Skylight Books Podcast

As part of the MFA program at UC-Irvine I got to read at Skylight Books in Los Angeles this May. They recorded a podcast of the reading (as they do for all of their reading events), which you can listen to here. It is the episode labeled UC Irvine MFA Students, released on 6/6/13.

I read my story "Little Man," which was published in Short Fiction (England), along side work by Benjamin Percy, Brad Watson, Michael Martone, storied Irish writer Mike McCormack, and others.


I can't thank Skylight Books enough for letting us read at their store. It was a real thrill. The podcast also features the work of my friends, poets Josh Cornwell and Meagan Cooney, and fiction writer Justin Lee. If you'd like to listen to "Little Man," it starts at the 18:41 mark in the recording, and you can check it out here. Big thanks to Meagan Cooney for her wonderful introduction as well. Thanks for listening!

Book Review in Mid-American Review

I reviewed The Incurables by Mark Brazaitis for the current issue of Mid-American Review. The stories in this linked collection, reminiscent of Sherwood Anderson's masterful Winesburg, Ohio, are fresh, inviting, and comically bizarre. Brazaitis conjures the small town of Sherman, Ohio, a place that comes to life beautifully on the page. The characters here have deep roots, and for most, the city limits act as a boundary that they dare not cross. Never unkind, Brazaitis forces his characters to face down trouble of their own making; he backs them into a corner and makes them fight their way out, often with dire consequences. I can't recommend this book enough.

Thanks again to Mid-American Review editor Michael Czyzniejewski for assigning this book for review; I'm happy to be a regular contributor now. You can get a copy of the new issue of Mid-American Review here and a copy of The Incurables here.