music

Corey Flood is the Philly band you need to know

by AdamLeave a Comment on Corey Flood is the Philly band you need to know
Corey Flood is the Philly band you need to know

Corey Flood is comprised of three Philly musicians from different backgrounds, with different musical tastes, who are all working different day jobs. Their debut album, Hanging On, is nine songs and only 20 minutes long. However, that album weaves together complex narratives and haunting melodies. The trio is Ivy Gray-Klein (formerly of Littler, drummer Juliette Rando, and guitarist Em Boltz, who joined the other two a month after the band formed. They quickly signed to Fire Talk, which put out their debut in September 2020 after months of delays (that were nobody’s fault).

Continue reading “Corey Flood is the Philly band you need to know” →
Interviews, music

Anjimile gives us beauty and takes nothing in return

by AdamLeave a Comment on Anjimile gives us beauty and takes nothing in return
Anjimile gives us beauty and takes nothing in return

Anjimile grew up in a religious household in Houston where he had to go to church every day and suppress who he really was. Teenage independence led to an adulthood struggle with alcohol where he sometimes forgot what songs he wrote until he rediscovered them in rehab.

Those rediscovered songs were a reawakening for Anjimile, who breathed new life into them for his debut album Giver Taker.
After many self-released efforts, Giver Taker is Anjimile’s proper debut to the world. Throughout nine songs clocking in just under half an hour, the Boston-based singer takes listeners on a spiritual emotional journey of addiction, sobriety, and becoming less of an asshole.

Continue reading “Anjimile gives us beauty and takes nothing in return” →
Interviews

Asha Lemmie finds links to the present by exploring the past in Fifty Words For Rain

by AdamLeave a Comment on Asha Lemmie finds links to the present by exploring the past in Fifty Words For Rain
Asha Lemmie finds links to the present by exploring the past in Fifty Words For Rain

Asha Lemmie‘s historical fiction Fifty Words For Rain is an expansive exploration into a woman’s coming of age in post-World War II Japan. She takes readers into a world and lets them play there while mistakes are made, secrets are revealed, and desires are tempted. The book itself is like a sibling to Lemmie. She started it in high school and grew up with it. There was no MFA or workshops. Just a decade of perseverance chasing a teenage dream.

Continue reading “Asha Lemmie finds links to the present by exploring the past in Fifty Words For Rain” →
Interviews

Jenny Bhatt wants to read stories from every culture

by Adam2 Comments on Jenny Bhatt wants to read stories from every culture
Jenny Bhatt wants to read stories from every culture

Jenny Bhatt is a writer, translator, and host of the Desi Books podcast. She is outspoken on Twitter about the need for diversity in publishing and is an advocate for all writers and not just ones who share her background.

Her debut story collection, Each of Us Killers, is about Indians in the workforce. The typical tropes readers, editors, and agents might expect from a South Asian writer are nowhere to be found. The book is the culmination of years of desire and hard work. She spent years in corporate America while writing on the side before moving back to India to pursue her debut seriously.

I spoke with Jenny Bhatt about her writing history, how her book finally came together, and how publishing has changed since she queried the book back in 2017.

Continue reading “Jenny Bhatt wants to read stories from every culture” →
Recommendations

6 debut books you should read this September

by Adam2 Comments on 6 debut books you should read this September
6 debut books you should read this September

Each month, Debutiful will recommend a handful of buzzworthy and under-the-radar debut books for you to read.

It’s already September? Gone are the dog days of a summer. Most of which we all probably spent in doors. Autumn is usually a time for cozy books to come out to curl up as the weather drops. This year is no different when it comes to literary releases, but the whole world feels different. The Covid-19 pandemic is far from over. An American election feels like a turning point for the future of mankind. Countless acts of racism and murders of Black people by police. All of these things deserve our attention.

If you need to escape for a few hours a day, try these debut books. Below you’ll find stories from abroad, thrillers, and down right beautiful prose.

Continue reading “6 debut books you should read this September” →
Interviews, Podcast

Greg Mania is all about laughs, yellow, and being public

by Adam1 Comment on Greg Mania is all about laughs, yellow, and being public
Greg Mania is all about laughs, yellow, and being public

Subscribe
Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher
or listen below

Greg Mania is a writer, comedian, and award-winning screenwriter. He has been published all over the internet and in print at The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, O, The Oprah Magazine, PAPER, HuffPost, Out, BOMB, Electric Literature, and so much more. He is also the recipient of the Grand Prize of the Fourth Annual Stage 32 Comedy Writing Contest.

Continue reading “Greg Mania is all about laughs, yellow, and being public” →
Interviews

Meet seven writers collected in the Pen America Best Debut Short Stories 2020 anthology

by Adam4 Comments on Meet seven writers collected in the Pen America Best Debut Short Stories 2020 anthology
Meet seven writers collected in the Pen America Best Debut Short Stories 2020 anthology

Every year, PEN America releases an anthology of the best short stories written by first time published writers. This year, a dozen writers were selected from a wide-ranging array of literary journals – both in print and online. They were judged and selected by Tracy O’Neill, Nafissa Thompson-Spires, and Deb Olin Unferth.

I asked seven of the collected writers get-to-know-you questions to better introduce them to readers.

Continue reading “Meet seven writers collected in the Pen America Best Debut Short Stories 2020 anthology” →