Shows
Let's Deconstruct a StoryKatherine Damm discusses her Best American Short Story: "The Happiest Day of Your Life."Katherine Damm talks about her story, "The Happiest Day of Your Life." First, be sure to read the story from The Iowa Review. There will be spoilers! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe
2025-10-3045 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story with Deb Olin UnferthDeb Olin Unferth discusses her short story, "Wait Till You See Me Dance" with Kelly Fordon This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe
2025-10-0143 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story with Ananda LimaI spoke with Ananda Lima about her story, Antropófaga! Make sure you read it before you listen. Enjoy the rest of your summer, and happy listening!KellyAnanda Lima is the author of Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil (Tor Books, 2024) and Mother/land (Black Lawrence Press, 2021), winner of the Hudson Prize. Her work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Poets.org, Kenyon Review, Electric Literature, and elsewhere, and is forthcoming in Ghosts of Where We Are From, an anthology of dark fiction by Latin American authors, edited by C...
2025-08-0153 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryEli Sparkman talks FLASH!* Here is Eli in a half-trench coat Sheila Heti gave him :)Hi Everyone,Well, the world might be a s%$# show, but at least we still have our stories. Today, I’m featuring the work of the brilliant Eli Sparkman, one of the member-owners of Book Suey in Hamtramck, Michigan. We had so much fun discussing his stories. I hope you enjoy this deep dive as much as I did. This is FLASH, so Eli was able to read three in their entirety before we discuss them; however, I still recommend reading and an...
2025-06-2455 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryErika Krouse, Caitlin Horrocks and Kelly Fordon discuss two stories...Hi Everyone!In this episode of the podcast, Caitlin Horrocks and I interview Erika Krouse about “Jude” from her new collection, Save Me, Stranger. AND THEN…Erika and I interview Caitlin about her story “Better Not Tell You Now.” We had so much fun! And I learned so much about the craft of writing. You will too.Links to both stories are below. Please read before you listen, because we will spoil the endings :) “Jude” is available here at The Colorado Review, Summer 2024.“Better Not Tell You Now” is here at...
2025-06-151h 07
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Christie HodgenBefore listening to my interview with Christie Hodgen, please read her story, “Rich Strike,” because the interview is full of spoilers! The story is available for free here on the Story website, thanks to Michael Nye. Please consider subscribing to Story and supporting great literature here.Congratulations to Christie for winning a Pushcart Prize for this story as well.If you would like to read my annotation of the story and some background on the books discussed during our interview, please consider becoming a paid subscriber and accessing my annotation in the arc...
2025-06-0132 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Desiree CooperMy guest today is Desiree Cooper, the 2015 Kresge Artist Fellow. Cooper is a former attorney. She is also a Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist and much-beloved community activist. Originally from Virginia, she currently lives in Virginia. BUT she lived in Detroit for decades and will always be an honorary Detroiter!She is much beloved here, and I am honored to call her my friend. Today’s podcast includes four stories from her award-winning flash fiction collection, Know the Mother. Cooper’s fiction, poetry and essays have appeared in The New York Times, 2023 Flash Fiction America, The Best Smal...
2025-04-031h 10
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Cleo QianHi Everyone,I had so much fun discussing “Monitor World” with Cleo Qian. In case you missed my earlier posts, “Monitor World” was first published in Shenandoah in 2021, and is available here.Please read the story before listening to our discussion!Here’s a link to Lucia Berlin, another writer discussed during our interview.Next up on Let’s Deconstruct a Story, paid subscribers will be talking about Ethan Canin’s story, “The Palace Thief,” on Thursday, February 27th at 3 pm.Cleo Qian is a queer fiction writer and poet. She i...
2025-02-1544 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Laura Hulthen ThomasFor a copy of the story and more information about Laura Hulthen Thomas, follow this link: Tuesday Toasts for Midwest Short Story Writers. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe
2025-02-0939 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Lolita HernandezArchive Update! I’m sending over some videos from 2020, so sorry to inundate your email! This discussion took place in 2020 with Wayne State University Press author, Lolita Hernandez.August 15, 2020I had so much fun this past month deconstructing stories with Desiree Cooper and Laura Thomas; I plan to continue with this format through the fall. Please let me know if you have a new book of short stories out so we can discuss it!Today on the blog, Lolita Hernandez and I will discuss her story, “Process Server,” from her award-winning Wayne State Univer...
2025-01-2431 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring David MeansHi Everyone,“The Depletion Prompts” was first published in The New Yorker on October 25, 2021, and is available here.Here’s a link to two other stories discussed during our interview:Vladimir Nabokov's “Signs and Symbols.”Virginia Woolf’s “The Mark on the Wall.”Next month, I’ll be talking to Cleo Qian about her story, “Monitor World” first published in Shenandoah. Check out our discussion here on Substack!Cheers!KellyPS: All of the podcasts are free, but if you would like to support the podcast, pleas...
2025-01-2233 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring David MeansKelly Fordon talks to David Means about his story, "The Depletion Prompts," published in The New Yorker on October 25, 2021 and available here.
For more information, and a deeper dive into the story, please visit Let's Deconstruct a Story on Substack.
David Means was born and raised in Michigan. He is the author of several short-story collections, including Instructions for a Funeral, The Spot (a New York Times notable book of the year), Assorted Fire Events (winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction), and The Secret Goldfish, and of the novel Hystopia (long-listed...
2025-01-2233 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Brad FelverKelly Fordon talks to Brad Felver about his story "Orphans" which was first published in Subtropics and later chosen for The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners by Amor Towles.For more information, and to access a PDF of the story, please visit Let's Deconstruct a Story on Substack.Brad Felver is a fiction writer, essayist, and teacher of writing. His honors include two O. Henry Prizes, the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, the Zone 3 Fiction Prize, and a Fellowship to the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference am...
2024-11-1535 minLet's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Brad FelverKelly Fordon talks to Brad Felver about his story "Orphans" which was first published in Subtropics and later chosen for The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners by Amor Towles.
For more information, and to access a PDF of the story, please visit Let's Deconstruct a Story on Substack.
Brad Felver is a fiction writer, essayist, and teacher of writing. His honors include two O. Henry Prizes, the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, the Zone 3 Fiction Prize, and a Fellowship to the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference am...
2024-11-1435 minLet's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Brad FelverKelly Fordon talks to Brad Felver about his story "Orphans" which was first published in Subtropics and later chosen for The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners by Amor Towles.
For more information, and to access a PDF of the story, please visit Let's Deconstruct a Story on Substack.
Brad Felver is a fiction writer, essayist, and teacher of writing. His honors include two O. Henry Prizes, the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award, the Zone 3 Fiction Prize, and a Fellowship to the Bread Loaf...
2024-11-0135 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Talk about Brad Felver's story "Orphans."Hi Everyone, This post is a video recording of my preparation for the interview with Brad next Wednesday. If you enjoy deconstructing stories, please feel free to join me for one of these prep sessions. I’ll be recording again on November 8th as I deconstruct David Means' story, “The Depletion Prompts.” Paid subscribers will have access to the Zoom link for David Means.Paid subscriptions also include the annotations and transcript from this recording today. My interview with Brad Felver about “Orphans” will be posted on November 1st. Cheers!
2024-10-2533 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Sheila KohlerHi Everyone,We're a little late with this episode and it's all my fault! As I mentioned in my May 1st blog post (sign up here for updates), for the first time in four years, I conducted an amazing interview with Sheila Kohler and forgot to hit record on Zoom. Sheila--the most gracious person on Earth--forgave me for wasting 45 minutes of her time and agreed to re-record the episode. Thank you to Sheila for sitting down with me twice! After I recovered from the shame, I realized this might be...
2024-05-1539 minLet's Deconstruct a StoryKeith Hood and Kelly Fordon discuss “THE PROGRESS OF LOVE” by Alice MunroHi Everyone,
This month, we are discussing “The Progress of Love” by Alice Munro. I’m joined on the podcast by Keith Hood, One Story’s 2024 Adina Talve-Goodman Fellow. Keith read the version of the story available in Alice Munro’s collection (1st person POV) and I read the New Yorker version. I suggest reading both as we had a great discussion about POV and narrative distance and Alice Munro’s decision to switch POV. Please find the stories here:
The Progress of Love from Alice Munro’s collection or her Selected Stories is available for purchase on Ama...
2024-04-0159 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Cara Blue AdamsHi Everyone,I'm thrilled to host Cara Blue Adams today on the podcast. We talked about her stellar short story, "Vision," available from Joyland Magazine. I met Cara years ago at the Kenyon Writers Workshop (which I highly recommend by the way...) so it was great fun to reconnect on the podcast. Cara's work was recommended by Vincent Perrone, who is a part owner of the co-op bookstore, Book Suey, in Hamtramck, MI, so he joined us for the podcast as well. See his bio below, and please consider buying from Bookshop or...
2024-03-0144 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Leigh NewmanHi Everyone,We had so much fun discussing Leigh Newman's short story, "An Extravaganza in Two Acts," available here from Electric Literature. You are going to learn so much about writing historical fiction. Leigh is a hoot! The conversation moved at a clip, so I have some discussion notes for you below.Also, check out the bonus question one of my earlier guests, award-winning author and Pulitzer-prize nominated journalist Desiree Cooper, sent to Leigh after we recorded the podcast.We have a new Let's Deconstruct a Story Facebook page and...
2024-02-011h 02
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Jai ChakrabartiHi Everyone!Welcome to Let's Deconstruct a Story! This month I'm talking to Jai Chakrabarti about his wonderful story, "A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness." Please find the link to the story at www.kellyfordon.com, It's best to read it before tuning into the podcast.Next month, I'll be talking to Leigh Newman about her story, "An Extravaganza in Two Acts," also available via a link on my website. If you have any questions for Leigh, feel free to contact me, and I will pass them along.Also...
2024-01-0136 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Katherine VazHi Everyone!Welcome to Let's Deconstruct a Story! This month I'm talking to Katherine Vaz about her wonderful story, "Our Lady of the Artichokes." Please read the story (available at www.kellyfordon.com/blog) before tuning into the podcast.Also, please check out the link to her fantastic new novel Above the Salt which I read and adored. Sometimes I wish this was also a podcast about novels, but we do offer a brief preview of the book during our discussion. Purchase options are available...
2023-12-0147 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Bonnie Jo CampbellHi Everyone, I had the best conversation with Bonnie Jo Campbell. Can't wait to share it with you! Please read "Boar Taint" in The Kenyon Review before you listen, or our discussion won't make a lick of sense. This episode is available on Apple, Spotify, Audible or anywhere you get your podcasts. If you would like a transcript, please get in touch with me via the contact form on my website, www.kellyfordon.com. Next month, I will be talking to Katherine Vaz.
2023-10-3155 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring George SingletonHi!I am so happy to share my podcast interview with the esteemed Southern writer George Singleton. We delved into some serious subjects: the legacy of racism in the South, gun control, and substance abuse, but despite all of that, we managed to laugh every now and then because he is hilarious! (And I said the word "interesting" about a gazillion times--Why? Why did I keep saying the same word over and over again as if I was malfunctioning?)Anyway, George taught me a lot about persevering despite the fact...
2023-10-0126 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Chad B. AndersonChad B. Anderson's story "The Kelley Street Disappearances" has been lodged in my brain for almost a decade, so I decided to track him down, and I was so grateful when he agreed to be on the podcast. I'm sure if you are an avid reader like me, you know how rare it is to have a story resonate for that long. I hope you feel the same way I do about this one!Thanks also to LDAS-featured writer, Robin Martin, for sending me the story many years ago.For the first time...
2023-09-1546 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Jason OckertHi Everyone,I'm happy to welcome Jason Ockert to show! We discussed his story, "The Peoplemachines" in StorySouth Spring 2023. It blew me away! Who reminds me of a modern-day Agathocles??...hmmmm....I can't imagine.Please read the story (available below) before listening to our discussion. Thank you SO MUCH to storySouth for publishing this thought-provoking dystopian story. It will stay with me.Thanks also to Dan Wickett of Dzanc Books for recommending Jason's work.The Peoplemachines by Jason Ockert
2023-09-0143 min
Homespun Haints: True Ghost StoriesIrish Ghost Stories and Premonitions of Death: A real ghost story interviewKelly Fordon of Let's Deconstruct a Story Podcast shares generational stories and Irish ghost folklore from her family. Her premonitions of death demonstrate that the bonds of love do not die when our bodies do. Check out Kelly's podcast, blog, and books at kellyfordon.comWanna know what's in Diana's Basement's Secret Passage? Join our Patreon at patreon.com/homespunhaintsThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5199458/advertisementThe Activity Continues is...
2023-08-2842 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Caroline KimHi Everyone!I'm thrilled to welcome Caroline Kim on the podcast today! We will be reviewing her story "Motherhood" which is available for free from August 1st-31st on the Story Magazine website. Thank you, Michael Nye! Please see my website to access the story: https://kellyfordon.com/lets-deconstruct-a-story/CAROLINE KIM is the author of a collection of short stories about the Korean diaspora, The Prince of Mournful Thoughts and Other Stories, which won the 2020 Drue Heinz Prize in Literature, was a finalist for the Northern California Book Award, the Janet Heidinger Award...
2023-08-0138 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Anna CaritjHi Everyone,I'm thrilled to host fiction writer, Anna Caritj this month on "Let's Deconstruct a Story." The Sewanee Review has graciously taken down the paywall for Anna's story for the month of June so you can read the story all month for free! They have also offered readers/listeners of LDAS 10% off a subscription to The Sewanee Review with the code: SISTER. I am definitely going to take advantage of the offer, and hope you will too. We are so grateful to them!
2023-06-0135 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Robin Luce MartinHi Everyone,Robin and I have been good friends and writing buddies since we met at a writer's conference in 2008. Since then, she has won numerous awards for her work and I am so thrilled to feature her brilliant writing here. We did something a little different for this episode. We are taking a look at two of Robin's stories:1969 is available at The New Orleans ReviewandThrough the Hole is available at PenDust Radio.To...
2023-04-0133 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Meghan Louise WagnerHi Everyone, This month I'm thrilled to welcome Meghan Louise Wagner to the podcast! First, because I love the story. Secondly, because I am from NE Ohio and she lives there! Yay! So happy to be promoting fellow Midwesterners. Her story, "Elephant Seals" is available in these two places: Agni Online here or in Best American Short Stories 2022. Please read the story first before listening to our discussion.Enjoy!KellyBio/Contributor Notes:Meghan Louise Wagner lives in Nort...
2023-03-0132 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Julie Ann StewartHi Everyone,So glad to be back after a short hiatus!I’m grateful to the Grosse Pointe Public Library for allowing me to use their recording studio for these next few episodes. It was fantastic; however, there was a little learning curve…I apologize for a couple of staticky moments during this podcast. Luckily, it only happened when I was talking! Julie sounds fantastic–and that’s all that matters…but I will add that I am producing this podcast with no money for editing, unfortunately. Please feel free to donate if you like i...
2023-02-0137 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Toni Ann JohnsonHi Everyone!I'm really looking forward to sharing this discussion with Toni Ann Johnson. I loved this collection! We will be talking about the story "Time Travel" winner of the 2021 Miller Audio Prize. Please listen to the story at the link below before you tune in to our podcast discussion.This is the last post of 2022. Thanks so much to the Grosse Pointe Public Library in Michigan and Pages Bookshop in Detroit for supporting us throughout the year. We will be on hiatus until February 2023. Please message me if there are any particular...
2022-12-0146 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring George SaundersWell, I'm not going to lie. It was one of the top ten thrills of my life speaking with George Saunders. I was so excited, I thought I might pass out partway through the interview. But he could not have been more unpretentious, kind, and engaging. I learned so much from him, and hope you do too! Every story he writes reminds me that we are all multifaceted and precious, despite our flaws--what a gift.More thanks are in order:I am so grateful to George Saunders because he agreed to this podcast...
2022-11-0138 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Peter Ho DaviesHi Everyone, "Let's Deconstruct a Story" is a podcast where we read and discuss one short story with the author. Today I'll be talking about the short story "Chance" with the author, Peter Ho Davies.***Content warning: This episode deals with pregnancy/childbirth, miscarriages/abortion*** Please read the story first and then listen to the podcast, available on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, Anchor, as well as several other platforms. "Chance" was first published in Glimmer Train and then later in Catamaran and Drum. It's also the first chapter in hi...
2022-09-3041 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Jacob M. Appel"Let's Deconstruct a Story" is a podcast where we read and discuss one short story with the author. This week I am talking to Jacob M. Appel about his story "The Frying Finn" first published in Agni and available here. Please read the story first before listening to our discussion. Learn more about Jacob M. Appel on my blog here. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe
2022-08-3127 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Selena Anderson"Let's Deconstruct a Story" is a podcast where we read and discuss one short story with the author. This week I am talking to Selena Anderson about her Oxford American and later, Best American Short Story, "Godmother Tea!" Please read the story on my website and then enjoy the podcast! All best,KellyBio: Selena Anderson is a writer from Texas. Her stories have appeared in Fence, BOMB, Conjunctions, The Baffler, Oxford American, and The Best American Short Stories 2020. She is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, The...
2022-08-1538 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Lydia Conklin"Let's Deconstruct a Story" is a podcast where we read and discuss one short story with the author.In this episode, Lydia Conklin and Lillian Li will be discussing the story "Sunny Talks" first published in One Story in January 2022. This conversation was recorded live at Pages Bookshop in Detroit on June 24, 2022.This episode is part of a series of "Let's Deconstruct a Story" podcasts offered in collaboration with the Grosse Pointe Public Library in Michigan. The GPPL has committed to purchasing ten books by each author this season to give to their...
2022-07-3143 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Maurine Ogbaa"Let's Deconstruct a Story" is a podcast where we read and discuss one short story with the author. For this episode, please read "Goodbye" by Maurine Ogbaa, first published in Agni. **Please note we will be talking about suicide on this episode.**This summer I am posting two episodes with writers who have not yet published their first short story collections. This podcast is dedicated to the work of Maurine Ogbaa and on August 15th I will be posting a conversation with Selena Anderson about her short story "Godmother Tea," which was chosen f...
2022-07-1443 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story with Rion Amilcar Scott"Let's Deconstruct a Story" is a podcast where we read and discuss one short story with the author.For this episode please read or listen to the audio recording of "Shape-Ups at Delilah's" in The New Yorker before listening to our discussion.This is part of a series of "Let's Deconstruct a Story" podcasts offered in collaboration with the Grosse Pointe Public Library in Michigan. The GPPL has committed to purchasing ten books by each author this season to give to their patrons! If you are a short story writer who has tried...
2022-07-0130 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Ellen Birkett MorrisHi Everyone,I'm thrilled to welcome Ellen Birkett Morris to the show today. Please read her story, "Inheritance" (available at www.kellyfordon.com) before listening to our discussion.During our talk, Ellen also mentioned a book by Ron Carlson called "Ron Carlson Writes a Story" which is out of print unfortunately but you might find a used copy here.Next month, Rion Amilcar Scott will record his session with me on June 28th at 6 pm at Pages Bookshop in Detroit. If you would like to sign up for the FREE...
2022-05-3129 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Sara MajkaHi Everyone,I'm excited to share my interview with Sara Majka about the title short story, "Cities I've Never Lived In." Here's a brief description of the collection from the publisher Graywolf Press:"Fearlessly riding the line between imagination and experience, fact and fiction, the linked stories in Sara Majka’s debut collection offer intimate glimpses of a young New England woman whose life must begin afresh after a divorce. Traveling the roads of Maine and the train tracks of Grand Central Station, moving from vast shorelines to the unmade beds of strangers, th...
2022-04-3043 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryPoet, Ken Meisel, reads from his new collection, The Consent Of A Distance” Kelsay Press, January 2022.Even though I am mostly working on "Let's Deconstruct a Story" these days, every now and then I still like to feature a stellar Michigan poet! Today's post includes a reading by Ken Meisel from his new book, Studies Inside the Consent of a Distance published in January by Kelsay Books.Poems in the recording include "Fatherhood," "Two Portraits of Hunger, South Carolina" and “The Angel of the Wonderful “ all published in the San Pedro River Review. “Studies Inside the Consent of a Distance” was first published in Third Wednesday.His new book is dedic...
2022-04-1411 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Lily KingLily King discusses the title story from her collection "Five Tuesdays in Winter." The story is available at most local libraries and should be read before listening to the podcast. I apologize--normally I am able to provide a copy of the story on my website but apparently Grove Atlantic does not have serial rights to the individual stories.Lily King is the award-winning author of five novels. Her most recent novel, Writers & Lovers, was published on March 3rd, 2020, and her first collection of short stories, Five Tuesdays in Winter, was released on November 9, 2021. H...
2022-04-0139 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Caitlin HorrocksCaitlin Horrocks discusses her story "On the Oregon Trail" from her short story collection, Life Among the Terranauts.The story is available and should be read before listening to the podcast at www.kellyfordon.com/blog.Caitlin Horrocks is the author of the story collections Life Among the Terranauts and This Is Not Your City, both New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice selections. Her novel The Vexations was named one of the Ten Best Books of 2019 by the Wall Street Journal. Her stories and essays appear in The New Yorker, The Be...
2022-03-0135 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Alix Ohlin“Let’s Deconstruct a Story” is a podcast for the story nerds--those who know that examining the components of a good story is the key to writing one. In each episode here, I interview a writer about one of their own stories, delving deeply into their choice of POV, plot, setting, and tone. The stories are available for listeners to read (below) before they listen to our discussion at www.kellyfordon.com/blog.Alix Ohlin is the author of six books, including the novel, Dual Citizens, which was short-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Rogers...
2021-11-1539 min
Let's Deconstruct a Story"Let's Deconstruct a Story" featuring Natalie Serber**Note use of strong language and adult content.**Please read Natalie's story, "Children are Magic" first at www.kellyfordon.com/blog.Natalie Serber is the author of a memoir about her experience with breast cancer entitled, Community Chest, and a story collection, Shout Her Lovely Name, a New York Times Notable Book, and an O, the Oprah Magazine Summer Read. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, her fiction has appeared in One Story, Zyzzyva Magazine, Hunger Mountain, The Bellingham Review, Gulf Coast, and others. Essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times, The...
2021-10-3150 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Sejal ShahWelcome!“Let’s Deconstruct a Story” is a podcast for the story nerds!This is a podcast for aspiring writers who know that examining the components of a good story is the key to writing one. In each episode here, I interview a writer about one of their own stories, delving deeply into their choice of POV, plot, setting, and tone. The stories are available at www.kellyfordon.com for listeners to read (below) before they listen to our discussion.Bio: Sejal Shah is a poet who works in prose, writin...
2021-10-1545 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Clifford GarstangWelcome!“Let’s Deconstruct a Story” is a podcast for the story nerds!This is a podcast for aspiring writers who know that examining the components of a good story is the key to writing one. In each episode here, I interview a writer about one of their own stories, delving deeply into their choice of POV, plot, setting, and tone. The stories are available at www.kellyfordon.com for listeners to read (below) before they listen to our discussion. Clifford Garstang is the author of the novels Oliver’s Travels a...
2021-09-3031 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Noley ReidKelly Fordon talks to Noley Reid about her story "Coming Back" on Split Lip Magazine available here or at www.kellyfordon.com/blog.Noley Reid’s third book is the novel Pretend We Are Lovely from Tin House Books. Her fourth book, a collection of stories called Origami Dogs, is forthcoming from Autumn House Press. Her stories and essays have appeared in The Southern Review, The Rumpus, Arts & Letters, Meridian, Pithead Chapel, The Lily, Bustle, Confrontation, and Los Angeles Review of Books. Follow her on Twitter @NoleyReid and find out more about her writing and upcoming ev...
2021-09-1422 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Jeff Vande ZandeJeff Vande Zande discusses his story, "Load," with host, Kelly Fordon. "Load" was first published in Fiction Circus: http://fictioncircus.com/story.php?storyid=load and later in his short story collection, "The Neighborhood Division." Please read the story first before listening to our discussion. The PDF is available at www.kellyfordon.com/blog.BIO:Jeff Vande Zande teaches fiction writing, screenwriting, and film production at Delta College in Michigan. His award-winning short films have been accepted over 200 times in national and international film festivals. His books of fiction include the story collections E...
2021-08-3132 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Wendy RawlingsWendy Rawlings discusses her story, "Coffins for Kids," with host, Kelly Fordon. "Coffins for Kids" was first published in The Kenyon Review https://soundcloud.com/the-kenyon-review/coffins-for-kids-by-wendy-rawlings-read-by-allison-hetzel, and later in her 2019 short story collection, "Time for Bed" (LSU). Please read the story first before listening to our discussion. The PDF is available at www.kellyfordon.com/blog.Wendy Rawlings is the author of three books of fiction: Time for Bed, The Agnostics, and Come Back Irish. Originally from New York, she has lived in Alabama for the past 21 years. She teaches and directs the MFA Program...
2021-08-1534 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Susan PeraboKelly Fordon and Susan Perabo discuss Susan's story, This is Not That Story. The story is available in The Sun Magazine and linked on Kelly Fordon's blog.Bio: Susan Perabo’s most recent books are The Fall of Lisa Bellow (2017) and Why They Run the Way They Do (2016), both from Simon & Schuster. Her fiction has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories, Pushcart Prize Stories, andNew Stories from the South, and her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in numerous publications, including One Story, Glimmer Train, Story, The New York Times, The Sun, and The Chronicle of Higher Educati...
2021-07-3037 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryEllen Birkett Morris reads from her chapbook, Abide.Abide by Ellen Birkett Morrispublished July 2021Seven Kitchens Press. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe
2021-07-2204 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Treena ThibodeauWelcome to "Let's Deconstruct a Story" where we read a story and then "deconstruct" it with the author. In order to get the most out of our interview, please read Treena Thibodeau's story first here: www.kellyfordon.com/blog.Treena Thibodeau's work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Rumpus, Atticus Review, Able Muse, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Pithead Chapel, and Barrelhouse. The director of the online reading series TGI (www.tgicast.com), Thibodeau's fiction has received support from the Vermont Studio Center, the Tin House Summer Conference, and the Gulkistan Center in Iceland. She holds an MFA...
2021-07-1430 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Wandeka GayleWelcome to "Let's Deconstruct a Story!" This week I'm talking to Wandeka Gayle about a story called "Prodigal" from her new collection, "Motherland and other Stories."First, please read "Prodigal" by Wandeka GayleAnd then enjoy our discussion!Kelly FordonBio: Wandeka Gayle is a Jamaican writer, visual artist, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Spelman College and the author of Motherland and Other Stories (Peepal Tree Press, 2020). She has received writing fellowships from Kimbilio Fiction, Callaloo, the Hurston/Wright Foundation, and the Martha's Vineyard Institute of Cre...
2021-07-0141 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Esperanza CintrónKelly Fordon talks to Esperanza Cintrón about her award-winning collection, Shades, Detroit Love Stories, a collection of interconnected short stories published by Wayne State University Press (2019). The conversation focuses on the first story, "The Beard." To read the story please visit www.kellyfordon.com/blog. For more about Esperanza Cintrón, please visit her website here: http://esperanzacintron.com/.Esperanza Cintrón’s Shades: Detroit Love Stories is a short story collection that is distinctly Detroit. By touching on a number of romantic and sexual encounters that span the historical and temporal spaces of the city...
2021-05-2746 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Joseph HarrisJoseph Harris and Kelly Fordon discuss the first book from Harris's thrilling interconnected narrative, You’re in the Wrong Place. Charles Baxter stated that "Joseph Harris has a particular feeling for the Detroit suburbs and the slightly stunted lives of the young people there. . . . You’re in the Wrong Place isn’t uniformly downbeat—there are all sorts of rays of hope that gleam toward the end."The book, composed of twelve stories, begins in the fall of 2008 with the shuttering of Dynamic Fabricating—a fictional industrial shop located in the Detroit suburb of Ferndale. Over the next s...
2021-05-0138 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring Rachel SwearingenPlease read Rachel's story, Advice for the Haunted, on my website before listening to us "deconstructing" it. https://kellyfordon.com/2020/10/31/rachel-swearingen/Rachel Swearingen is the author of How to Walk on Water and Other Stories, winner of the 2018 New American Press Fiction Prize (October 1, 2020). Her stories and essays have appeared in VICE, The Missouri Review, Kenyon Review, Off Assignment, Agni, American Short Fiction, and elsewhere.She is the recipient of the 2015 Missouri Review Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize in Fiction, a 2012 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Award, and the 2011 Mississippi Review Prize in Fiction. In 2019, she...
2021-04-2831 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryPoet, Laura Van Prooyen, reads from her new collection, "Frances of the Wider Field."Laura Van Prooyen’s collections of poetry are Frances of the Wider Field (Lily Poetry Review Books 2021), Our House Was on Fire, nominated by Philip Levine, awarded the McGovern Prize (Ashland Poetry Press 2015), and Inkblot and Altar (Pecan Grove Press 2006). She is also co-author, with Gretchen Bernabei, of Text Structures from Poetry—a book of writing lessons for grades 4-12 (Corwin Literacy 2020).Laura has over 20 years experience teaching poetry and writing in a variety of academic settings including: Dominican University, Henry Ford Academy: The Alameda School for Art + Design, Chicago Public Schools, Del Valle High School, and Un...
2021-04-1520 min
Let's Deconstruct a StoryLet's Deconstruct a Story featuring John McNally#letsdeconstructastory is all about unpacking short stories to see how they work on a cellular level. It's a place for writers to geek out about the work of other writers and hopefully add some new tools to their own toolbox.Here's how it works:1. Please read the story first.2. Listen to our discussion of the story here or on Apple or Spotify. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe
2021-04-0642 min
Thoughts from a Page PodcastSharon Harrigan - HALFSharon speaks about her debut novel Half, writing about twin sisters who speak in one voice, publishing during the pandemic, the inspiration for her story, and much more. Half can be purchased at Murder by the Book. Sharon’s 7 recommended reads are: You Will Never Be Forgotten by Mary South You Again by Debra Jo Immergut Book of the Little Axe by Lauren Francis-Sharma Pale Morning Light with Violet Swan by Deborah Reed The Heart and Other Monsters by Rose Hendersen I Have the Answer by Kelly Fordon The Fear of Everything by John McNally Lea...
2020-12-0822 min
Past ForwardKelly FordonKelly Fordon is the author of an award-winning short story collection, Garden for the Blind (Wayne State University Press, 2015); a poetry chapbook, The Witness, which won the Eric Hoffer Award for the Chapbook; and a poetry collection, Goodbye Toothless House.I Have the AnswerWayne State University Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a...
2020-08-3103 min
The Other StoriesThe Other Stories - Episode 244 - Feat. Kelly FordonThis week we're happy to welcome Kelly Fordon to the podcast.
2020-05-0639 min