13 GIU 2024 · Paul Luikart is the author of the short story collections Animal Heart (Hyperborea Publishing, 2016), Brief Instructions (Ghostbird Press, 2017), Metropolia (Ghostbird Press, 2021), The Museum of Heartache (Pski’s Porch Publishing, 2021), the 11th installment of Belle Point Press' Prose Series, and The Realm of the Dog (J. New Books, 2024.) He serves as an adjunct professor of fiction writing at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. He and his family live in Chattanooga, Tennessee.https://pluikart2.wixsite.com/paulluikart

4 GIU 2024 · The https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-ill-fitting-skin-shannon-robinson/21168757?aid=5819&ean=9781950413751&listref=2024-clients& is layered with surreal storytelling but remains an extraordinarily realistic read, in the sense that even the most solid realities of life—and death—tend to blur and shimmer at their raw edges. The talkative bird that nests in a woman’s womb is as real as the “previous tenant.” The love of a mother for her uncontrollable son is as real as the wildness that is in her too. The women of The Ill-Fitting Skin are real women—who work and grieve and create and destroy, who love and do not love, whether at the roll of the dice or because “the pages are paths, and you will have to choose among them.”Shannon Robinson’s debut short story collection, The Ill-Fitting Skin, is winner of the Press 53 Award for Short Fiction (forthcoming with Press 53 in May 2024). Her writing has appeared in The Gettysburg Review, The Iowa Review, Joyland, Water-Stone Review, Nimrod, failbetter, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA in fiction from Washington University in St. Louis, and in 2011 she was the Writer-in-Residence at Interlochen Center for the Arts. Other honors include Nimrod’s Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction, grants from the Elizabeth George Foundation and the Canada Council for the Arts, a Hedgebrook Fellowship, a Sewanee Scholarship, and an Independent Artist Award from the Maryland Arts Council. She teaches creative writing at Johns Hopkins University and lives in Baltimore with her husband and son. http://www.shannonrobinson.org/

30 MAG 2024 · Morgan Parker is a poet, essayist, and novelist. She is the author of the young adult novel https://www.getunderlined.com/books/592224/who-put-this-song-on-by-morgan-parker/; and the poetry collections https://www.amazon.com/Other-Peoples-Comfort-Keeps-Night/dp/0986187615/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483403242&sr=1-1&keywords=other+people%27s+comfort+keeps+me+up+at+night, https://tinhouse.com/product/there-are-more-beautiful-things-than-beyonce-morgan-parker/, and https://tinhouse.com/product/magical-negro/, which won the 2019 National Book Critics Circle Award. She is the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship, winner of a Pushcart Prize, and has been hailed by The New York Times as “a dynamic craftsperson” of “considerable consequence to American poetry.”Parker’s debut book of nonfiction, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576870/you-get-what-you-pay-for-by-morgan-parker/9780525511441/ is available at your favorite bookstore.

21 MAG 2024 · https://www.rubyroth.art/work’s work is defined by the female form and depicts the inner lives of women through emotionally visceral representations of the bodies they inhabit.For the past several years, amidst a radical transition from a decade of familial life as a best-selling children’s book author-illustrator to self-determined independence as a single female artist, Roth has explored the deep end of the feminine spectrum and its archetypes.Roth’s work often features solitary women navigating inner and outer wildernesses. In vast emptiness, surrounded by hints of nature, her wild women and “girl gods” find their way through physical and spiritual dimensions of darkness and light, bondage and freedom, apocalypse and utopia, life and death, transmuting nourishing or toxic forces into usable means.Roth has been a keen observer of the body since childhood, having been diagnosed with scoliosis, which required 13 years of aggressive and painful treatment. Rooted in academic anatomy and pop surrealism, her artwork——often created in live-model sessions——exaggerates and distorts female forms to reflect them as vessels of powerful, feminine processing.Roth is based in Los Angeles, CA.https://www.somethingratherthannothing.com/

14 MAG 2024 · Mark Ostler joins the show to kick around comic books - specifically his workhttps://www.etsy.com/hk-en/listing/870231142/ivar-the-boxer-waltzing-carpet-juliette?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2FWe also talked about https://warningdanger.net/about.phpThe world's safest punk band! Warning: Danger! began with Mark Ostler’s idea for a video project, called “Holly FLipS,” about a girl freaking out and destroying things after a bad breakup. Mark wanted some theme music for the video and recruited some friends to help record the song. The recording of the song would have been the beginning and end of the project if they had not been invited by friends to play a show at The Funhouse. The band quickly wrote five more songs in order to be able to play the show. Warning: Danger!’s unusual performance was a hit and the band was invited to play more show dates which gradually led to W:D! becoming a "real band." Meanwhile the “Holly FLipS” video project got sidelined, but was eventually completed years later.Check out Episode 265!!!https://www.somethingratherthannothing.com/

6 MAG 2024 · This episode is very different than others. Jim LaBelle, this episode's featured guest, passed away recently. I wish, hope and pray that our conversation gives tribute to Jim's contributions and advocacy. Thank you and farewell Jim. Host Ken Volante"There are certain individuals that go under the radar their entire lives despite being one of the most resilient people in the room, and that is without question Jim LaBelle. A father, world traveler, lawyer, disability advocate and professor, Jim’s story isn’t well known to many, but we hope to change that. A quadriplegic since 1969 and passing on April 21st, 2024, he was paralyzed for nearly 55 years and showed a life can be well lived in spite of paralysis." Spinalpedia Blog"For over fifty years, I have been pushing my chair. I graduated from law school and passed the bar exam in three states. My travels took me to twenty-three countries. My story is not an inspirational anecdote; it's about finding love, losing love, grief, joy, and single parenthood.Don't call me 'bound' or 'confined' to my wheelchair. My chair gives me freedom.A wheelchair user today has more rights than one did fifty years ago. Yet there are still many obstacles in finding housing, transportation, employment, and medical care.I am not trying to be a role model, just a possibility. There are obstacles, and people may not always treat you properly, but there is progress."Jim LaBelle

1 MAG 2024 · Blend a background in fast-paced PR, political campaigns, and a lot of roll-up-your-sleeves energy, and you've Stuart Collective founder and CEO Kathleen Stuart.Kathleen founded Stuart Collective in 2017. With a crystal-clear mission to support changemakers in securing progressive wins, Kathleen works every day to win campaigns, pass high-profile legislation, and influence public opinion.Kathleen brings over a decade of on-the-ground political work in campaigns and leading PR strategies. As a result, she advises leading progressive organizations that impact all the spaces — from healthcare to housing to infrastructure and more — that Stuart Collective shares with its clients.https://www.stuartcollective.co/who

24 APR 2024 · Ivana Yellowback is a member of Manto Sipi Cree Nation – God’s River (maternal family) and a relative to Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (paternal family). She is both Asiniskow Ithinew ekwa Muskego Ininew (High Rock and Muskeg Cree).Ivana an Associate Producer, Writer, Cree host, and English co-host of Eagle Vision’s and APTN’s 7TH GEN https://www.7thgen.ca/ \ https://www.7thgen.ca/cree-webisodes-1 (2022/2023/2024). She has also acted as principal characters in “DJ Burnt Bannock” (2021) https://www.djburntbannock.com/the-team, along with “Little Bird” (2023) https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/little-bird-canada-stolen-generation-rezolution-pictures-1235509434/.Ivana holds a 4-year Bachelor of Arts HONOURS degree at the University of Winnipeg (4-Year Honours BA: Sociology, Minor: Conflict Resolution Studies), and a Bachelor of Social Work degree at the University of Manitoba. She is also starting her Masters of Social Work degree this upcoming Fall at the University of Manitoba.Ivana holds 10+ years of experience in social services work, spanning from program development and implementation, facilitation, and workshop trainings (various), youth mentorship and leadership, and social advocacy and counselling.Ivana is an Executive Training Facilitator (with Indigenous Leadership Development Institute Inc.), an executive board member for sakihiwe festival, and is an oskâpêwiskwew (helper) member of the Indigenous Helpers Society.  She is also a trained Traditional Family Parenting facilitator, a Grief and Loss Facilitator, and Indigenous Life Skills Coach. Ivana’s most important roles and work is being an aunty, pipe carrier, lodge carrier, drum carrier and singer.https://www.somethingratherthannothing.com/

18 APR 2024 · Teghan Hammond and Mel Hammond are sisters who grew up punching each other whenever they saw a P.T. Cruiser, dying their hair blue together, and fabricating a fake band in which their middle brother was (allegedly) the lead singer. Writing Lucy, Uncensored was their first time co-writing. Unless you count the summer they spent scribbling down recipes for the strangest sandwiches you’ve ever heard of, like the Tax Exemption Wrap (Teghan) and the Nail Gun Sandwich (Mel).Today, Teghan lives in northern Indiana, where she drinks excessive amounts of coffee and volunteers for LGBTQIA+ causes. When she’s not tearing down gender norms, Teghan is probably watching cartoons or gaming. Mel lives in Madison, Wisconsin, where she writes books in a rainbow-painted room. Besides writing, she loves walking in the woods and eating dairy-free ice cream. Between the two of them, Teghan and Mel have four adorable cats. - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/750113/lucy-uncensored-by-mel-hammond-and-teghan-hammond/Folks can also preorder from their local indie bookstores. ISBN is 9780593814055. Publisher is Knopf Books for Young Readers - Website: http://www.melhammondbooks.com/ - TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hamtasticduo - Mel’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hamsandwichmel/ - https://www.somethingratherthannothing.com/

8 APR 2024 · Special Spring 2024 NYC Fringe Festival episode with three dynamic creators!Lauren O'Brien presents https://www.frigid.nyc/event/6897:630/ - a new comedic solo show, the writer is also the performer;Suzanne Bachner presents http://conversationswithmydivorceattorney.com/ - the playwright also directs the two hander play which she started writing many years ago when she was getting a divorce. Her current husband stars as her divorce attorney;Jude Treder-Wolff presents https://www.frigid.nyc/event/6897:627/ - real life therapist and playwright wrote a new show about how technology is speeding up our lives. She also performs the play.https://www.somethingratherthannothing.com/https://www.frigid.nyc/festivals/frigid-festival/