Shows
The 92 Report120. Jacinda Townsend, Novelist, Mom, Professor, Political ActivistShow Notes: Jacinda Townsend shares her journey of living in 10 different states and two foreign countries, having four careers, including being an elected official, having a couple of kids, and doing various weird things. Working in Law, Journalism, and Fiction When Jacinda graduated at 20, she went to law school, which was part of a straight trajectory she had imagined since childhood, and while she initially believed she would go into politics and return to Kentucky, she realized she did not want to pursue a career in law. After finishing her degree, she worked a...
2025-02-2447 min
fiction/non/fictionLan Samantha Chang on the Risks and Rewards of Literary PersonasAcclaimed novelist and Director of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop Lan Samantha Chang joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss the role that literary personas may–or may not–have played in recent revelations about Alice Munro, Neil Gaiman, and Cormac McCarthy. Chang discusses how writers often develop literary personas as their public profiles grow. Chang also discusses how personas can be both protective and damaging when they no longer align with the writer's true self, the impact of personas on writers' privacy and the industry's role in shaping and maintaining these personas. She reads...
2025-01-3049 minfiction/non/fictionJacinda Townsend and James Bernard Short on Percival Everett and American FictionNovelist Jacinda Townsend and writer James Bernard Short join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the movie American Fiction, which is based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Townsend and Short discuss how the film addresses race in the publishing industry via its central character, Black author Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, who tries to make an ironic point by writing a book exploiting Black stereotypes and finds, to his dismay, that it’s received in earnest and a bestseller. Townsend and Short analyze director Cord Jefferson’s approach and the film’s themes of family dysfunctio...
2025-01-0249 min
Prompt to PageJacinda TownsendNovelist Jacinda Townsend believes that "writing is a habit, and the imagination begets the imagination." Having a set writing routine helps her create because "the imagination is a kind of muscle." On this episode, Jacinda explains the steps she takes each morning to fire up her imagination, including using writing prompts.Her favorite prompt to share focuses on pacing. Her students generate such strong work with this exercise that some have even published their finished pieces.About Jacinda TownsendJacinda Townsend is the author of Trigger Warning (Graywolf, 2025) and Mother C...
2024-11-1821 min
Writing StoriesFour Agents, Three Books, Two Publishers — Jacinda Townsend talks about Saint Monkey and Mother CountrySend us a textIn this episode, Jacinda Townsend talks about her award-winning books Saint Monkey and Mother Country. Along the way we cover: Fiction writing as coping mechanism Being the only Black kid at a fundamentalist Christian school in rural KentuckyAgent-seeking, scarcity model, and datingWhen you and your publisher disagree on the book's major themeGraywolf press Answering a psychological question with your first draft, and how publishing brings that answer home to your heartBuy Saint Monkey hereBuy Mother Country here...
2024-02-2625 min
Otherppl with Brad ListiJacinda Townsend on Music, Kentucky, Childhood, Greyhound Buses, Getting Taken Seriously, Siblings, Skipping Grades, Leaving Home, and HarvardIn today's flashback, an outtake from Episode 264, my conversation with author Jacinda Townsend. It first aired on March 30, 2014.Jacinda Townsend is the author of the novels Mother Country (Graywolf Press) and Saint Monkey (W.W. Norton), which won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize and the James Fenimore Cooper Prize. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and teaches in the MFA program at Brown University.***Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers.Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTub...
2024-02-1629 minfiction/non/fictionAmerican Fiction: Jacinda Townsend and James Bernard Short on the Joy, Pathos, and Complexity of Black Experience in the Oscar-Nominated FilmNovelist Jacinda Townsend and writer James Bernard Short join co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to talk about the movie American Fiction, which is based on the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. Townsend and Short discuss how the film addresses race in the publishing industry via its central character, Black author Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, who tries to make an ironic point by writing a book exploiting Black stereotypes and finds, to his dismay, that it’s received in earnest and a bestseller. Townsend and Short analyze director Cord Jefferson’s approach and the film’s themes of family dysfunctio...
2024-02-0848 min
This Mama Is Lit!Jacinda Townsend: The mom from hideous kinkyAmanda Fields, Brianna Avenia-Tapper, and Holly Rizzuto Palker talk with Jacinda Townsend. Jacinda is a novelist, creative writing professor, and long-time friend of Literary Mama. Find out more on Jacinda Townsend’s website and in LM’s profile of Townsend.. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit literarymama.substack.com
2023-11-0221 min
Art ThrobNO 9 : Pamela Perlman - After the RaceEpisode No. 9 of the Art Throb Podcast features Pamela Perlman who will talk about her most recent novel titled: AFTER THE RACE.Pamela was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. She received her degrees in English Literature and Journalism from Indiana University after which she spent a couple of years as press secretary on Capital Hill after which she worked as a television news reporter. She then went to the University of Kentucky College of Law graduating with a Juris Doctorate and, for the last two decades has worked as a federal criminal defense practitioner.P...
2023-07-2528 minfiction/non/fictionEverybody Hates Joe: Jacinda Townsend on Why Democrats Are Skeptical of President Biden—and What He Must Do To Win Them BackNovelist Jacinda Townsend joins co-hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss Joe Biden’s stubbornly low poll numbers among Democrats, which persist despite his legislative accomplishments. Townsend talks about the administration’s struggles to communicate its goals and achievements and explains why Biden’s policy decisions—past and present—have often disappointed Black and younger voters. Townsend reads from her novel Mother Country and reflects on the aftermath of the Biden administration’s plan to forgive student debt.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the...
2023-06-2246 min
Don’t Miss Your Ears To A High-Impact Full Audiobook.Mother Country: A Novel by Jacinda TownsendPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/640471to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Mother Country: A Novel
Author: Jacinda Townsend
Narrator: Kellye A. Saunders
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hours 49 minutes
Release date: April 25, 2023
Genres: Historical
Publisher's Summary:
A transnational feminist novel about human trafficking and motherhood from an award-winning author. Saddled with student loans, medical debt, and the sudden news of her infertility after a major car accident, Shannon, an African American woman, follows her boyfriend to Morocco in search of relief. There, in the cobblestoned medina of Marrakech, she finds a toddler in a pink jacket whose face mirrors her own...
2023-04-2510h 49Discover This Addictive Full Audiobook And Feel The Difference.Mother Country: A Novel by Jacinda TownsendPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/640471to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Mother Country: A Novel
Author: Jacinda Townsend
Narrator: Kellye A. Saunders
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hours 49 minutes
Release date: April 25, 2023
Genres: LGBTQ+
Publisher's Summary:
A transnational feminist novel about human trafficking and motherhood from an award-winning author. Saddled with student loans, medical debt, and the sudden news of her infertility after a major car accident, Shannon, an African American woman, follows her boyfriend to Morocco in search of relief. There, in the cobblestoned medina of Marrakech, she finds a toddler in a pink jacket whose face mirrors her own...
2023-04-2510h 49Discover Top Full Audiobooks in Literature, Literary FictionMother Country: A Novel by Jacinda TownsendPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/640471to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Mother Country: A Novel
Author: Jacinda Townsend
Narrator: Kellye A. Saunders
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hours 49 minutes
Release date: April 25, 2023
Genres: Literary Fiction
Publisher's Summary:
A transnational feminist novel about human trafficking and motherhood from an award-winning author. Saddled with student loans, medical debt, and the sudden news of her infertility after a major car accident, Shannon, an African American woman, follows her boyfriend to Morocco in search of relief. There, in the cobblestoned medina of Marrakech, she finds a toddler in a pink jacket whose face mirrors her...
2023-04-2510h 49Download New Full Audiobooks in Fiction, LGBTQ+Mother Country: A Novel by Jacinda TownsendPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/640471to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Mother Country: A Novel
Author: Jacinda Townsend
Narrator: Kellye A. Saunders
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hours 49 minutes
Release date: April 25, 2023
Genres: LGBTQ+
Publisher's Summary:
A transnational feminist novel about human trafficking and motherhood from an award-winning author. Saddled with student loans, medical debt, and the sudden news of her infertility after a major car accident, Shannon, an African American woman, follows her boyfriend to Morocco in search of relief. There, in the cobblestoned medina of Marrakech, she finds a toddler in a pink jacket whose face mirrors her own...
2023-04-2510h 49Download New Full Audiobooks in Fiction, HistoricalMother Country: A Novel by Jacinda TownsendPlease visithttps://thebookvoice.com/podcasts/1/audiobook/640471to listen full audiobooks.
Title: Mother Country: A Novel
Author: Jacinda Townsend
Narrator: Kellye A. Saunders
Format: Unabridged Audiobook
Length: 10 hours 49 minutes
Release date: April 25, 2023
Genres: Historical
Publisher's Summary:
A transnational feminist novel about human trafficking and motherhood from an award-winning author. Saddled with student loans, medical debt, and the sudden news of her infertility after a major car accident, Shannon, an African American woman, follows her boyfriend to Morocco in search of relief. There, in the cobblestoned medina of Marrakech, she finds a toddler in a pink jacket whose face mirrors her own...
2023-04-2510h 49
The Pod with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation#23 The Pod with Jacinda TownsendJacinda Townsend is the author of Mother Country (Graywolf, 2022), winner of the 2022 Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and Saint Monkey (Norton, 2014), which won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize and the James Fenimore Cooper Prize. To learn more about the work of the Foundation, please visit braf.org.
2023-02-2820 min
Unsung HistoryThe Green BookIn 1936, Victor Hugo Green published the first edition of what he called The Negro Motorist Green Book, a 16-page listing of businesses in the New York metropolitan area that would welcome African American customers. By its final printing in 1966, the Green Book had gone international, with a 100-page book that included not just friendly businesses throughout the United States but also hotels and resorts that would be safe for African American travelers in Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and Africa, along with a list of currency exchange rates. Joining me this week to h...
2023-01-3042 min
Talk LouisianaTuesday, January 17th: Jacinda Townsend, Tom Aswell, Jared Yates SextonAuthor Jacinda Townsend speaks on her life and the start to her career as well as her recent book "Mother Country". Louisiana Voice's Tom Aswell comments on several topics including Karen Carter Peterson and also remembers Muhammad Ali on what would have been his 81st birthday. American author and political commentator Jared Yates Sexton talks his recent work, "The Midnight Kingdom".
2023-01-1744 min
Black Authors Matter TVJanuary 3rd 2023 In This Episode Guests Include: Jacinda Townsend, Francesca Royster, Dorena Williamson, and Djuanna Brockington.
2023-01-052h 00
Inner StatesMothering on Two Sides of the AtlanticA conversation with novelist Jacinda Townsend about her new novel, which tackles the subject of motherhood from two perspectives on different sides of the world.
2022-12-2351 min
Rebel Girls Book ClubMother Country Interview with Jacinda TownsendThis week Harmony speaks with Jacinda Townsend, author of Mother Country, as part of Miami Book Fair 2022. We talk about motherhood, slavery, privilege, and so much more
Jacinda Townsend, Sarai Walker, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, and Thrity Umrigar are just a few of the hundreds of authors from around the world gathering together in downtown Miami for Miami Book Fair 2022, the nation’s largest gathering of writers and readers of all ages. They, along with Patti Smith, Lisa Genova, Rabia Chaudry, Sy Montgomery, and Sandra Cisneros are so looking forward to sharing their work, thoughts, and new ideas wi...
2022-11-1435 minRebel Girls Book ClubThe Man Who Could Move Clouds Interview with Ingrid Rojas ContrerasThis week Maggie speaks with Ingrid Rojas Contreras, author of The Man Who Could Move Clouds: A Memoir, as part of Miami Book Fair 2022. We talk about the personal impacts of colonialism, sharing family secrets, memory loss, and so much more.
Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Sarai Walker, Jacinda Townsend, and Thrity Umrigar are just a few of the hundreds of authors from around the world gathering together in downtown Miami for Miami Book Fair 2022, the nation’s largest gathering of writers and readers of all ages. They, along with Patti Smith, Lisa Genova, Rabia Chaudry, Sy Montgomery, and San...
2022-11-0739 minRebel Girls Book ClubThe Cherry Robbers Interview with Sarai WalkerThis week Maggie speaks with Sarai Walker, author of The Cherry Robbers, as part of Miami Book Fair 2022. We talk about exploring feminism in historical fiction, the power of the gothic to tell a feminist story, and so much more!
Sarai Walker, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Jacinda Townsend, and Thrity Umrigar are just a few of the hundreds of authors from around the world gathering together in downtown Miami for Miami Book Fair 2022, the nation’s largest gathering of writers and readers of all ages. They, along with Patti Smith, Lisa Genova, Rabia Chaudry, Sy Montgomery, and Sandra Cis...
2022-10-3143 min
THE TAPESTRYThe Choices and Consequences and Freedom of Womanhood- Jacinda TownsendJacinda Townsend grew up in Southcentral Kentucky and left for Harvard at the age of sixteen. It was there that she took her first creative writing classes; while at Duke Law School, she cross-registered in the English department, where she took her next few formative writing workshops. After four years of being first a broadcast journalist and then an antitrust lawyer in New York City, Jacinda went to the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she received her MFA before going on to spend a year as a Fulbright fellow to Côte d’Ivoire. During her Fulbright year, on a layov...
2022-10-2427 min
Not Your Little LadyMother CountryJacinda Townsend, a native of South Central Kentucky and author of Mother Country, is this episode's guest and in November she will be at the Miami Book Fair which runs from November 13-20th at Miami Dade College. Jacinda is on to talk with us about her book Mother Country and how her childhood in the South influences her career. The Things that Pissed Us Off are schools being segregated and Raphael Warnock not being the clear leader in his race. Go See Jacinda at the Miami Book Fair!
2022-10-1939 minRebel Girls Book ClubHonor Interview with Thrity UmrigarThis week Maggie talks with author Thrity Umrigar about her latest book Honor as part of the Miami Book Fair 2022. We talk about loneliness and isolation, advocacy journalism, reaching across cultural divides, and so much more!
Thirty Umrigar, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Jacinda Townsend, and Sarai Walker are just a few of the hundreds of authors from around the world gathering together in downtown Miami for Miami Book Fair 2022, the nation’s largest gathering of writers and readers of all ages. They, along with Patti Smith, Lisa Genova, Rabia Chaudry, Sy Montgomery, and Sandra Cisneros are so looking for...
2022-10-1744 min
THE TAPESTRYLIP SERVICE - TAJJI ISENDerecka Purnell, Anuradha Bhowmik, Rabia Chaudry, Tajja Isen, Jacinda Townsend are just a few of the hundreds of authors from around the world gathering together in downtown Miami for Miami Book Fair 2022, the nation’s largest gathering of writers and readers of all ages. They, along with Patti Smith, Tia Williams, Sandra Cisneros, Lisa Genova are so looking forward to sharing their work, thoughts and new ideas with everyone in person, and streamed Live From the Fair, from Sunday, November 13 through Sunday, Nov. 20. Please visit miamibookfair for more information, for follow MBF at @miamibookfair #miamibookfair2021
As a voice actor...
2022-09-2727 minfiction/non/fictionBook the Vote: Rachel DeWoskin on Registering Voters (Right Now!) and the Connection Between Writing and DemocracyNovelist, poet, and memoirist Rachel DeWoskin joins Fiction/Non/Fiction hosts V.V. Ganeshananthan and Whitney Terrell to discuss her work on the Writers for Democratic Action’s National Steering Committee. She explains how the group is partnering with libraries and bookstores across the nation to register voters and connect them with crucial information in the run-up to midterm elections, an effort called Book the Vote. She also reads from her novel, Banshee.To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You ca...
2022-09-0843 min
Writers on WritingNovelist Jacinda Townsend, Mother CountryJacinda Townsend, author of the novel Mother Country (Graywolf), and Barbara DeMarco-Barrett discuss her new book and the setting of Morocco, alternating POVs, slavery, writing with the senses, and more. During her Fulbright year, on a layover in Morocco, Jacinda discovered the city of Marrakech and fell in love. Later that same year, on a trip to Northern Mali, she also first witnessed modern-day slavery: that incident inspired the research that eventually took her to Mauritania, where she met with escaped slaves and anti-slavery activists and began the work that would become her newly published novel, Mother Country (Graywolf, 2022). Mothe...
2022-08-2200 min
Friends & FictionWB-S2E26 Mother Country w/ Jacinda TownsendWRITERS' BLOCK Ron Block interivews Jacinda Townsend about her powerful new book, Mother CountrySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
2022-07-0136 min
First Draft: A Dialogue on WritingFirst Draft - Jacinda TownsendJacinda Townsend is the author of Saint Monkey which is set in 1950s Eastern Kentucky and won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize and the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for historical fiction. Saint Monkey was also the 2015 Honor Book of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. Her second novel is called Mother Country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
2022-05-0959 minInner StatesMothering on Two Sides of the AtlanticA conversation with novelist Jacinda Townsend about her new novel, which tackles the subject of motherhood from two perspectives on different sides of the world.
2022-05-0651 min
Diversify the StandEpisode 2.16 - Rylee ShortEpisode 16 features Rylee Short, composer and horn player now based in St. Louis, Missouri. We talk with Rylee about their music, interdisciplinary collaboration with other art forms, and advice to educators around creating safe spaces for especially transgender students. Transcripts to all podcast episodes are created by Hollyn Slykhuis and are posted on our website!To learn more about Rylee and the organizations and resources they recommend, check out the links below!Website: https://www.ryeshortmusic.com/Full performance of 926 : https://soundcloud.com/rdshort/926-feat-jacinda-townsend?si=217cb193ed8341b48febe76a5186a72d...
2021-11-1723 min
WANA LIVE! Reading SeriesWANA LIVE! Reading Series - Jacinda TownsendJacinda Townsend is the author of Kif, which is forthcoming from Graywolf Press in 2022, and Saint Monkey (Norton, 2014), which is set in 1950’s Eastern Kentucky and won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize and the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for historical fiction. Saint Monkey was also the 2015 Honor Book of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.
2021-06-1913 min
WV Wesleyan MFA PodcastJacinda Townsend reading new fictionWV Wesleyan MFA Winter 2018 Residency
"So I started this novel that's asking the question, 'How do we deal with grief?'" --JT
Guest faculty Jacinda Townsend, author of "Saint Monkey" (winner of the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for best fiction written by a woman in 2014 and the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for best historical fiction), reads from her newly-completed novel.
2018-02-2814 min
Best of The Miami Book Fair2015 Miami Book Fair | Jacinda TownsendJacinda Townsend studied at Harvard University and Duke University Law School before receiving her MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She lives in Bloomington, Indiana, and teaches creative writing at Indiana University. Saint Monkey (W.W. Norton & Co.) is her first novel. Fourteen-year-old Audrey Martin, with her Poindexter glasses and her head humming the 3/4 […]
2015-11-2115 min
Otherppl with Brad ListiEpisode 264 — Jacinda TownsendJacinda Townsend is the guest. Her new novel Saint Monkey is now available from W.W. Norton & Co.
Roxane Gay says
“Saint Monkey is an absolute marvel of a book. Jacinda Townsend is dazzling as she transports the reader to a different time and place—the 1950s, rural Kentucky, and Harlem at the height of the jazz era. Two young girls, Audrey and Caroline, fight for a place in the world and, though their paths at times diverge, their journeys and this writer will utterly captivate you.”
And Booklist, in a starred review, raves
“This is a breathtakingly insightful, suspensef...
2014-03-301h 19