MIK GRANTHAM is the founder and co-editor of Disorder Press, which she runs with her brother [Joey Grantham]. She is the author of the poetry collection, HARDCORE (Short Flight/Long Drive Books, 2021), and her work has appeared in Hobart, The Nervous Breakdown, Maudlin House, Fanzine, among others. She lives in New Orleans.
Hoarders, newly out with Wave Books, is writer/artist Kate Durbin’s third book of poetry. Titled after the reality television show of the same name, each poem brings to life a person and their attachments—from sketches of naked women to rotting food to VHS tapes to clothes to cats. Here, Durbin lays bare the American Dream as nightmare, and the links between trauma and capitalism, not turning away from the darker aspects of hoarding. But the book illuminates a new kind of aliveness as well, an unusual way of thinking about objects, and a sense of humanity that is beautifully complex.
Since the beginning of 2020, a pair of books by Matthew Salesses have reached bookshelves wherever books are sold. On the surface, they couldn’t be more different. Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear is a distinctive spin on the idea of the fictional double, blending the surrealism inherent in the concept with a harrowing take on contemporary politics. Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshoppingoffers a stunning take on how fiction and writing are taught, and where some of the foundations of the form fall short. I talked with Salesses about the writing of both books and whether they helped to shape one another — and what George Constanza had to do with it all.
NICO WALKER is an American author and US Army veteran who served time in prison for bank robbery. His semi-autobiographical debut novel, Cherry, was recently adapted into a film. He is married to author Rachel Rabbit White.
RACHEL RABBIT WHITE is a poet, a Vice “sex scenes” columnist (formerly of Playboy and Thought Catalog), and the author of Porn Carnival: Paradise Edition. She is married to author Nico Walker.
Gabriel Blackwell’s fiction rarely treads the same ground twice. He has a particular skill at finding ways to turn the margins of stories and genres into thrilling works on their own, whether that’s cosmic horror or the film Vertigo. The last year has seen the publication of two new collections of Blackwell’s short fiction: Babel and CORRECTION. Babel showcases Blackwell’s writing at its most nimble and at its most structurally innovative, while CORRECTION wrestles with contemporary life in unexpected and jarring ways. Taken together, they’re a welcome return from a talented writer. Blackwell answered a number of questions about the genesis of these stories and how they came together in these two volumes.
JON LINDSEY is the author of Body High (House of Vlad, 2021), and his work has appeared at New York Tyrant, Post Road, and Hobart. He lives in Los Angeles.
ALLIE ROWBOTTOM is the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, Jell-O Girls. She received her BA from New York University, her MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, and her PhD in Creative Writing and Literature from the University of Houston. Her work has received scholarships, essay prizes and honorable mentions from Tin House, Inprint, the Best American Essays series, the Florida Review, The Bellingham Review, the Black Warrior Review, The Southampton Review, and Hunger Mountain. She lives in Los Angeles.