Write On Radio

Josh talks with Kate Pickett and Richard G. Wilkinson about their most recent work The Inner Level: How More Equal Societies Reduce Stress, Restore Sanity and Improve Everyone's Well-Being. The Inner Level explains how inequality affects us individually -- how it alters how we think, feel, and behave.  Then Conor interviews Steve Toutonghi about his second novel Side Life --  a dazzling, intriguing, and philosophical blend of literary science fiction. It explores explores ideas of consciousness and parallel universes.

On Tuesday January 29th, Josh will be talking with Norman Mitchell about the release of his first novel The Hidden One, a political thriller surrounding The fate of those caught up in the “Iron Cage” after World War II. In addition to writing and his fascination with history, Mitchell also enjoys reading, biking, listening to music and following politics. He and his wife live in Golden Valley, MN.  Then, we rebroadcast an interview Steve conducted with Minnesota author Leif Enger about his recent novel Virgil Wander. Virgil Wander is set in a small Minnesotan town bordering Lake Superior. With intelligent humor and captivating whimsy, Enger conjures a remarkable portrait of a region and its residents, who, for reasons of choice or circumstance, never made it out of their defunct industrial district.  Write On! Radio airs from 7-8pm CT on KFAI, 90.3 FM in Mpls/St. Paul, and on the web at www.kfai.org

On Tuesday, January 22nd, Josh will be talking with Andrew S. Curran about his latest book Diderot And The Art Of Thinking Freely. A spirited biography of the prophetic and sympathetic philosopher, Denis Diderot, who helped build the foundations of the modern world. Curran's previous books include The Anatomy of Blackness: Science and Slavery in an Age of Enlightenment, and Sublime Disorder, Physical Monstrosity in Diderot's Universe. Anna talks with Blythe Baird about the upcoming release of her poetry collection If My Body Could Speak. A celebration of girlhood and all of its struggles and triumphs, If My Body Could Speak balances the softness of femininity with the sharpness that girls are forced to become. Baird is a viral and award-winning writer who has garnered international recognition for her poems that speak out on sexual assault, mental illness, eating disorder recovery, sexuality, and healing.

On Tuesday, January 15th, Anna will be talking with Michael Bazzett about his translation of The Popul Vuh. the first English verse translation of the Mayan creation epic, this is a story of the generative power of language. A story that asks not only Where did you come from, but How might you live again? Michael Bazzett is the author of You Must Remember This, which received the 2014 Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry, and The Interrogation. Steve talks with Jacqueline West about her new middle grade fantasy The Collectors. She is also the author of the New York Times bestselling middle grade series The Books of Elsewhere and the young adult novel Dreamers Often Lie. Her debut, The Shadows, was a Junior Library Guild selection, an Indie Next List Top Ten Pick and a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award.

On Tuesday, January 8th, Write On! Radio talks with local poets Adrienne Novy, Miss K, & Chavonn Williams Shen about their recent work and publications. Novy recently published her coming of age journey through poems in Crowd Surfing with God: a story of self-acceptance that discusses growing up with a rare genetic disorder & mental illness. Miss K is an active protest poet who works and attends Hamline University. Novy and Miss K have been featured prominently as performing poets with Button Poetry. If you would like to see their readings along with the best and brightest performance poets of today, you can find their readings on buttonpoetry.com or on The Button Poetry Youtube Channel. Chavon has had her poetry appear in Footnote #4: A Literary Journal of History, A3 Review, and The Coil. Writing has shown Chavonn to use art to explore new worlds, build communities, and advocate for the marginalized. She is currently pursuing her MFA in creative writing at Hamline University, as well.

We speak with Meg Matich about Cold Moons, a poetry collection by Magnus Sigurdsson, which she translated. She is a poet and translator, and a recent recipient of the PEN/Heim Translation grant. Magnus Sigurdsson is an Icelandic poet who, in this collection, pays rare attention to the minute revelations of nature. We also talk with Jack Zipes about The Sorcerer’s Apprentice: An Anthology of Magical Tales, which he edited, as well as Tales of Wonder: Reading Fairy Tales through Picture Postcards. He is a professor at the University of Minnesota who has written extensively about fairy tales and magic in literature.

Our Christmas episode features two local writers.  Steve talks to Kate DiCamillo about her recent children's novel Louisiana's Way Home. Katrina Elizabeth "Kate" DiCamillo is an American writer of children's fiction for all reading levels, usually featuring animals. She is one of six people to win two Newbery Medals, recognizing her novels The Tale of Despereaux and Flora & Ulysses. Then he speaks to Leif Enger about Virgil Wander. It's the first in ten years from the award-winning, million-copy bestselling author. Midwestern movie house owner Virgil Wander is 'cruising along at medium altitude' when his car flies off the road into icy Lake Superior. Virgil survives but his language and memory are altered and he emerges into a world no longer familiar to him.

On Tuesday December 18th, Josh talks with Mary Desjarlais about her new novel The Cutter's Widow. Set against the backdrop of 1915 urban poverty in St. Paul, it focuses on a young widow who becomes a baby broker and partners with a local pickpocket. Ultimately, she becomes the focus of attention in a murder investigation by one of Saint Paul’s first female police officers. Mary Desjarlais's first novel published was Dorie LaValle in 2011 and re-released through Calumet Editions in the end of 2017. Her second novel, The Cutter's Widow, was also published through Calumet Editions and released in August. Conor will be talking with Chad Medellin about his recent collection of poetry. Chad is a part-owner of Caydence Records and Coffee located in St. Paul.

On Tuesday December 11th, Amy talks with David Mura about his latest work A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity & Narrative Craft in Writing, a book on creative writing that addresses our increasingly diverse American Literature. Mura is a writer, memoirist, poet and performance artist who brings a unique perspective to our multi-racial and multi-cultural society. A third-generation Japanese-American, he has written intimately about his life as a man of color and the connections between race, sexuality and history. Conor talks with John Wray about his new novel Godsend. Wray explores the circumstances that could impel a young American to abandon identity and home to become an Islamist militant, inspired by the true-life events of John Walker Lindh. Wray is a novelist and regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine and currently lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

  Ian talks with the one and only Dessa about her latest work, My Own Devices: True Stories from the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love. Rapper and singer Dessa gives a candid account of her life in the van as a hard-touring musician, her determination to beat long odds to make a name for herself, and her struggle to fall out of love with someone in her band. Conor talks with Nancy Trembley about her fictional story based on real-life experiences with The Hat Man. Since Nancy was sixteen, she has been stalked at night by a black, faceless figure in a wide brimmed hat and a long jacket. He has stalked her in Ohio, Georgia, and several locations in Germany and Minnesota. What Nancy discovered later is that she wasn't the only person who sees Him! Join us in our discussion with Nancy talking about her book The Hat Man.

Paul talks with Joseph DiPrisco about his memoirs The Pope of Brooklyn and Subway to California. By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Subway to California recounts Joe’s battles with his personal demons, bargains struck with angels, and truces with his family in this richly colorful tale that reads like great fiction. In his follow-up memoir, The Pope of Brooklyn,  Di Prisco memorably traces how secrets revealed about his family led to even deeper mysteries. He's the author of the novels All for Now, The Confessions of Brother Eli, and Sibella & Sibella. Steve talks with Kate DiCamillo about her newest children's book Louisiana's Way Home. the heartbreakingly irresistible Louisiana Elefante was introduced to readers in Raymie Nightingale — and now, with humor and tenderness, Kate DiCamillo returns to tell her story. Kate is a former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and a two-time winner of the Newbery Medal, for The Tale of Despereaux and Flora & Ulysses. She lives in Minneapolis whe

Steve talks with Minnesota's own Leif Enger about his new novel Virgil Wander. Leif Enger worked as a reporter and producer for Minnesota Public Radio before writing his bestselling and award-winning debut novel Peace Like a River. His second novel, So Brave, Young, and Handsome was also a bestseller. Anna speaks with Mike Corrao, also a Minnesotan, about his new novel Man, Oh Man – a humorous but insightful experiment that will have you questioning how you've always approached novels. Mike Corrao is a writer and filmmaker whose work has been featured in publications such as Entropy, Always Crashing and The Portland Review.

Conor talks with Gary Lindberg about his new biography on Elvis Presley titled Letters from Elvis: Shocking Revelations to His Secret Confidante. Letters from Elvis is an explosive revelation of Elvis’s inner life, an exposé of heinous Hollywood crimes that targeted Elvis, a touching tale of friendship, an eerie ghost story, and a series of startling new Elvis mysteries. Because rigorous copyright laws prevent direct publication of the actual letters, the book also tells the story of the author’s thirty-year struggle to bring this new information about Elvis to light. Liz talks with Amy Hallberg about her memoir German Awakening: Tales from an American Life. A small-town teacher's kid, little sister of a genius, Amy Hallberg dreamed of escape by way of a West German exchange in 1987. The resulting friendship with her exchange sister, Eva, awakened a lifelong quest to understand all things German. She soon discovered the most profound lessons were notes to self, delivered not in German, but in her own mother

We speak with Mira Bartok about her new children’s novel The Wonderling. She is the author of numerous books, including The Memory Palace: A Memoir, which won the 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography. We also talk with Douglas Schofield about his new novel Killing Pace, a mystery about a woman with amnesia who is held prisoner by a man claiming to be her boyfriend. Douglas Schofield is also the author of Time of Departure and Storm Rising.

Liz talks with Dianna Hunter about her memoir Wild Mares: My Lesbian Back-to-the-Land Life. A firsthand account of the lesbian feminist movement at its inception, Wild Mares is a deeply personal, wryly wise, and always engaging view of identity politics lived and learned in real life and, literally, on the ground, flourishing in the fertile soil of a struggling dairy farm in the American heartland. Dianna Hunter is the author of the book and radio series Breaking Hard Ground: Stories of the Minnesota Farm Advocates. She taught writing and women’s and gender studies at four universities, including the University of Wisconsin–Superior, where she was a lecturer and director until she retired in 2012. Steve talks with Lou Berney about his most recent novel November Road. A thriller and love story set against the backdrop of the JFK assassination, it centers on a desperate cat-and-mouse chase across 1960s America—a story of unexpected connections, daring possibilities, and the hope of second chances from the Edgar

Liz talks with Suzanne Schiffman about her new murder mystery Between a Rock and a Dark Place, surrounding the death of a French entrepreneur in a rural American backwater. She has degrees in journalism and French and has been writing most of my life. She lives with her husband in rural Virginia and on Amelia Island, Florida. When not writing, she is either walking, hiking, biking, reading or traveling. Conor interview Meghan O'Gieblyn on her collection of essays titled Interior States. Meghan is a writer who was raised and still lives in the Midwest. Her essays have appeared in Harper's Magazine, n+1,The Point, The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker, Best American Essays 2017, and the Pushcart Prize anthology. She received a B.A. in English from Loyola University, Chicago and an MFA in Fiction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her husband.

Liz talks with Gary Morganstein about his new novel A Mound Over Hell, a post-apocalyptic book about baseball, in which America has nearly been wiped out by radical Islam, and where holograms run the bases for out-of-shape players. Gary Morganstein is the author of many books, including Jesse's Girl, Loving Rabbi Thalia Kleinman, How to Find a Woman...or Not, and Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Conor will be interviewing Amy Bonnaffons about her story collection The Wrong Heaven, which straddles the line between the real and the fantastical. Her stories uncover the mysteries beneath the mundane surfaces of our lives. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Kenyon Review, and has been read on This American Life.

We are having another Pledge Drive Episode. We will be asking for your support in keeping community radio alive while we share our personal experiences being involved with KFAI, Write On! Radio!, and maybe even hear us share our own writing on the air. Liz will be interviewing Jenni Walsh for her recent work Side By Side: A Novel of Bonnie & Clyde. Jenni L. Walsh has spent the past decade enticing readers as an award-winning advertising copywriter. Her passion lies in transporting readers to another world, be it in historical or contemporary settings. She is a proud graduate of Villanova University, and lives in the Philly 'burbs with her husband, daughter, son, and goldendoodle. She is the author of Becoming Bonnie.

Anne talks with Emily France about her Young Adult novel Zen and Gone. Emily France is the critically acclaimed young adult author of Signs of You. She graduated from Brown University and also holds an MFA in Creative Writing and a JD. She lives in sunny Colorado with her husband and son. Her Zen practice is the taproot of her inspiration. Connect with her online at emilyfrancebooks.com. Liz talks with Siobhan Adcock about her latest novel of speculative fiction The Completionist. In a near future in which plummeting birth rates have ominous political and personal implications for women, a young man's search for his missing sister leads him into a disturbing and desperate underworld, where bitter freedoms are bought at a terrible price. Entertainment Weekly ranked it as one of the "10 prescient new feminist dystopias to read after The Handmaid's Tale". Siobhan is also the author of The Barter, 30 Things Everyone Should Know How to Do Before Turning 30, and Hipster Haiku.

We speak with Keziah Frost about her debut novel The Reluctant Fortune Teller, which is about friendship, small acts of kindness and recognizing one’s talents. She holds a master’s degree in English and counseling, and works as a psychotherapist who specializes in pet grief. We also talk with Lisa Carrico, who is the Director of Family and Veteran Programs for the Missouri Humanities Council. She coordinates Veterans Writing Workshops in the state of Missouri and her organization partners with Southeast Missouri State University Press on Proud to Be: An Anthology of American Warriors, an annual writing contest and anthology which features the work of veterans and family members of veterans.