In this episode of Sick Sad Lit, I sit down with R. O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries, Exhibit, and co-editor of Kink, to talk about the emotional labor of writing, the role of fear in creativity, and what it means to tell stories that demand vulnerability.

We explore how desire, identity, and ancestral trauma shape Kwon’s work, and how embracing discomfort can lead to deeper truth on the page. Kwon reflects on her journey through the publishing world, the slow and deliberate process of crafting fiction, and the liberation that comes from writing toward one’s own longing.

It’s a conversation about art as survival, about the fears that fuel us, and about finding freedom in the act of creation.

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