On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author John Copenhaver about his latest novel HALL OF MIRRORS. won the 2019 Macavity Award for Best First Mystery for Dodging and Burning and the 2021 Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery for The Savage Kind. He is a co-founder of Queer Crime Writers and an at-large board member of Mystery Writers of America. He cohosts on the House of Mystery Radio Show. He’s a faculty mentor in the University of Nebraska’s Low-Residency MFA program a...
Mar 27, 2024•39 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Karen Spears Zacharias about her new novel NO PERFECT MOTHERS. Karen Spears Zacharias is an American writer whose work focuses on women and justice. She holds an MA in Appalachian Studies from Shepherd University and an MA in Creative Media Practice from the University of West Scotland. She lives at the foot of the Cascade Mountains in Deschutes County, Oregon. Zacharias taught First-Amendment Rights at Central Washington Universi...
Mar 12, 2024•39 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews western author R.G. Yoho about his latest western BITTER WATER. R.G. Yoho is a West Virginia native with a passion for history and tales of the American West. Raised on a cattle farm, he is the prolific author of multiple Western novels, along with works of fiction and nonfiction. Yoho is a former president of the West Virginia Writers. Living with his wife near the banks of the Ohio River, Yoho is also a proud member of the Western Writ...
Nov 29, 2023•28 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Carter Taylor Seaton about her latest novel GUILT. Carter Taylor Seaton is the author of three novels: Father's Troubles (Mid-Atlantic Highlands Pub, 2022); amo, amas, amat.an unconventional love story (CreateSpace Independent, 2011); and The Other Morgans (Koehler Books, 2020), as well as numerous magazine articles, and several essays and short stories. Her non-fiction works include Hippie Homesteaders (West Virginia University P...
Nov 14, 2023•32 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Chris McGinley about his new novel ONCE THESE HILLS. Chris lives in Lexington, Kentucky where he writes crime fiction set in the hills of Appalachia and teaches middle school social studies and English. His story "Hellbenders" made the "Other Distinguished Stories of 2018" list in BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES of 2019. His work has appeared in Mystery Tribune, Mystery Weekly, Tough, Pulp Modern, Switchblade, and on other sites and...
Oct 10, 2023•36 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Susan Zurenda about her second novel THE GIRL FROM THE RED ROSE MOTEL. Susan taught English for thirty-three years to college and high school students. Her debut novel, BELLS FOR ELI, has received several awards including first place for Best First Book--Fiction in the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards. Zurenda has also published and won numerous awards for her short fiction. A life-long South Carolinian, she lives in Spartan...
Sep 13, 2023•31 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, David Joy returns to the program to discuss his latest novel THOSE WE THOUGHT WE KNEW. David is the author of When These Mountains Burn (winner of the 2020 Dashiell Hammett Award), The Line That Held Us (winner of the 2018 SIBA Book Prize), The Weight of This World, and Where All Light Tends to Go (Edgar finalist for Best First Novel). Joy lives in Tuckasegee, North Carolina.
Sep 05, 2023•41 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Kelly Ford about her latest thriller THE HUNT. Kelly Ford is the author of Real Bad Things and the award-winning Cottonmouths , a novel of “impressive depths of character and setting” according to the Los Angeles Review , which named it one of its Best Books of 2017. An Arkansas native, Kelly writes crime fiction set in the Ozarks and the Arkansas River Valley.
Aug 29, 2023•36 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot welcomes back author Meagan Lucas to talk about her new short story collection HERE IN THE DARK. Meagan Lucas is the author of the award-winning novel, Songbirds and Stray Dogs (2019) and the forthcoming collection, Here in the Dark (Shotgun Honey, July 2023). Meagan’s short work can be found in places like Santa Fe Writers’ Project, Still: The Journal, Bull Magazine, Change Seven, and Pithead Chapel. Meagan is Pushcart, Best of the Net, Derringer,...
Aug 15, 2023•35 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author M. Hendrix about her young adult debut novel THE CHAPERONE. M Hendrix is the author of two previous books. She lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky, with her husband, novelist David Bell. The Chaperone is her YA debut.
Aug 08, 2023•30 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Jim Minick about his latest non-fiction work: WITHOUT WARNING: THE TORNADO OF UDALL, KANSAS. Jim is the author or editor of seven books, including the award-winning Fire Is Your Water and The Blueberry Years: A Memoir of Farm and Family. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Poets and Writers, Oxford American, Orion, and Shenandoah.
Jul 11, 2023•33 min
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews poet Susan O'Dell Underwood about her latest collection titled SPLINTER. Susan O'Dell Underwood is a native of East Tennessee, where she has lived most of her life. She's the director of creative writing at Carson-Newman University. She has published one earlier collection, The Book of Awe (Iris Press, 2018), a novel, Genesis Road (Madville Publishing, 2022), and two chapbooks. Her poems and fiction have appeared in journals and antholog...
Jun 13, 2023•29 min•Season 6Ep. 11
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Michael Farris Smith about his latest novel SALVAGE THIS WORLD. Michael Farris Smith is an award-winning writer whose novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists with Esquire, NPR, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Book Riot, and numerous other outlets, and have been named Indie Next, Barnes & Noble Discover, and Amazon Best of the Month selections. He has also written the feature-film adaptations of his novels Desperation...
Jun 06, 2023•37 min•Season 6Ep. 10
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Russell Johnson about his latest crime thriller THE MOONSHINE MESSIAH: A MOUNTAINEER MYSTERY. 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 th...
May 17, 2023•29 min•Season 6Ep. 10
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Ohio crime fiction author Andrew Welsh-Huggins about his latest thriller THE END OF THE ROAD. Andrew is a former reporter for the Associated Press, editor of “Columbus Noir” and author of the Andy Hayes detective series; “An Empty Grave,” the seventh book, was nominated for a Shamus Award in the Best Original Paperback PI Novel category by the Private Eye Writers of America.
Apr 25, 2023•34 min•Season 6Ep. 8
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Travis Rountree about his new book "Hillsville Remembered: Public Memory, Historical Silence, and Appalachia's Most Notorious Shoot-Out."Travis an assistant professor of English at Western Carolina University. His writings have appeared in North Carolina Folklore Journal, Appalachian Journal, Journal of Southern History, and Storytelling in Queer Appalachia: Imagining and Writing the Unspeakable Other.
Apr 05, 2023•39 min•Season 6Ep. 7
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews suspense and thriller writer Trace Conger about his new book THE WICKED SIDE. Trace Conger is an award-winning author in the crime, thriller, and suspense genres. He writes the Connor Harding (Thriller) series and the Mr. Finn (PI) series. His Connor Harding series follows freelance “Mirage Man” Connor Harding as he solves problems for the world’s most dangerous criminals. The Mr. Finn series follows private investigator Finn Harding as ...
Mar 31, 2023•33 min•Season 6Ep. 5
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews Affrilachian poet, educator, and children's book author Frank X. Walker about his latest children's book A IS FOR AFFRILACHIA. A native of Danville, Kentucky, Frank X Walker is the first African American writer to be named Kentucky Poet Laureate. Walker has published eleven collections of poetry, including Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers, which was awarded the 2014 NAACP Image Award for Poetry and the Black Caucus American ...
Feb 28, 2023•30 min•Season 6Ep. 4
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot speaks with historian Lindsay Chervinsky about the latest book she edited with Dr. Matthew Costello titled MOURNING THE PRESIDENTS: LOSS ANS LEGACY IN AMERICAN CULTURE. Lindsay is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Presidential Studies at Southern Methodist University and she teaches about the presidency at the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University. Her columns can be found at Governing and Washington Monthly, and she co...
Feb 21, 2023•39 min•Season 6Ep. 4
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot speaks with editor and nonfiction author Wendy Welch about her latest book "Masks, Misinformation, and Making Do: Appalachian Health-Care Workers and the COVID-19 Pandemic." Wendy is the executive director of the Southwest Virginia Graduate Medical Education Consortium and the author, coauthor, or editor of six books, including Fall or Fly: The Strangely Hopeful Story of Foster Care and Adoption in Appalachia (also from Ohio University Press). She ...
Jan 31, 2023•36 min•Season 6Ep. 2
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews fiction author Ramona Reeves about her latest short story collection IT FALLS GENTLY ALL AROUND, winner of the 2022 True Heinz Literature Prize. Ramona grew up in Alabama. She has won the Nancy D. Hargrove Editors’ Prize and been an A Room of Her Own fellow and a resident at the Kimmel Nelson Harding Center for the Arts. Her writing has appeared in the Southampton Review , New South , Bayou Magazine , Texas Highways , and others....
Jan 10, 2023•33 min•Season 6Ep. 1
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Mary Hazen Ynigues about her new book CHRISTMAS EVE IN THE MOUNTAIN STATE. Mary is a is a pun poet who believes in the moxie of the Mountain State! She served on Elkins City Council and earned two degrees in history with a thesis on an Appalachian Mine Wars community. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, Marly lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, with her spouse Keola and their cats.
Dec 06, 2022•34 min•Season 5Ep. 23
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot speaks with horror author Andy Davidson about his latest novel THE HOLLOW KIND. Andy is the Bram Stoker Award nominated author of In the Valley of the Sun and The Boatman's Daughter, which was listed among NPR's Best Books of 2020, the New York Public Library's Best Adult Books of the Year, and Library Journal's Best Horror of 2020. Born and raised in Arkansas, he makes his home in Georgia with his wife and a bunch of cats.
Nov 22, 2022•35 min•Season 5Ep. 21
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews poet Sara Moore Wagner about her latest collection HILLBILLY MADONNA. Sara is the author of Swan Wife (winner of the 2021 Cider Press Review Editor's Prize), a recipient of a 2022 Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council, a 2021 National Poetry Series Finalist, and the recipient of a 2019 Sustainable Arts Foundation award. She is the author of the chapbooks Tumbling After (Redbird, 2022) and Hooked Through (Five Oaks Press,...
Nov 15, 2022•36 min•Season 5Ep. 20
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews YA author Kevin Dunn about his latest book VICIOUS IS MY MIDDLE NAME. Kevin is in several bands, runs a small record label, publishes zines, and writes for Razorcake magazine. He also works at a small liberal arts college, where he teaches and publishes on a range of topics from African politics to international relations to global punk. He and his family split their time between Western New York state and Western North Carolina. Vicious...
Oct 11, 2022•30 min•Season 5Ep. 19
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews poet Thomas Richardson. Thomas is a teacher and writer. Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and raised in Columbus, Mississippi, he earned his bachelor's degree from Millsaps College and master's degrees from Vanderbilt University and Mississippi University for Women. He teaches English at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus, where he resides with his wife Hillary, son Emmett, and their pets.
Oct 04, 2022•35 min•Season 5Ep. 19
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot speaks with author and linguist Dr. Michael Rost about his latest book THE JOURNEY HOME: PORTRAITS OF HEALING. Michael is a renowned American linguist, specializing in psycholinguistics, language acquisition, language loss, in dementia. He has worked on language project in multiple countries and government institutions. Formerly a professor of linguistics, he currently lives in San Francisco as an independent scholar and author.
Sep 27, 2022•35 min•Season 5Ep. 18
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Rebecca Bernard about her new short story collection OUR SISTER WHO WILL NOT DIE. Rebecca is an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Angelo State University. Her work has appeared in Colorado Review, Southwest Review, Juked, Pleiades, and elsewhere and has been recognized in Best American Short Stories.
Sep 13, 2022•38 min•Season 5Ep. 18
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews author Culley Holderfield about his debut novel HEMLOCK HOLLOW. Culley learned to love storytelling on the porch of a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. After graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, he ventured to South America, Africa, and Europe. When not writing or working in community development finance, he spends his time hiking, paddling, and pondering in the outdoors. His short stories and poetry have appeared in a variety of pub...
Aug 30, 2022•29 min•Season 5Ep. 17
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews mystery author Kelly J. Ford about her latest novel REAL BAD THINGS. Kelly J. Ford is the author of the award-winning Cottonmouths , a novel of “impressive depths of character and setting” according to the Los Angeles Review , which named it one of their Best Books of 2017. An Arkansas native, Kelly writes about the power and pitfalls of friendship, the danger of long-held secrets, and the transcendent grittiness of the Ozarks and their ...
Aug 16, 2022•30 min•Season 5Ep. 16
