Tag: writer interview

Interviews, my reading life

My Reading Life: Great Disasters author Grady Chambers wants teens to read more contemporary books in school

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My Reading Life: Great Disasters author Grady Chambers wants teens to read more contemporary books in school

In his debut novel, Great Disasters, Grady Chambers traces the lives of six men coming of age in early-2000s Chicago, as friendship, first love, protest, and war shape the bonds that push and pull them. Chambers captures the humor, heartbreak, and hope that can be found even in moments of loss and devastation. He is also the author of the poetry collection North American Stadiums, which won the Max Ritvo Poetry Prize, and his work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Paris Review, American Poetry Review, and The Sun.

We asked Chambers to answer our recurring My Reading Life Q&A so readers could get to know the books that shaped his life and what influenced his debut novel.

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Interviews

Samantha Browning Shea on her debut novel Marrow and fifteen years of being a literary agent

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Samantha Browning Shea on her debut novel Marrow and fifteen years of being a literary agent

Samantha Browning Shea has been a literary agent for Georges Borchardt for fifteen years, where hse has worked on books that have been received numrerous honors and awards, including the “5 Under 35” honor from the National Book Foundation, the “Best of Young American Novelists” honor from Granta Magazine, the Kirkus Prize, the Whiting Award, the National Book Critics Circle Awards, the PEN/ Robert W. Bingham Prize.

Now, with her debut novel, Marrow, Shea is ready to introduce readers to a world that explores femininity and power on a small island off the coast of Maine, where a coven of witches tinkers with fertility.

We caught up with Shea via email, where we asked about being a literary agent, why magic and motherhood interested her, and how Marrow became her debut book.

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Interviews, my reading life

My Reading Life: Mouth author Kerry Donoghue wants to choose her own adventure

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My Reading Life: Mouth author Kerry Donoghue wants to choose her own adventure

Earlier this year, Kerry Donoghue‘s debut short story collection Mouth was published by Unsolicited Press. Prior to publishing this collection, her poetry and stories have appeared in Ninth Letter, Painted Bride Quarterly, Permafrost, The Louisville Review, and The South Carolina Review.

She is also part of the Poets & Writers Get the Word Out publicity incubator, which Debutiful announced last December.

We asked her to answer our recurring My Reading Life questionnaire so readers could get to know her and the books that shaped her life.

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Interviews, my reading life

My Reading Life: Fair Play author Louise Hegarty finds the idea of ‘assigned reading’ a little suspicious

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My Reading Life: Fair Play author Louise Hegarty finds the idea of ‘assigned reading’ a little suspicious

Irish writer Louise Hegarty’s debut novel Fair Play follows a group of friends who gather at an Airbnb for a jazz-age themed New Year’s Eve murder mystery party, only to wake up and find the birthday boy, Benjamin, dead. As his sister Abigail reels from the loss, a detective arrives to investigate, transforming the house into a classic whodunit setting where everyone is a suspect and no one is quite who they seem. Both gripping and tender, the novel explores love, grief, and identity while cleverly subverting the conventions of the mystery genre.

The release of the debut mystery builds off of a shining career where she was the inaugural winner of the Sunday Business Post/Penguin Ireland Short Story Prize and her short story “Getting the Electric” has been optioned by Fíbín Media. 

We asked the writer to answer our recurring My Reading Life questionnaire so readers could get to know her better and discover the books that shaped her life.

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Interviews

My Reading Life: Leafskin author Miranda Schmidt wishes she found Kissing the Witch in high school

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My Reading Life: Leafskin author Miranda Schmidt wishes she found Kissing the Witch in high school

Miranda Schmidt‘s debut novel Leafskin is about motherhood, queer love, and the environment. She is a PhD candidate at Bath Spa University and received their MFA from the University of Washington, and has published work in places like Electric Literature, Orion, Catapult, and elsewhere. She has received support from Lambda Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Writers and Bread Loaf Environmental Conference.

We asked her to answer our recurring My Reading Life questionnaire so readers can discover the books that shaped her life.

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Interviews

My Reading Life: Liquid writer Mariam Rahmani on the books that shaped her

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My Reading Life: Liquid writer Mariam Rahmani on the books that shaped her

Mariam Rahmani, the author of Liquid: A Love Story, is a writer and translator whose work has appeared in Granta, Gulf Coast, n+1, and more. Her first book-length translation was named a Best Book of 2022 by The New Yorker. Rahmani holds a PhD from UCLA, an MFA from Columbia, and degrees from Princeton and Oxford. She currently teaches at Bennington College.

Her debut novel follows an unnamed Iranian-Indian American narrator who, after struggling to find stability post-PhD, embarks on a meticulously planned mission to “marry rich.” What begins as a whirlwind of absurd and revealing dates across Los Angeles shifts when a family tragedy forces her to confront the contradictions in her life—and question whether the person she’s searching for has been there all along.

Below, the author answered our My Reading Life questionnaire, sharing the books that shaped her, the stories that make her laugh, and what’s currently on her nightstand.

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News

See the cover for Make Your Way Home by Carrie Moore

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See the cover for Make Your Way Home by Carrie Moore

Carrie Moore‘s short stories have appeared in One Story, New England Review, The Sewanee Review, and Virginia Quarterly Review. Now, her debut short story collection Make Your Way Home is being published by Tin House on July 15, 2025! It is now available for pre-order.

The collection takes place across the American South and features Black men and women at different stages of age, happiness, and stability. From a pregnant young girl to a man grappling with a century-long curse, Moore invites readers into their lives with well-drawn portraits that don’t shy away from the complexity of their choices and emotions.

Debutiful is pleased to give a first look at the phenomenal cover of Make Your Way Home, which uses Higher Calling by Uzo Njoku as the centerpiece for the cover that was designed by Beth Steidle, Tin House’s Director of Design and Production. See the cover below and get a behind-the-scenes look at how it came to be.

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Interviews

A Life of Books: K.E. Semmel, author of The Book of Losman

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A Life of Books: K.E. Semmel, author of The Book of Losman

The Book of Losman, the debut novel from K.E. Semmel follows Daniel Losman, an American living in Copenhagen, whose life is marked by solitude after his longtime girlfriend leaves him. He spends time with his three-year-old son, worrying the boy may have inherited his Tourette Syndrome. The hilarious and clever novel is slim and packs a punch on every page.

Semmel is a former Literary Translation Fellow from the National Endowment for the Arts whose own fiction and nonfiction has appeared in Ontario Review, Lithub, The Writer’s Chronicle, HuffPost, The Millions, The Southern Review,  and The Washington Post. He has translated the works of Naja Marie Aidt, Karin Fossum, and Jussi Adler Olsen.

We asked the writer to answer our recurring A Life of Books questionnaire so readers could get to know him better and get a few book recommendations to add to their own TBR Pile.

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News

Navigating India’s Political Divide: An Interview with Quarterlife author Devika Rege

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Navigating India’s Political Divide: An Interview with Quarterlife author Devika Rege



In her debut novel Quarterlife, Devika Rege offers a gripping and layered portrait of a nation in transition. Set against the backdrop of rising Hindu nationalism, the novel follows Naren, a Wall Street consultant drawn back to Mumbai after a divisive election that brings the Bharat Party to power.

We caught up with Devika Rege via email to chat about Quarterlife and get some behind-the-scenes information about how the story came to life.

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