In this episode, Vanessa and Alyssa discuss All the Rage by Rosamond S. King (Nightboat Books). V-book: https://rosamondsking.black/V-Book
CN: Violence against Black people; police violence; gun violence; rape/sexual assault
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Media Mentioned:
Portrait of an Unknown Lady by María Gainza, translated by Thomas Bunstead (Catapult)
Some of My Best Friends by Tajja Isen (Atria Books/Simon & Schuster) - 029: First-Half 2022 Releases
013: Buddy Reads: Wound from the Mouth of a Wound
"Going It Alone" by Rahawa Haile (Outside)
Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, trans. Anton Hur (Honford Star)
Violets by Kyung-sook Shin, trans. Anton Hur (Feminist Press)
I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Sehee, trans. Anton Hur (Bloomsbury)
In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa chat about post-grad life, including current/recent reads, planned writing projects, employment, hobbies, and more!
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Media Mentioned:
Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard (HarperTeen)
CN: War (colonialism), violence, police violence, death, alcohol use
Incendiary + Illusionary by Zoraida Córdova (Disney-Hyperion)
Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab (Tor Books)
CN: war, violence, death, alcohol use, sexual content
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (Tor Books)
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (Gallery/Saga Press)
CN: violence
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark (Tor)
CN: Death, racism/colorism, violence, police violence
Nuclear Family by Joseph Han (Counterpoint Press)
CN: Drug use (weed)
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (Tor Books)
CN: Violence, war
In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa discuss Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories From The Twenty-First Century, edited by Alice Wong (Vintage).
Essays Discussed:
“The Erasure of Indigenous People in Chronic Illness” by Jen Deerinwater
CN: Settler colonialism, genocide, racism, sexism, ableism, erasure, sexual assault, violence, suicide, suicidal ideation
“While You Are Waiting to Be Healed” by June Eric-Udorie
“The Isolation of Being Deaf in Prison” by Jeremy Woody
CN: Sexual assault, language deprivation, isolation, incarceration, trauma, audism
“Common Cyborg” by Jillian Weise
CN: Hate, misogyny, harassment, rape threats, death threats, racis, suicide, sterilization, ableism, eugenics
“How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage” by Elsa Sjunneson
“Why My Novel Is Dedicated to My Disabled Friend Maddy” by A. H. Reaume
“So. Not. Broken.” by Alice Sheppard
"The Beauty of Spaces Created for and by Disabled People" by s.e. smith
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Media Mentioned:
Speculative Fiction for Dreamers: A Latinx Anthology, edited by Alex Hernandez, Matthew David Goodwin, and Sarah Rafael García (Mad Creek Books)
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (Tor)
“I Needed to Know if My Favorite Books Were Products of Cultural Appropriation” by Cindy Fazzi (Electric Literature)
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (Tor)
Vanessa and Alyssa discuss their more anticipated releases for the first half of 2022
"Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2022" & "61 Books By Women of Color to Read in 2022" by R.O. Kwon
I. The Octopus Museum by Brenda Shaughnessy | Odes to Lithium by Shira Erlichman | Deadline City | Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - II. Constellation Route by Matthew Olzmann | Fresh Banana Leaves: Healing Indigenous Landscapes Through Indigenous Science by Jessica Hernandez | Goliath by Tochi Onyebuchi | Violeta by Isabel Allende | The Employees: A Workplace Novel of the 22nd Century by Olga Ravn, trans. by Martin Aitken | Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu | Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda, trans. Sarah Booker | Reclaim the Stars: Seven Tales Across Time and Space, ed. Zoraida Córdova | Gallant by V.E. Schwab | The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories edited and collected by Yu Chen and Regina Kanyu Wang | Overdue: Reckoning with the Public Library by Amanda Oliver | "Library as Infrastructure" by Shannon Mattern | The Promise of Access by Daniel Greene | Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong | Night Sky with Exit Wound | True Biz by Sara Nović | Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li | Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service by Tajja Isen | The Trees Witness Everything by Victoria Chang | Siren Queen by Nghi Vo | Empress of Salt and Fortune | Swallowed Light by Michael Wasson | Neruda on the Park by Cleyvis Natera | Woman of Light: A Novel by Kali Fajardo-Anstine | Sabrina & Corina | III. "Why PhDs Need to Study Creative Writing" by Anthony Ocampo | Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses
In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa review their 2021 in books and writing.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Media Mentioned:
Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong (McElderry Books)
“Twitter vs. MFA” by Denne Michele Norris (Electric Literature)
Wound from the Mouth of a Wound by torrin a. greathouse (Milkweed Editions)
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatatil (Milkweed Editions)
Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (One World)
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong (McElderry Books)
When My Brother Was an Aztec by Natalie Díaz (Copper Canyon Press)
A House Made of Water by Michelle Lin (Sibling Rivalry Press)
Multiply/Divide: On the American Real and Surreal by Wendy S. Walters (Sarabande Books)
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet Books)
Spinning by Tillie Walden (First Second)
Kingdom Animalia by Aracelis Girmay (BOA Editions)
Bestiary by K-Ming Chang (One World)
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (Usborne)
Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong (Copper Canyon Press)
Having a Coke With Godzilla by Kazumi Chin (Sibling Rivalry Press)
“Lydia Davis on How Translation Opens a Writer’s Mind” by Lydia Davis (Literary Hub)
“Baba Yaga Is a Lesbian” by Mallory Pearson (Electric Literature)
Vanessa and Alyssa discuss Multiply/Divide: On the American Real and Surreal by Wendy S. Walters (Sarabande Books).
CN: Racism (anti-Black), enslavement, classicism, gentrification, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, violence (gang, gun, police), death
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (Simon & Schuster)
CN (so far): Racism (anti-Black, including use of slurs), enslavement, Jim Crow, murder, violence, spousal abuse, drug use (mostly meth and prescription drugs), child neglect, abandonment, incarceration, terminal illness (cancer), animal death
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil (Milkweed Editions)
CN: Anti-Asian racism
The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw (Erewhon Books)
CN: Death, suicide, violence (including gun violence), gore, medical trauma, manipulation and gaslighting, graphic language
We Won't Move: A Living Archive
"A Cyborg Manifesto" by Donna Haraway
“Why Don’t American Schools Value Creativity?” by Erin Crosby-Eckstine (Catapult)
CN: Mention of emotional abuse in an intimate partner relationship, anti-Black racism, institutional oppression
Imani Barbarin (Crutches&Spice)
“Starting Testosterone During Ramadan Led Me to the Sacred in My Trans Self” by Zeyn Joukhadar (Catapult)
In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa discuss the global supply chain issues and how they're affecting the book publishing industry.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Media:
Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin (Feminist Press)
CN: Sexism, slavery, forced institutionalization, murder, child death, emotional abuse, illness (cancer), sexual content
“Forget Billionaires! The Future Of Literary Magazines Depends On Us” by Denne Michele Norris (Electric Literature)
@firstdraftpod, “Books and the Great Supply Chain Disruption”
“The Book Biz Tries to Avoid Supply Chain Disruptions” by Jim Milliot (Publishers Weekly)
“‘The Beginning of the Snowball’: Supply-Chain Snarls Delay Books” by Elizabeth A. Harris (The New York Times)
”Supply Chain Issues Are Slowing Down the Production of Books Ahead of the Holidays” by Petra Mayer (NPR)
”Two Acclaimed Writers on the Art of Revising Your Life” on The Ezra Klein Show (The New York Times)
Transcript for this podcast episode
"Why I Paid Tenfold to Buy Back the Rights to Two of My Books" by Kiese Laymon (Literary Hub)
CN for both the podcast and the essay: Death (specifically COVID-death), health anxiety; Podcast: racism (specifically anti-Black), fatphobia, sexual assault of minors
“My Mom, Princess Diana, and Me” by Matt Ortile (Catapult)
CN: Death & grief
For this week's Buddy Reads, Vanessa and Alyssa discuss recent science fiction release The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw (they/them) from Erewhon Books.
CN: Death, suicide, violence (including gun violence), gore, medical trauma, manipulation and gaslighting, graphic language
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
"Forty-One False Starts" by Janet Malcom (The New Yorker)
“The Next Word” by John Seabrook (The New Yorker)
“Imitation Games” by Franny Choi (Gulf Coast)
In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa talk about their experiences in writing workshops.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Media:
Sonnets by Bernadette Mayer (Tender Buttons)
“The Endless Life Cycle of Book Cover Trends” by Alana Pockros (AIGA Eye on Design)
“A New Take on Publishing: Giving More Writers Transparency and Power” by Carolyn Kellog (Shondaland)
Vanessa and Alyssa discuss YA thriller Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé in this week's Buddy Reads.
CN: Racism and white supremacy (anti-Black), homophobia, violence, bullying, stalking, gaslighting, attempted suicide, mention of rape, drugging of a minor, incarceration, capital punishment, police brutality, racial slurs, alcohol use (Note: All of these involve minors)
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Media:
How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao (Bloomsbury YA)
"Faster Than We Thought: What Stories Will Survive Climate Change?” by Omar El Akkad (Literary Hub)
In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa celebrate one year of hosting Dear Literature by answering listener questions about the podcast.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Vanessa and Alyssa discuss what it's like writing across multiple genres including fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and journalism.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards (HarperCollins Publishers)
The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Z Brewer (Penguin Random House)
Project VOICE (Phil Kaye and Sarah Kay)
"The Man in the Mirror? by Alison Kinney (Longreads) - CN: Rape, gaslighting
"Shira Erlichman vs. The Unknown"
Coding Literacy: How Computer Programming is Changing Writing by Annette Vee (MIT Press)
“Too Close To Home: Writing a Book That Your Parents Won’t Read” by Michelle Jana Chan (Literary Hub)
In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa discuss Sabrina & Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine (One World / Random House Books).
CN by story:
1.) "Sugar Babies": Abandonment, human remains
2.) "Sabrina & Corina": Death by strangulation, violence against women, graphic descriptions of a dead body, alcohol/drug use (cigarettes)
3.) "Sisters": Xenophobia and hispanophobia, sexual assault, violence against women, homophobia, alcohol use
4.) "Remedies": Abandonment, child neglect, xenophobia
5.) "Julian Plaza": Terminal illness (cancer), death
6.) "Galapago": Murder, death, gun violence
7.) "Cheesman Park": Partner abuse, death, violence, alcohol/drug use (cigarettes)
8.) "Tomi": Abandonment, violence, suicide, death, alcohol/drug use (prescription pills)
9.) "Any Further West": Abandonment, suicide, alcohol/drug use (cigarettes, marijuana)
10.) "All Her Names": Abortion, alcohol use, sexual content
11.) "Ghost Sickness": Abandonment, sexual content
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Media Mentioned:
Kingdom Animalia by Aracelis Girmay (BOA)
These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights #1) by Chloe Gong (McElderry Books / Simon & Schuster)
CN: Murder, mass death, self-mutilation/suicide, gore, gun violence, imperialism, racism (anti-Chinese), transphobia, parental abuse, medical trauma/unethical experimentation, disease/infection, alcohol/drug use (cigarettes, opium)
“Why Linguistically Diverse Audiobook Casting Matters” by Julia Shiota (Electric Literature)
"Ghosts" by Vauhini Vara (Believer Magazine)
CN: Cancer, death
This week Vanessa and Alyssa reimagine some of their favorite books into other mediums.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
The Octopus Museum by Brenda Shaughnessy (Knopf)
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson (HarperCollins)
CN: Murder, death, drug & alcohol use by minors, kidnapping, violence against a child
002: Buddy Reads: Truly Devious
The Haunting of Bly Manor
La Casa de la Flores
Little Women
The Diviners by Libba Bray (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
CN: Murder, violence, xenophobia, racism (anti-Asian, anti-Black, anti-semitism), sexism, police violence
Bestiary by K-Ming Chang (One World / Penguin Random House)
CN: Child abuse, miscarriage, vivid descriptions of bodily functions, anti-Asian racism
Soft Science by Franny Choi (Alice James Books)
Cryo Chamber
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (Graywolf Press)
CN: Body horror, eating disorder, body shaming, fatphobia, sexual assault, sexual content
Ninth House (Alex Stern #1) by Leigh Bardugo (Flatiron Books)
CN: Violence, murder, rape of a minor, drug & alcohol use
“Finding a Face for My Invisible Illness” by Lorraine Boissoneault (Catapult)
Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes
Spinning by Tillie Walden (First Second Books)
CN: Sexual assault, homophobia
Good Talk by Mira Jacob
In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa discuss Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi (Simon & Schuster).
CN: Disordered eating, body dysmorphia/fatphobia, terminal illness (cancer), child death, racism (anti-Asian), drug & alcohol use (including cigarettes, marijuana, and other hard drugs), vomit, sexual content.
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Media Mentioned:
The Poets & Writers Complete Guide to Being a Writer: Everything You Need to Know About Craft, Inspiration, Agents, Editors, Publishing and the Business of Building a Sustainable Writing Career by Kevin Larimer and Mary Gannon (Simon & Schuster)
“Asexual Romance Readers Are Finally Getting Their Happily Ever Afters” by Lily Herman (Bustle)
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
“Did Twitter break YA?” by Nicole Brinkley (Misshelved Newsletter #6)
“Twitter Doesn’t Want to Let the Poets...”
Exhalation: Japanese, Polish, Russian, Slovak; Stories of Your Life and Others: Chinese & Slovak
Six Crimson Cranes; What We Devour
A Psalm for the Wild-Built; The Taking of Jake Livingston
She Who Became The Sun; The River Has Teeth
Pilgrim Bell; Afterparties; How We Fall Apart; Shallow Waters: A Novel
A City Is Not a Computer: Other Urban Intelligences
The Book of Form and Emptiness
How to Not Be Afraid of Everything
Our Violent Ends
In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa discuss The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom).
CN: Xenophobia / racism (anti-Asian), sexual content, abortion, spousal abuse, murder, alcohol / drug use (cigarettes).
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Media Mentioned:
Ed Yong's Pulitzer Prize Award
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Diviners by Libba Bray
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
“Yahoo! Answers Was My First and Best Writing Coach” by Alexandria Juarez (Electric Literature)
In this episode, Alyssa and Vanessa discuss Justin Marks's poetry collection, The Comedown.
After a brief hiatus, Vanessa and Alyssa are back to discuss what they've been up to, where they are, and some plans for the future.
About us: https://linktr.ee/dearlitpod
Notes:
“Roxane Gay Starts Publishing Imprint with Grove Atlantic” by Elizabeth A. Harris (The New York Times)
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots (William Morrow / HarperCollins)
CN: Medical trauma, body horror, fantasy violence
Dexter
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (Penguin Press)
CN: Drug & alcohol use (Cigarettes) , child abuse (brief), infidelity, death
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko (Amulet Books / ABRAMS)
CN: Violence, sexual situation (brief)
A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Captain America "I can do this all day" scene
"What is the Path to Equity in Publishing?" by Vanessa Genao
“The Obsession with ‘Getting Ahead’ in Your Twenties Is Failing Young People” Rainesford Stauffer (Catapult)
“Mourning the Loss of Indigenous Queer Identities” by Astrud Bowman (Autostraddle)
Hello, bookwyrms! We at Dear Literature will be going on a short hiatus. We will return with new episodes in mid to late June. Until next time, happy reading!