We talk with the creators of Chill Subs, an online portal for all things literary publishing, about the state of lit mags, why finding places to submit your work is such a chore, and why they created a site that attempts to make it easier. Karina Kupp and Benjamin Davis joined us from Poland and Georgia, respectively, to chat about their own experiences in the lit world, and their ambitious plans for Chill Subs.

You can check out their site here: https://www.chillsubs.com/

You can read the Roxane Gay essay we discussed here: http://htmlgiant.com/random/a-rambling-poetry-fiction-literary-magazines-are-still-dying/ (that piece also links to the Ted Genoways essay Roxane's piece was responding to).

And if you like the podcast, and want to ensure it keeps existing in the world, please consider joining our Patreon, where a mere $5/month gets you access to regular bonus episodes, plus a treaure trove of past bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

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We're joined by New York Times bestselling author Edan Lepucki, whose newest novel, Time's Mouth, is out now from Penguin Random House. We talk about her recent love of Larry McMurtry, why she'll never publish a short story collection, and why people need to get over their prudishness when it comes to literary depictions of sex.

You can find all things Edan at her website, including links to order her new book, and to subscribe to her Substack: https://www.edanlepucki.com/

If you like our podcast, and want to help support it, please consider joining our Patreon, where we release two bonus episodes each month: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

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This week we're unlocking one of our bonus episodes, usually available only to Patreon subscribers. This is the inauguaral episode in our Summer of Shorts season, in which we're discussing both short stories and short pants. In this episode we take on a Ling Ma short story and also a pair of "conspiracy shorts" that are supposed to protect you from electromagnetic fields.

If you like the episode, and want to hear the rest of the Summer of Shorts season, you can subscribe to our Patreon for just five bucks: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

You can also read the Ling Ma story we talked about here, via the New Yorker site (if you have free articles left this month, or are a subscriber): https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/11/peking-duck

We're joined by the author of SINK to talk about difficult memoirs, how various kinds of privilege play out in workshop, and why he likes writing that forces you to get a little lost. 

Check out more from Joseph--and buy his book--via his website: https://www.josephearlthomas.net/

You can learn more about Blue Stoop Philly, including local literary events and course offerings, here: https://www.bluestoop.org/

And if you like our podcast, and want more of it in your life--including two bonus episodes each month--join our Patreon for just $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Irish author Mark O'Connell (A Thread of Violence, Notes from an Apocalypse, and To Be a Machine, which won the 2019 Rooney Prize for Irish literature) to discuss a John Banville novel, The Book of Evidence, a fictionalized account of a famous Irish murder. O'Connell's newest book is actually a nonfiction exploration of that same murder, which took place in the early 80s and made headlines around the country, in part because the murderer was a well-known Dublin socialite.

We talk to O'Connell about why he became so obsessed with that murder, his approach to writing and researching nonfiction, and why he's not worried about AI taking any of our jobs.

You can find more about O'Connell--and his books--at his website: https://mark-oconnell.com/

If you like our show, and want to support it, we're offering two bonus episodes each month for only $5. Most recently those include our ongoing Summer of Shorts, in which we read short stories and talk about short pants: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Sebastian Castillo--author, most recently, of SALMON--to discuss a very strange, and strangely funny, novel. 

We're joined by Libby Cudmore--author of the "hipster mystery" novel The Big Rewind--to talk about her experiments in flash fiction, her relationship to genre, and why she loves Dave Housley's LOONEY. 

You can find Libby on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/LibbyCudmore

And if you like our show, please consider joining the Patreon. Just five bucks a month gets you access to bonus episodes, including our special Summer of Shorts season: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by fiction writer Sarah Anne Strickley (Incendiary Devices) to talk about what it's like to be one half of a literary power couple. Plus a strange Brian Evenson novella, Sarah's path toward weirdness in her own fiction, and whether the Iowa Writers Workshop will live inside our heads forever.

Check out Sarah's work--including her new book--at her website: https://www.sarahannestrickley.com/

And if you'd like more Book Fight in your life, join our Patreon and get two bonus episodes a month, for only $5: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by the founding editors of Great Place Books--Emily Adrian and Alex Higley--to talk about why they started a new press, and the kinds of books they're hoping to publish. We also discuss Rivka Galchen's short story, "How I Became a Vet," from a recent issue of The New Yorker. 

You can learn more about Great Place Books here: https://www.greatplacebooks.com/

You can read "How I Became a Vet" here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/13/how-i-became-a-vet

Alex on Twitter: https://twitter.com/higley_alex

Emily on Twitter: https://twitter.com/adremily

Join our Patreon, support the show, and get access to fun bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight

We're joined by Nic Brown, author of several books, most recently the memoir Bang Bang Crash, about his life as a rock drummer. Nic was also a grad school classmate of ours at the Iowa Writers Workshop, so we decided to revisit Stop-Time, the famous memoir by Frank Conroy, who was in his final years of running the program when we were students there.

You can find Nic (and his book) here: https://www.nicbrown.net/

If you like the show, and want more of it, you can Subscribe to our Patreon for $5 a month and get exclusive bonus episodes: https://www.patreon.com/BookFight