 Crook's Corner Book Prize for best debut novel set in the American South. Her work has appeared in numero...
Apr 29, 2025•35 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Michael Cody about his new thriller STREETS OF NASHVILLE. Michael Cody was born in the South Carolina Lowcountry and raised in the North Carolina highlands. He spent his twenties writing songs in Nashville and his thirties in school. He's the author of the novel Gabriel's Songbook (Pisgah Press) and short fiction that has appeared in Yemassee, Tampa Review, Still: The Journal, and elsewhere. His short story collection, A Twilight ...
Apr 16, 2025•34 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Wes Browne about his new novel THEY ALL FALL THE SAME. Wes has lived and practiced law as a criminal defense attorney, prosecutor, and public defender in Appalachian Kentucky for over twenty-four years. He also helps run his family’s pizza shops.
Mar 26, 2025•36 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Allison Gunn about her new gothic thriller NOWHERE. Allison Gunn is a professional researcher, writer, and podcaster with a penchant for all things whimsical and strange. An alum of the University of Maryland, she has extensively studied marginalized communities as well as Appalachian folklore and the occult. She currently resides in the wonderfully weird land of West Virginia with her twin daughters, a precocious pup, and one ser...
Mar 18, 2025•46 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Karen McElmurray about her new essay collection I COULD NAME GOD IN TWELVE WAYS. is the author of Wanting Radiance: A Novel . Her memoir Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother's Journey is a National Book Critics Circle Notable Book and winner of the AWP Award Series for Creative Nonfiction. She has received numerous awards, including the Annie Dillard Prize, the New Southerner Literary Prize, the Orison Anthology Award, a grant from t...
Feb 27, 2025•31 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Jackie Flaum about her new novel THE PRICE OF A FUTURE. Avid water aerobics swimmer, amateur jewelry-maker, and mystery writer Jackie Ross Flaum began as a reporter for The Hartford Courant in Hartford, Conn.After moving to Memphis and abandoning reality for fiction, she won first place for romantic suspense in the 21st annual Duel on the Delta and second place in the spring 2019 Short Story Land online competition. Thus encourage...
Feb 12, 2025•32 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews historian Nigel Hamilton about his latest book: LINCOLN VS. DAVIS: THE WAR OF THE PRESIDENTS. Historian Nigel Hamilton is a New York Times best-selling biographer of General Bernard “Monty” Montgomery, President John F. Kennedy, President Bill Clinton, and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, among other subjects. He has won multiple awards, including the Whitbread Prize and the Templer Medal for Military History.
Jan 15, 2025•51 min•Season 8Ep. 1
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Jessica Strawser about her latest thriller CATCH YOU LATER. Jessica Strawser is the USA Today bestselling author of The Last Caretaker, The Next Thing You Know, A Million Reasons Why, Forget You Know Me, Not That I Could Tell (a Book of the Month selection), and Almost Missed You. She was editorial director at Writer’s Digest for nearly a decade before becoming a novelist. Jessica is also a Career Authors contributing editor, popu...
Dec 24, 2024•37 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Sharon Short about her latest thriller TROUBLE ISLAND. Sharon Short is the author of sixteen published books. Her newest, Trouble Island, is historical suspense and will be published by Minotaur Books on December 3, 2024. As Jess Montgomery, she writes the historical Kinship Mysteries set in the 1920s and inspired by Ohio’s true first female sheriff. Sharon is a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest, for which she writes the colu...
Dec 10, 2024•35 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Susan Williams about her new book "Unresolved Lives: Seven Stories of Mayhem Including the Mad Butcher, Sodder Children, and Cabin 13." Susan is a native of Fayette County West Virginia and a former police and courts reporter for The Charleston Gazette.
Dec 04, 2024•35 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews authors Wendy Atkins-Sayre and Ashli Quesinberry Stokes about their new book HUNGRY ROOTS: HOW FOOD COMMUNICATES APPALACHIA'S SEARCH FOR RESILIENCE. Ashli Quesinberry Stokes is professor of communication studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Wendy Atkins-Sayre is professor and chair of the Department of Communication & Film at the University of Memphis. The two have collaborated on Consuming Identity: The Role of ...
Nov 26, 2024•37 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Laura Leigh Morris about her new novel THE STONE CATCHERS. Laura is the author of Jaws of Life: Stories and has previously been published in the Notre Dame Review, the Louisville Review, Pithead Chapel, Laurel Review, and other literary journals. She teaches creative writing and literature at Furman University and lives in Greenville, South Carolina with her family.
Nov 06, 2024•35 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Rick Childers about his debut novel TURKEYFOOT. Rick is a writer from Estill County, Kentucky. He also serves as Berea College's Appalachian Male Advocate and Mentor.
Oct 16, 2024•29 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Wes Blake about his new book PINEVILLE TRACE. Wes Blake’s novella-in-flash, Pineville Trace, won the Etchings Press Book Prize and will be published in September 2024 by Etchings Press (at the University of Indianapolis). Lee Martin, author of Pulitzer Prize Finalist The Bright Forever, described him as "a writer to watch". His fiction and essays have appeared in Louisiana Literature Journal, Blood & Bourbon, Book of Matches, ...
Oct 02, 2024•31 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Andrew K. Clark about his new novel WHERE DARK THINGS GROW. Andrew K. Clark is a writer from Western North Carolina where his people settled before the Revolutionary War. His poetry collection, Jesus in the Trailer was published by Main Street Rag Press and shortlisted for the Able Muse Book Award. His debut novel, Where Dark Things Grow, was released by Cowboy Jamboree Press in September of 2024. A loose sequel, Where Dark Things...
Sep 25, 2024•35 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews historian and author Frank Garmon, Jr. about his latest book A WONDERFUL CAREER IN CRIME: CHARLES COWLAM'S MASQUERADES IN THE CIVIL WAR ERA & GILDED AGE. Frank is an assistant professor of American studies at Christopher Newport University in Virginia.
Sep 18, 2024•35 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Nick Gardner about his new collection of linked stories titled DELINQUENTS. Nick Gardner is a writer, teacher, and recovering addict. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English from The Ohio State University in 2017 and an MFA in fiction writing from Bowling Green State University in 2021. His poetry and fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in Epiphany, Reckon Review, The Atticus Review, Ocean State Review, Fictive Dream, Tramps...
Aug 28, 2024•38 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Heather Day Gilbert about her new psychological mystery QUEEN OF HEARTS. Heather Day Gilbert, an RWA Daphne du Maurier Award winner and 2-time ECPA Christy Award finalist, enjoys writing contemporary mysteries with unpredictable twists, much like the Agatha Christie books she read growing up. She also writes Viking historicals. Her novels feature small towns, family relationships, and women who aren't afraid to protect those they ...
Aug 21, 2024•34 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author and educator Josh Eyler about his new book FAILING OUR FUTURE: HOW GRADES HARM STUDENTS, AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT. Josh is the director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and a clinical assistant professor of teacher education at the University of Mississippi. He is the author of How Humans Learn: The Science and Stories behind Effective College Teaching.
Aug 06, 2024•34 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Henry Wise about his debut crime noir thriller HOLY CITY. Henry is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and the University of Mississippi MFA Program. His work has appeared in Shenandoah, Nixes Mate, Radar Poetry, Clackamas , and elsewhere. He lives in western Virginia.
Jul 24, 2024•39 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author and journalist Dan Klefstad about his latest book DIY BOOK PROMO: HOW TO FIND READERS WITHOUT SPENDING MONEY. Dan is a longtime radio host and newscaster. His latest book helps his fellow authors find readers without spending money. It’s based on lessons from the campaign for his novel, Fiona’s Guardians, plus his broadcasting career. Dan will speak about his unique approach to book marketing this July at the Imaginarium Conventio...
Jul 11, 2024•39 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Jake Maynard about his debut novel SLIME LINE. Jake Maynard is a writer from rural Pennsylvania whose stories and essays appear in Guernica , Southern Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Electric Lit, The New Republic, The New York Times , and others. His experiences working in the commercial fishing industry inspired his debut novel, Slime Line .
Jun 05, 2024•33 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Bobi Conn about her new novel SOMEPLACE LIKE HOME. Bobi Conn is the author of A Woman in Time and the memoir In the Shadow of the Valley . Born in Morehead, Kentucky, and raised in a nearby holler, Bobi developed a deep connection with the land and her Appalachian roots. She obtained her bachelor’s degree at Berea College, the first school in the American South to integrate racially and to teach men and women in the same classroom...
May 30, 2024•38 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Russell W. Johnson about his latest novel THE MOUNTAIN MYSTIC. Russell is a fiction writer and North Carolina attorney. His debut story, "Chung Ling Soo's Greatest Trick," was published by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine in January 2015 and won the Edgar Award's Robert L. Fish Memorial prize for best short story by a new author. Since then he's been published in a number of outlets and recently won the West Virginia Writers Associa...
May 21, 2024•31 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Ellen Burkett Morris about her debut novel BEWARE THE TALL GRASS. Morris is also the author of Abide and Surrender, poetry chapbooks. Her poetry has appeared in The Clackamas Literary Review, Juked, Gastronomica, and Inscape, among other journals and in eight anthologies. Morris won top prize in the 2008 Binnacle Ultra-Short Edition and was a finalist for the 2019 and 2020 Rita Dove Poetry Prize. Her poem “Abide” was featured on N...
Apr 30, 2024•29 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author MB Mooney about his latest speculative fiction novel THE SHIELD OF THE KING. MB Mooney believes Great Stories Change the World, and he loves to live and tell great stories. In the 2nd grade, Mooney was bored and getting in trouble, so his teacher said, “Why don’t you write me a story?” He’s been writing science fiction and fantasy stories ever since. Check out his YouTube channel, Great Stories Change the World, for reviews and ti...
Apr 27, 2024•33 min