Interviews

Amanda Ward

Amanda Ward

Amanda Eyre Ward was born in New York City and attended Williams College and the University of Montana. Her novels and short story collections include Sleep Toward Heaven, which was optioned by Sandra Bullock and Fox Searchlight, How To Be Lost, Forgive Me, and Love Stories In This Town. Amanda's work has been published in fifteen countries. Her new novel, Close Your Eyes, will be published by Random House in July, 2011.

Amanda Ward

Amanda Ward

Amanda Eyre Ward was born in New York City and attended Williams College and the University of Montana. Her novels and short story collections include Sleep Toward Heaven, which was optioned by Sandra Bullock and Fox Searchlight, How To Be Lost, Forgive Me, and Love Stories In This Town. Amanda's work has been published in fifteen countries. Her new novel, Close Your Eyes, will be published by Random House in July, 2011.

Amanda
Ward

Beverly Lowry

Beverly Lowry

Beverly Lowry was born in Memphis, grew up in Greenville, Mississippi and now lives in Austin where she is working on a book about another case of multiple murder, the unsolved killings of four young girls in Austin in 1991, in I Can't Believe It's Yogurt Shop. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEA fellowship and the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence, she is the author of six novels and three books of nonfiction, she teaches at George Mason University and is currently Writer-in-Residence at Goucher College in Baltimore.

Beverly Lowry

Beverly Lowry

Beverly Lowry was born in Memphis, grew up in Greenville, Mississippi and now lives in Austin where she is working on a book about another case of multiple murder, the unsolved killings of four young girls in Austin in 1991, in I Can't Believe It's Yogurt Shop. The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, an NEA fellowship and the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence, she is the author of six novels and three books of nonfiction, she teaches at George Mason University and is currently Writer-in-Residence at Goucher College in Baltimore.

Beverly
Lowry

Diana Joseph

Diana Joseph

Diana Joseph is the author of the short story collection Happy or Otherwise (Carnegie Mellon UP 2003) and I'm Sorry You Feel That Way: The Astonishing But True Story of a Daughter, Sister, Slut, Wife, Mother and Friend to Man and Dog (Putnam 2009.) Her work has appeared in Threepenny Review, Willow Springs, Marie Claire, Country Living and Best Sex Writing 2009. She teaches in the MFA program at Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minnesota.

Diana Joseph

Diana Joseph

Diana Joseph is the author of the short story collection Happy or Otherwise (Carnegie Mellon UP 2003) and I'm Sorry You Feel That Way: The Astonishing But True Story of a Daughter, Sister, Slut, Wife, Mother and Friend to Man and Dog (Putnam 2009.) Her work has appeared in Threepenny Review, Willow Springs, Marie Claire, Country Living and Best Sex Writing 2009. She teaches in the MFA program at Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minnesota.

Diana
Joseph

Jackie Shannon Hollis

Jackie Shannon Hollis

Jackie Shannon Hollis grew up surrounded by wheat fields, four siblings, horses, cows, pigs, sheep, dogs, cats, fowl, and even a fawn for a short while, on the Oregon ranch that her great-grandfather homesteaded. She currently lives in Portland. Her writing has been described as natural and graceful, with an unassuming approach to character. Short stories and essays by Hollis have appeared in literary journals, including The Sun, The Rambler, Rosebud, South Dakota Review, Inkwell, Flashquake, High Desert Journal, and Oregon Literary Review. Her work has been recognized for several awards and she has been a writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook. Her novel-in-progress, At the Wheat Line, is near completion.

Jackie Shannon Hollis

Jackie Shannon Hollis

Jackie Shannon Hollis grew up surrounded by wheat fields, four siblings, horses, cows, pigs, sheep, dogs, cats, fowl, and even a fawn for a short while, on the Oregon ranch that her great-grandfather homesteaded. She currently lives in Portland. Her writing has been described as natural and graceful, with an unassuming approach to character. Short stories and essays by Hollis have appeared in literary journals, including The Sun, The Rambler, Rosebud, South Dakota Review, Inkwell, Flashquake, High Desert Journal, and Oregon Literary Review. Her work has been recognized for several awards and she has been a writer-in-residence at Hedgebrook. Her novel-in-progress, At the Wheat Line, is near completion.

Jackie Shannon
Hollis

Jenifer Vernon

Jenifer Vernon

Jenifer Rae Vernon's first book of poetry Rock Candy was published by West End Press in 2009. Rock Candy received the Tillie Olsen Award as the best book of creative writing that insightfully represents working class life and culture from the Working Class Studies Association, SUNY, Stony Brook, in June of 2010. In August of 2009, Garrison Keillor selected a poem from the collection, Blackberry Pie to perform on Writers Almanac. And in October of 2010, Keillor selected a second poem from the book, Ketchican Wrestling for Writers Alamanac. Currently, Vernon lives in Juneau, Alaska with her husband and teaches Communication at the University of Alaska Southeast.

Jenifer Vernon

Jenifer Vernon

Jenifer Rae Vernon's first book of poetry Rock Candy was published by West End Press in 2009. Rock Candy received the Tillie Olsen Award as the best book of creative writing that insightfully represents working class life and culture from the Working Class Studies Association, SUNY, Stony Brook, in June of 2010. In August of 2009, Garrison Keillor selected a poem from the collection, Blackberry Pie to perform on Writers Almanac. And in October of 2010, Keillor selected a second poem from the book, Ketchican Wrestling for Writers Alamanac. Currently, Vernon lives in Juneau, Alaska with her husband and teaches Communication at the University of Alaska Southeast.

Jenifer
Vernon

John Grogan

John Grogan

A native of Detroit, John Grogan spent more than 20 years as an investigative reporter and columnist, most recently at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He also is the former editor of Rodales Organic Gardening magazine. His first book, Marley & Me, was a #1 New York Times bestseller with six million copies in print in more than 30 languages. It was made into a movie starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. Grogan's second book, The Longest Trip Home, also a national bestseller, explores the author's loving but complicated relationship with his devout Irish Catholic parents. John lives with his wife and three children in eastern Pennsylvania.

John Grogan

John Grogan

A native of Detroit, John Grogan spent more than 20 years as an investigative reporter and columnist, most recently at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He also is the former editor of Rodales Organic Gardening magazine. His first book, Marley & Me, was a #1 New York Times bestseller with six million copies in print in more than 30 languages. It was made into a movie starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston. Grogan's second book, The Longest Trip Home, also a national bestseller, explores the author's loving but complicated relationship with his devout Irish Catholic parents. John lives with his wife and three children in eastern Pennsylvania.

John
Grogan

Kazim Ali

Kazim Ali

Kazim Ali has worked as a political organizer, lobbyist, and yoga instructor. His books include three volumes of poetry, The Far Mosque, The Fortieth Day, and the mixed genre Bright Felon: Autobiography and Cities, two novels Quinns Passage and The Disappearance of Seth, and two collections of essays, Orange Alert: Essays on Poetry, Art and the Architecture of Silence, and Fasting for Ramadan: Notes from a Spiritual Practice. Forthcoming is his translation of Waters Footfall by Iranian poet Sohrab Sepehri. Founding Editor of Nightboat Books, he teaches in the Creative Writing and Comparative Literature programs at Oberlin College and in 2009 he received an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council.

Kazim Ali

Kazim Ali

Kazim Ali has worked as a political organizer, lobbyist, and yoga instructor. His books include three volumes of poetry, The Far Mosque, The Fortieth Day, and the mixed genre Bright Felon: Autobiography and Cities, two novels Quinns Passage and The Disappearance of Seth, and two collections of essays, Orange Alert: Essays on Poetry, Art and the Architecture of Silence, and Fasting for Ramadan: Notes from a Spiritual Practice. Forthcoming is his translation of Waters Footfall by Iranian poet Sohrab Sepehri. Founding Editor of Nightboat Books, he teaches in the Creative Writing and Comparative Literature programs at Oberlin College and in 2009 he received an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council.

Kazim
Ali

Kevin Prufer

Kevin Prufer

Kevin Prufer is the author of five poetry collections, the most recent of which are In a Beautiful Country (Four Way Books, 2011) and National Anthem (Four Way Books, 2008), named one of the five best poetry books of the year by Publishers Weekly. He's also editor of, among others, New European Poets (Graywolf, 2008; w/Wayne Miller) and Dunstan Thompson: on the Life & Work of a Lost American Master (Unsung Masters Series, 2010; w/D.A. Powell). The recipient of numerous national awards for poetry, he is Professor of English in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston.

Kevin Prufer

Kevin Prufer

Kevin Prufer is the author of five poetry collections, the most recent of which are In a Beautiful Country (Four Way Books, 2011) and National Anthem (Four Way Books, 2008), named one of the five best poetry books of the year by Publishers Weekly. He's also editor of, among others, New European Poets (Graywolf, 2008; w/Wayne Miller) and Dunstan Thompson: on the Life & Work of a Lost American Master (Unsung Masters Series, 2010; w/D.A. Powell). The recipient of numerous national awards for poetry, he is Professor of English in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Houston.

Kevin
Prufer

Marge Piercy

Marge Piercy

Marge Piercy is the author of 18 collections of poetry, most recently The Crooked Inheritence and this spring, her second volume of new and selected poems 1980-2010 The Hunger Moon, out from Knopf. She has published 17 novels, most recently Sex Wars. Two of her early novels, Dance The Eangle To Sleep and Vida, are being republished with new introductions by PM Press this fall. Her work has been translated into 19 languages. Her memoir Sleeping With Cats is available from Harper Perennial.

Marge Piercy

Marge Piercy

Marge Piercy is the author of 18 collections of poetry, most recently The Crooked Inheritence and this spring, her second volume of new and selected poems 1980-2010 The Hunger Moon, out from Knopf. She has published 17 novels, most recently Sex Wars. Two of her early novels, Dance The Eangle To Sleep and Vida, are being republished with new introductions by PM Press this fall. Her work has been translated into 19 languages. Her memoir Sleeping With Cats is available from Harper Perennial.

Marge
Piercy

Maria Flook

Maria Flook

Maria Flook is a 2007 Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, is Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at Emerson College. She is the author of the nonfiction books, My Sister Life: The Story of My Sister's Disappearance, (Pantheon, 1998) and New York Times Bestseller, Invisible Eden: A Story of Love and Murder on Cape Cod (Broadway Books, 2003). Her fiction includes the novels Lux (Little, Brown and Company, 2004), Open Water (Pantheon, 1995), Family Night (Pantheon, 1993), which received a PEN American/Ernest Hemingway Foundation Special Citation, and a collection of stories, You Have the Wrong Man (Pantheon, 1996). She has also published two collections of poetry, Sea Room and Reckless Wedding, winner of the Houghton Mifflin New Poetry Series.

Maria Flook

Maria Flook

Maria Flook is a 2007 Guggenheim Foundation Fellow, is Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at Emerson College. She is the author of the nonfiction books, My Sister Life: The Story of My Sister's Disappearance, (Pantheon, 1998) and New York Times Bestseller, Invisible Eden: A Story of Love and Murder on Cape Cod (Broadway Books, 2003). Her fiction includes the novels Lux (Little, Brown and Company, 2004), Open Water (Pantheon, 1995), Family Night (Pantheon, 1993), which received a PEN American/Ernest Hemingway Foundation Special Citation, and a collection of stories, You Have the Wrong Man (Pantheon, 1996). She has also published two collections of poetry, Sea Room and Reckless Wedding, winner of the Houghton Mifflin New Poetry Series.

Maria
Flook

Rishma Dunlop

Rishma Dunlop

Rishma Dunlop is an award-winning Canadian poet, playwright, essayist, and translator. She is the author of four books of poetry: White Album, Metropolis, Reading Like a Girl, and The Body of My Garden. Her publications as editor include Art, Literature, and Place: An Ecopoetics Reader, White Ink: Poems on Mothers and Motherhood, and Red Silk: An Anthology of South Asian Canadian Women Poets. She was awarded the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Research Chair in Creative Writing at Arizona State University (2009-2010). Her new book, Lover Through Departure: New and Selected Poems, will be published in fall 2011. She is a professor of English and Creative Writing at York University, Toronto.

Rishma Dunlop

Rishma Dunlop

Rishma Dunlop is an award-winning Canadian poet, playwright, essayist, and translator. She is the author of four books of poetry: White Album, Metropolis, Reading Like a Girl, and The Body of My Garden. Her publications as editor include Art, Literature, and Place: An Ecopoetics Reader, White Ink: Poems on Mothers and Motherhood, and Red Silk: An Anthology of South Asian Canadian Women Poets. She was awarded the Canada-U.S. Fulbright Research Chair in Creative Writing at Arizona State University (2009-2010). Her new book, Lover Through Departure: New and Selected Poems, will be published in fall 2011. She is a professor of English and Creative Writing at York University, Toronto.

Rishma
Dunlop

Rose Bunch

Rose Bunch

Rose Bunch's fiction and nonfiction has appeared in Tin House, New Letters, Gulf Coast, River Styx, Fugue, Poem, Memoir, Story, and Speed Chronicles, a multi-author collection coming this fall. Winner of the 2010 New Letters Dorothy C. Chappon essay contest, a Pushcart Prize Nominee and third prize winner of the Playboy Fiction Contest, she received her MFA from the University of Montana and will complete a PhD at Florida State University in fall of 2011. As a Fulbright Full Grant Scholar to Indonesia she spent the 2010-2011 academic year in Bali, and is completing a novel set in her homeland, the Arkansas Ozarks.

Rose Bunch

Rose Bunch

Rose Bunch's fiction and nonfiction has appeared in Tin House, New Letters, Gulf Coast, River Styx, Fugue, Poem, Memoir, Story, and Speed Chronicles, a multi-author collection coming this fall. Winner of the 2010 New Letters Dorothy C. Chappon essay contest, a Pushcart Prize Nominee and third prize winner of the Playboy Fiction Contest, she received her MFA from the University of Montana and will complete a PhD at Florida State University in fall of 2011. As a Fulbright Full Grant Scholar to Indonesia she spent the 2010-2011 academic year in Bali, and is completing a novel set in her homeland, the Arkansas Ozarks.

Rose
Bunch

Sloane Crosley

Sloane Crosley

Sloane Crosley is the author of The New York Times bestsellers I Was Told There'd Be Cake, which was a finalist for The Thurber Prize, and How Did You Get This Number. She is also a weekly columnist for The Independent in the UK and editor of The Best American Travel Essays 2011. She lives in Manhattan, where she is a regular contributor to GQ, The New York Times, National Public Radio and the inexplicably vast and varied collection of granolas in her kitchen cabinet.

Sloane Crosley

Sloane Crosley

Sloane Crosley is the author of The New York Times bestsellers I Was Told There'd Be Cake, which was a finalist for The Thurber Prize, and How Did You Get This Number. She is also a weekly columnist for The Independent in the UK and editor of The Best American Travel Essays 2011. She lives in Manhattan, where she is a regular contributor to GQ, The New York Times, National Public Radio and the inexplicably vast and varied collection of granolas in her kitchen cabinet.

Sloane
Crosley