Conversations with American Women Writers

See The Art of the Author Interview below...

University of New England Press

Interviews with: aaAndrea Barrett x Aimee Bender aaAmy Bloom aaElizabeth Cox aaChitra Banerjee Divakaruni aaMaria Flook aaLynn Freed aaGish Jen aaNora Okja Keller aaElizabeth McCracken aaJill McCorkle aaSue Miller aaSena Jeter Naslund aaAnn Patchett aaJayne Anne Phillips aaA.J. Verdelle x Lois-Ann Yamanaka

From Publisher's Weekly:

As the ever-expanding writers-on-writing genre demonstrates, writers are often remarkably wise and generous instructors.  Here, Johnson, a fiction writer herself and program coordinator of the YMCA National Writer's Voice program, interviews 17 female scribes to create 17 miniature instruction books on craft.  Elizabeth McCracken, Aimee Bender, Lois-Ann Yamanaka and others recount their tussles with blank pages, time management and flat characters.  Asking the writers to discuss elements of their books, Johnson also delves into the more mysterious regions of the creative process (how you know when your novel is finished, for instance)...The questions Johnson poses provoke thoughtful responses from her subjects, who have plenty of insight into the work they do.  We learn that, other than developing good listening skills, short story writer Amy Bloom (A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You) sees no connection between her work as a therapist and her writing (writing, unlike being a therapist, "is a narcissistic event").  Novelist Sena Jeter Naslund (Ahab's Wife) candidly reveals that she struggled with plot, character and theme.  Ann Patchett (Bel Canto) discusses her self-instructive practice of "plagiarizing" her favorite authors.  Johnson was right to select so many subjects who teach in MFA programs:  their enthusiasm for language and faith in the awesome power of revision will be encouraging to any writer at any stage of her career.

From Booklist:

"How did you get started writing?" "How do your story ideas come to you?" "Who are some of the writers that have influenced you?" These are a few of the basic questions lobbed to women fiction writers by interviewer Johnson in this lively and revealing collection of author interviews. Naturally, Johnson discusses the specifics of each writer's work, but her emphasis on inspiration and craft unifies the collection, and by the time the reader has absorbed all 17 interviews, she or he will have a strong sense of the challenges contemporary women fiction writers face, why they write, what they hope to accomplish, and how the reception of their work does or does not affect their writing process. Johnson's eloquent and giving interviewees include Sue Miller, Andrea Barrett, Jill McKorkle, Ann Patchett, Gish Jen, and Sena Jeter Naslund, and her collection will entice and satisfy serious readers, wanna-be writers, and book-club members.

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The Art of theAuthor Interview

University of New England Press

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction: Building a Literary Life • Who Is This Book For?
CHAPTER I: GETTING STARTED
KNOW YOURSELF
Where Do You Want to Publish Your Interviews? • How and to What Degree Are You Engaged in the Literary Arts? • Why Do You Want to Interview an Author? • What Has Kept You From Interviewing an Author before Now?
CHOOSING THE AUTHOR
Your First Interview • Use Your Connections • Use Your Credentials
MAKING CONTACT WITH THE AUTHOR
Through the Publicist or Agent • The Query Letter • Deconstructing The Query Letter • Developing a Query Letter Template
CHAPTER 2: THE REAL WORK BEGINS
CONDUCTING THE RESEARCH
Researching the Author • Ongoing Research
COMPOSING THE QUESTIONS
The Role of the Interview Questions • Remember Your Audience • Types of Questions and Suggestions
GETTING IT ALL ON PAPER
Step One: Brainstorm • Step Two: Flesh Out Your Raw Material • Step Three: Put the Questions in Order • Step Four: Make Sure You've Covered Everything • Step Five: Get Feedback • Composing the Questions: Generative Exercise • Composing the Questions: Checklist • Interview Question Dos and Don'ts
CHAPTER 3: LET'S LOOK AT THE PROS
CHAPTER 4: TIME FOR THE INTERVIEW
CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW
How to Present Yourself • In Person, Phone, Email • Equipment and Other Technical Issues • Your Role as Interviewer • Using Your Road Map
TRANSCRIBING THE INTERVIEW
CHAPTER 5: REFINING THE INTERVIEW
EDITING THE INTERVIEW
Staying True to the Author's Voice • Use of Slang or Curse Words • Including the Author in Revision • Working with the Editor
THE AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
The Straightforward Author's Biographical Note • The Narrative Author's Biographical Note • The Narrative First-Person Bio • Deciding for Yourself
THE INTERVIEWER'S BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
MULTITASKING: HOW MANY INTERVIEWS IN THE FIRE AT ONCE?
CHAPTER 6: PUBLISHING THE INTERVIEW
FINDING THE RIGHT PUBLICATION
Create Your Submission Hit List • Where to Find Publications • To Multiply Submit or Not to Multiply Submit • Offer an Exclusive Look • Why Query First? • The Writer's Guidelines • Getting the Query Right • Deconstructing the Query Letter • Query Letter Dos and Don'ts • The Fine Art of Patience • The Inevitable Rejections • Working with the Editor
COPYRIGHT ISSUES
CHAPTER 7: KEEP YOU RINTERVIEW WORKING
FOLLOW-UP
FINDING NEW USES FOR YOUR INTERVIEW
Reprint Rights • The Art of the Author Profile
CHAPTER 8: INTERVIEWING OTHER CREATIVE PEOPLE
Putting These Principles to Use with Other Artists • Example: Inside the Actor's Studio • Example: Writer A. M. Homes Interviews Painter Eric Fischl • Example: Interview with Screenwriter Max Adams
CHAPTER 9: THE AUTHOR INTERVIEW IN OTHER MEDIA
TELEVISION BROADCASTING
Format • Target Audience • Commercial, Public, and Cable Television • Television is Visual--How Will You Look? • Improving Your Interview Skills by Watching TV Interviews
RADIO BROADCASTING
CHAPTER 10: THE ART OF THE AUTHOR INTERVIEW IN THE WRITING PROGRAM
THE M. F. A. PROGRAM
Program Models • Program Ideas
THE UNDERGRADUATE WRITING PROGRAM
Beginner Program Ideas
CHAPTER 11: FINAL THOUGHTS AND INTERVIEW TIPS
REJECTION AS INFORMATION
COMMON PROBLEMS
Lack of Preparation • Disorganization • Inarticulate Questions • Inappropriate Questions • Interview Is Too Faithful to Spoken Event • Too Much Analysis • Self-Promotion by Interviewer • Too Muc Commitment to the List of Questions
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE OUT OF TIME
APPENDIX: THE HISTORY OF THE AUTHOR INTERVIEW
George Plimpton and the Paris Review • The Interview as an Evolving Form • The Future is Now

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