Skylight Books Podcast Series

Eileen (Penguin Press) A lonely young woman working in a boys' prison outside Boston in the early 60s is pulled into a very strange crime, in a mordant, harrowing story of obsession and suspense, by one of the brightest new voices in fiction. "So here we are. My name was Eileen Dunlop. Now you know me. I was twenty-four years old then, and had a job that paid fifty-seven dollars a week as a kind of secretary at a private juvenile correctional facility for teenage boys. I think of it now as what it really was for all intents and purposes--a prison for boys. I will call it Moorehead. Delvin Moorehead was a terrible landlord I had years later, and so to use his name for such a place feels appropriate. In a week, I would run away from home and never go back. This is the story of how I disappeared." The Christmas season offers little cheer for Eileen Dunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed young woman trapped between her role as her alcoholic father's caretaker in a home whose squalor is the talk of the neighborhood and a day job as a secretary at the boys' prison, filled with its own quotidian horrors. Consumed by resentment and self-loathing, Eileen tempers her dreary days with perverse fantasies and dreams of escaping to the big city. In the meantime, she fills her nights and weekends with shoplifting, stalking a buff prison guard named Randy, and cleaning up her increasingly deranged father's messes. When the bright, beautiful, and cheery Rebecca Saint John arrives on the scene as the new counselor at Moorehead, Eileen is enchanted and proves unable to resist what appears at first to be a miraculously budding friendship. In a Hitchcockian twist, her affection for Rebecca ultimately pulls her into complicity in a crime that surpasses her wildest imaginings.  Played out against the snowy landscape of coastal New England in the days leading up to Christmas, young Eileen's story is told from the gimlet-eyed perspective of the now much older narrator. Creepy, mesmerizing, and sublimely funny, in the tradition of Shirley Jackson and early Vladimir Nabokov, this powerful debut novel enthralls and shocks, and introduces one of the most original new voices in contemporary literature. Ottessa Moshfegh is a fiction writer from Boston. She was awarded the Plimpton Prize for her stories in the Paris Review, and granted a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts. She is currently a Wallace Stegner fellow at Stanford.

Eileen (Penguin Press) A lonely young woman working in a boys' prison outside Boston in the early 60s is pulled into a very strange crime, in a mordant, harrowing story of obsession and suspense, by one of the brightest new voices in fiction. "So here we are. My name was Eileen Dunlop. Now you know me. I was twenty-four years old then, and had a job that paid fifty-seven dollars a week as a kind of secretary at a private juvenile correctional facility for teenage boys. I think of it now as what it really was for all intents and purposes--a prison for boys. I will call it Moorehead. Delvin Moorehead was a terrible landlord I had years later, and so to use his name for such a place feels appropriate. In a week, I would run away from home and never go back. This is the story of how I disappeared." The Christmas season offers little cheer for Eileen Dunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed young woman trapped between her role as her alcoholic father's caretaker in a home whose squalor is the talk of the neighborhood and a day job as a secretary at the boys' prison, filled with its own quotidian horrors. Consumed by resentment and self-loathing, Eileen tempers her dreary days with perverse fantasies and dreams of escaping to the big city. In the meantime, she fills her nights and weekends with shoplifting, stalking a buff prison guard named Randy, and cleaning up her increasingly deranged father's messes. When the bright, beautiful, and cheery Rebecca Saint John arrives on the scene as the new counselor at Moorehead, Eileen is enchanted and proves unable to resist what appears at first to be a miraculously budding friendship. In a Hitchcockian twist, her affection for Rebecca ultimately pulls her into complicity in a crime that surpasses her wildest imaginings.  Played out against the snowy landscape of coastal New England in the days leading up to Christmas, young Eileen's story is told from the gimlet-eyed perspective of the now much older narrator. Creepy, mesmerizing, and sublimely funny, in the tradition of Shirley Jackson and early Vladimir Nabokov, this powerful debut novel enthralls and shocks, and introduces one of the most original new voices in contemporary literature. Ottessa Moshfegh is a fiction writer from Boston. She was awarded the Plimpton Prize for her stories in the Paris Review, and granted a creative writing fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts. She is currently a Wallace Stegner fellow at Stanford.

You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) (Touchstone Books)  From online entertainment mogul, actress, and "queen of the geeks" Felicia Day comes a funny, quirky, and inspiring memoir about her unusual upbringing, her rise to Internet-stardom, and embracing her individuality to find success in Hollywood.  The Internet isn't all cat videos. There's also Felicia Day--violinist, filmmaker, Internet entrepreneur, compulsive gamer, hoagie specialist, and former lonely homeschooled girl who overcame her isolated childhood to become the ruler of a new world...or at least semi-influential in the world of Internet geeks and Goodreads book clubs.  After growing up in the south where she was "homeschooled for hippie reasons," Felicia moved to Hollywood to pursue her dream of becoming an actress and was immediately typecast as a crazy cat-lady secretary. But Felicia's misadventures in Hollywood led her to produce her own web series, own her own production company, and become an Internet star. Felicia's short-ish life and her rags-to-riches rise to Internet fame launched her career as one of the most influential creators in new media. Now, Felicia's strange world is filled with thoughts on creativity, video games, and a dash of mild feminist activism--just like her memoir.  Hilarious and inspirational, You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is proof that everyone should embrace what makes them different and be brave enough to share it with the world, because anything is possible now--even for a digital misfit. Praise for You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost): “It's hard to keep up with Felicia Day.  She's an actress, a gamer, a screenwriter, a songwriter, a producer, a director, a webmaster, a costumer, and queen of the geek girls.   It's hard to imagine where such a prodigy could have come from.  Wonder no longer.  Felicia tells all . . . well, most . . . well, some . . . in her new book.  Reading this is like sitting down and having dinner with her, and hearing the story of her life between the clam chowder and the cheesecake.  I can't imagine a more charming or amusing dinner companion. Felicia is a lot of fun, and so is her book.”—GEORGE R. R. MARTIN  “Reading Felicia Day’s memoir is like going on a road trip with an old friend you never knew you had. This is the perfect book to prove you aren't the only misfit in the world, and to remind you that that's a very good thing.” —JENNY LAWSON, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened “At last, You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) finally reveals the secret origin story of everyone's favorite Geek Superheroine! Felicia Day's new memoir is honest, hopeful, and hysterical. It’s the story of a girl who grew up lost and lonely--then became a self-made Internet rockstar.  Reading it will make you feel like you can take on the whole Empire yourself.” —ERNEST CLINE, author of Ready Player One  “Smart, brave, emotionally raw, and hysterically funny. This is one of the best books ever written about what it's like to be a human being on the internet.” —LEV GROSSMAN, author of The Magicians “Everything Felicia creates seems to succeed. This book should be no different. It’s a great read–far from ‘horrible’ and worth every ‘Penny.’ See what I did there? It’s a play on…never mind.” —NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, author of Choose Your Own Autobiography and Felicia’s co-star in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog “What’s wonderful about Felicia Day isn’t how much she’s accomplished; it’s what a delightful, real person she’s remained along the way. She is a nerd heroine of the highest order: fiercely honest, refreshingly vulnerable, and unapologetically unique. Felicia kicks major ass.”—AISHA TYLER “I came for the delightful snark, I stayed for the disarming frankness and the hard-won insights about the Internet. Felicia Day uses the Internet to distribute entertainment, but she understands that it's really there to be the nervous system of the twenty-first century.” —CORY DOCTOROW, Founder of BoingBoing.net “You’re Never Weird on the Internet (Almost) is exactly like Felicia herself: intriguing, funny, vulnerable, and uniquely cool. If you’ve ever been awkward, ever doubted yourself, ever second-guessed who you are, this book is for you. Reading it is like having the quirkiest, most hilarious, most brilliant person you’ve ever met grab you by the shirtfront and say, ‘HEY. IT’S OKAY TO BE YOU.’” —DEANNA RAYBORN, RITA award-winning and New York Times bestselling author   “Smart, funny, endearing, nerdy and maybe also a little bit brave — in other words, very much like its author.”—JOHN SCALZI, Hugo Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Redshirts  "You're Never Weird on the Internet is fun, hilarious, and impossible to put down. Reading it is like getting a mega-shot of courage -- to be exactly who you are and no one else, to pursue your dreams fearlessly, to embrace your weirdness and wield it like a superpower. If you want to live a life true to yourself and not what others expect of you, you won't find better inspiration than Felicia Day. If you're not one of Felicia's millions of fans yet—you will be."—JANE McGONIGAL, author ofSuperbetter and Reality is Broken “Math nerd defies physics!  Felicia Day, who is woven from moonbeams, has written a book that seems lighter than air, but that ends up punching you firmly in the emotions.  Felicia lays out a hilarious tale of how her unique upbringing, eclectic skill set, and killer work ethic led to The Guild, one of the pioneering works of online creativity.  In the process, she pulls you inside her delicate skull, so that the final moving chapters aren’t as much read as they are experienced.  An excellent book.”  —JANE EPENSON, writer for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Once Upon a Time, and Husbands “Day writes charmingly. . . . [She] is delightfully good company and has an interesting story to tell.”—KIRKUS REVIEWS “A super (and superquirky) memoir.”—BOOKLIST “Felicia Day gives us an achingly funny, honest, open look at being 'situationally famous' (I love that phrase), plus the vital art of finding your creative joy, and weathering the storms that follow. It's a wonderful book. Buy it before I grab all the copies.” —RACHEL CAINE, New York Times bestselling author of The Morganville Vampires series Felicia Day is a professional actress who has appeared in numerous television shows, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, and Eureka.  However, Felicia is best known for her work in the web video world, behind and in front of the camera. She costarred in Joss Whedon’s Emmy Award-winning internet musical, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and also created and starred in the hit web series The Guild. Felicia is the founder of the online digital channel Geek & Sundry, which was acquired by Legendary Entertainment in 2014. She continues to act as CCO and develop web content and television projects as a producer, writer, and performer. She is also extremely active on social media, has more than 2.4 million Twitter followers, and is the eighth most followed person on Goodreads, where she is also the founder of Vaginal Fantasy, a romance and fantasy book club with almost 14,000 members.

The Dying Grass (Viking)  Over the last twenty-five years, National Book Award winner William T. Vollmann has been working on what is arguably one of the most ambitious literary projects currently being undertaken by any living novelist – a seven volume sequence of novels called “Seven Dreams” that examine the repeated collisions between native Americans and European colonizers. This summer, Viking will publish the long-awaited new installment in this acclaimed series, The Dying Grass, which tells the story of the epic fighting retreat of the Nez Perce Indians in 1877.  Defrauded and intimidated at every turn, the Nez Perces, whom Lewis and Clark liked best of all the Indians they met, and who were proud that under all provocations they had never killed any white people, finally went on the warpath. The battles they fought (there were eighteen engagements, including four major battles and four fiercely contested skirmishes) and their long (nearly 1200 miles) retreat from Oregon across Montana to the Canadian border before they finally surrendered, have been taught at West Point and poeticized by Robert Penn Warren.  Vollmann’s main character, however, is not Chief Joseph, whom the press dubbed “The Red Napoleon,” but his pursuer, General Oliver Otis Howard, the brave, shy, tormented, devoutly Christian Civil War veteran.  In this novel, we see him as commander, father, son, husband, friend and killer, in an ever altering myriad of relations with soldiers, scouts, and “hostiles.” The Dying Grass teems with many other vivid characters on both sides of the conflict, including Chief Joseph’s twelve-year-old daughter Sound of Running Feet, his two wives Springtime and Good Woman, the shell-shocked Colonel  David Perry, who lost the war’s first battle (and his best friend), the Nez Perce war chief Looking-Glass, who trusted that treaties with the Americans would save him, the Three Red Blankets, who seem invulnerable against the Army, and Howard’s personally loyal but increasingly anti-war aide-de-camp, C.E.S. Wood. In The Dying Grass, Vollmann brings a new chapter of North American history to life with stylistic daring, sardonic wit, rich imagination, and uncompromising intelligence. Praise for The Dying Grass “Peerless… an epic study of the Nez Percé War of 1877…Vollmann restores that history with an onrushing immediacy that takes on all the contours of a good Greek tragedy, complete with hubris born of supposed military superiority and an avenging angel taking wings in the form of the flight of an arrow… Vollmann's vivid reconstruction is believable and achingly beautiful, as often rendered in a kind of poetry as in ordinary prose: ‘he spies out the dark-tipped wings of the otherwise white snow goose, / the black beak and white breast of the long-billed curlew / but no brothers or enemies.’ Telegraphic and episodic—so much so that it recalls the later work of Eduardo Galeano—Vollmann's saga is a note-perfect incantation. Stunning.”—Kirkus Reviews William T. Vollmann has written nine novels, four collections of stories, six works of nonfiction, and a memoir. He has won the National Book Award for Europe Central, the PEN Center USA West Award for Fiction, and the Strauss Living Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He lives in California.

Driving Hungry (Pantheon Books)  Please join us today for a delicious memoir that takes us from Buenos Aires to New York to Berlin as the author, driven by wanderlust and an unrelenting appetite, finds purpose, passion, and unexpected flavor.  After leaving a tango club following a terrible turn on the dance floor, Layne Mosler impulsively asks her taxista to take her to his favorite restaurant. Soon she's savoring one of the best steaks of her life, and in the weeks after, repeating the experiment with equally delectable results. So begins the gustatory adventure that became the basis for her cult blog, Taxi Gourmet. In New York City the author continues her food quests and meets a pair of extraordinary lady cab drivers who convince her to become a taxi driver herself. In Berlin she becomes as enchanted with the city's aura of restless transformation as she does with the spicy curries, and a certain fellow cabbie who knows as much about Nietzsche as he does about sausage. With her vivid descriptions of places and people and food, Mosler, who has a degree in anthropology and more than a decade of experience in the restaurant trade, has given us a beguiling book that speaks to the beauty of chance encounters and the pleasures of not always knowing your destination. Layne Mosler is a writer living in Berlin. She has written for New York magazine, the Travel Channel, and numerous other venues. For more information, please visit: www.taxigourmet.com

Big Science: Ernest Lawrence and the Invention That Launched the Military-Industrial Complex (Simon and Schuster)  In Big Science: Ernest Lawrence and the Invention That Launched the Military-Industrial Complex, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Hiltzik tells the fascinating story of how one man and one invention forever changed the course of scientific research.  Hiltzik explains how science went “big,” built the bombs that helped win World War II, and became dependent on government and industry. He also sheds new light on the forgotten genius who started it all, Ernest Lawrence.  More than eighty years ago in Berkeley, California, a charming and resourceful young scientist with a talent for physics and perhaps an even greater talent for promotion pondered his new invention and declared: “I’m going to be famous!”  His name was Ernest O. Lawrence.  His invention, the cyclotron, would revolutionize nuclear physics, but that was only the beginning of its impact.  It would transform everything about how science was done, in ways that still matter today.  It would deepen our understanding of the basic building blocks of nature. It would help win World War II.   Its influence would be felt in academia, industry, and international affairs. Its progeny include the atomic bomb and the space program. It was the beginning of Big Science. Praise for Big Science “A fascinating biography of a physicist who transformed how science is done.”— Kirkus Reviews “Hiltzik here tells the fascinating story of how this exceptional scientist won support for his epoch-making research tool and then assembled and managed an unprecedented team of experts who used that tool to penetrate subatomic mysteries.  The continuing relevance of such issues will ensure a wide readership for this biographical inquiry into their origins.”— Booklist “In this dual history of Lawrence and the movement he single-handedly brought into being, Hiltzik… explains how Lawrence’s postwar research exceeded the budgets of universities and philanthropic foundations, necessitating government patronage… his portrait of Lawrence, who gave birth to the modern research lab through sheer force of will, is powerful.”— Publishers Weekly “Michael Hiltzik tells an epic story, one with arenas of tragedy as well as triumph, and he tells it well.”— Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian “Einstein famously formulated new theories of the universe while sitting alone in the patent office in Bern. Today, many endeavors in fundamental research require large budgets, elaborate facilities, and huge staffs. How did science become ‘Big Science’?  In this fascinating book, Michael Hiltzik gives us the inside story of this remarkable metamorphosis. This is a gripping biography of Big Science and of the people who originated it.”— Mario Livio, Astrophysicist, and author of Brilliant Blunders “20th-century science delivered a series of revolutions, none more instantaneous than the microseconds it took to explode the first atomic bomb. By framing this story—and the development of the cyclotron that made it possible—from the Lawrence/Livermore perspective rather than the Oppenheimer/Los Alamos perspective that has dominated most accounts, Michael Hiltzik sheds fresh light on the transition from small science to big science that we take for granted today. Especially timely is a fascinating account of Lawrence’s attempt to return to small science: how do you encourage a small group of scientists to produce big results, rather than the other way around?”— George Dyson, author of Turing's Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe Michael Hiltzik is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author who has covered business, technology, and public policy for the Los Angeles Times for more than twenty years.  He currently serves as the Times’s business columnist.  His previous books include Colossus: The Turbulent, Thrilling Saga of the Building of Hoover Dam and The New Deal: A Modern History. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Mr. Hiltzik’s other awards include the 2004 Gerald Loeb Award for outstanding business commentary and the Silver Gavel from the American Bar Association for outstanding legal reporting.  He is a graduate of Colgate University and the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University and lives with his family in Southern California.

Los Angeles Street Food: A History from Tamaleros to Taco Trucks (History Press)  Los Angeles is the uncontested street food champion of the United States, and it isn't even a fair fight. Millions of hungry locals and wide-eyed tourists take to the streets to eat tacos, down bacon-wrapped hot dogs and indulge in the latest offerings from a fleet of gourmet food trucks and vendors. Dating back to the late nineteenth century when tamale men first hawked their fare from pushcarts and wagons, street food is now a billion-dollar industry in L.A.--and it isn't going anywhere! So hit the streets and dig in with local food writer Farley Elliott, who tackles the sometimes dicey subject of street food and serves up all there is to know about the greasy, cheesy, spicy and everything in between.  Farley Elliott is a longtime food writer based in Los Angeles. A 2006 graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he grew up (mostly) in the cold confines of Northern New York, in a part of the state that hugs the Canadian border. After fleeing for the sunny side of the country for college, Elliott moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a writer/performer. Elliott's passion for all things delicious actually started on the streets of L.A. when, after many long nights exploring his new city in the late 2000's, he would inevitably land at a taco cart or torta truck to scribble down notes while inhaling the food. Many hundreds of street food dinners later, the idea for his first book was born. Currently, Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor for Eater Los Angeles, which is among the most respected and well-read food sites online. Prior to that, Elliott freelanced for numerous publications, including the alt-weekly newspaper LA Weekly, Serious Eats, Thrillist, Tasting Table, and more. He's also that guy in that Tiny Hamsters Eating Tiny Burritos video that went viral once.

Not Funny Ha-Ha (Fantagraphics)  Not Funny Ha-Ha is a bold, slightly wry graphic novel illustrating the lives of two young women from different cultural, family, and financial backgrounds who go through two different abortions (medical and surgical). It does not address the events leading up to the pregnancy, or even the decision-making before choosing abortion as an option. It simply shows what happens when a woman goes through it, no questions asked. It follows them through the process of choosing a clinic, reaching out to friends, partners, and/or family…and eventually the procedure(s) itself. Despite the fact that so many women and girls have abortions every day, in every city, all around us…it can be a lonely experience. Not Funny Ha-Ha is a little bit technical, a little bit moving, and often funny, in a format uniquely suited to communicate. The book is meant to be a non-judgmental, comforting, even humorous look at what a woman can go through during an abortion. Although the subject matter is heavy, the illustrations are light. The author takes a step back from putting forth any personal opinion whatsoever, simply laying out the events and possible emotional repercussions that could, and often do, occur. Praise for Not Funny Ha-Ha “This graphic novel is the abortion story that needs to be heard.” — The Huffington Post “I want everyone who is having, has had, or is considering abortion to have this book. I want everyone who is close to someone who has had, is having or is considering abortion to have this book. I want anyone who feels like they just don’t or can’t understand what it’s like to go forward with, or even think about, abortion as an option to have this book. Really, I just want everyone to have this book, period.” — Heather Corinna, founder and director, Scarleteen: sex ed for the real world “Reading this book is like sitting down with your cool older sister and having her assuringly and frankly explain a really tough situation you’re facing, and then convince you that you’re going to get through it and be okay. Intimate and kind, straightforward and informative, Leah Hayes clarifies and personalizes the clinical experience a woman can expect when she decides to have an abortion. Even more impressive, the author makes the story a compelling read, with charming artwork and humor.” — Ellen Forney, author of Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me Leah Hayes is an illustrator, musician, songwriter, and producer. She works out of New York City and Los Angeles.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest (Pamela Dorman Books) From one of our favorite local authors comes a hotly anticipated debut--about a young woman with a once-in-a-generation palate who becomes the iconic chef behind the country's most coveted dinner reservation.  When Lars Thorvald's wife, Cynthia, falls in love with wine--and a dashing sommelier--he's left to raise their baby, Eva, on his own. He's determined to pass on his love of food to his daughter--starting with pureed pork shoulder. As Eva grows, she finds her solace and salvation in the flavors of her native Minnesota. From Scandinavian lutefisk to hydroponic chocolate habaneros, each ingredient represents one part of Eva's journey as she becomes the star chef behind a legendary and secretive pop-up supper club, culminating in an opulent and emotional feast that's a testament to her spirit and resilience.  Each chapter in J. Ryan Stradal's startlingly original debut tells the story of a single dish and character, at once capturing the zeitgeist of the Midwest, the rise of foodie culture, and delving into the ways food creates community and a sense of identity. By turns quirky, hilarious, and vividly sensory, Kitchens of the Great Midwest is an unexpected mother-daughter story about the bittersweet nature of life--its missed opportunities and its joyful surprises. It marks the entry of a brilliant new talent. Praise for Kitchens of the Great Midwest: "Kitchens of the Great Midwest is a big-hearted, funny, and class-transcending pleasure. It's also both a structural and empathetic tour de force, stepping across worlds in the American midwest, and demonstrating with an enviable tenderness and ingenuity the tug of war between our freedom to pursue our passions and our obligations to those we love." --Jim Shepard, author of Project X and National Book Award finalist for Like You'd Understand, Anyway "Tender, funny, and moving, J. Ryan Stradal's debut novel made me crave my mother's magic cookie bars...and every good tomato I've ever had the privilege of eating. Kitchens of the Great Midwest manages to be at once sincere yet sharply observed, thoughtful yet swiftly paced, and the lives of its fallible, realistic, and complicated characters mattered to me deeply. It's a fantastic book."-- Edan Lepucki, bestselling author of California  "In Kitchens of the Great Midwest, a charming, fast-moving round robin tale of food, sensuality and Midwestern culture, Mr. Stradal has delivered one extremely tasty, well-seasoned debut in what is sure to be a long and savory career."--Janet Fitch, author White Oleander "From the quite literally burning passions of a lonely eleven-year-old girl with an exceptional palate, to the ethical dilemmas behind a batch of Blue Ribbon Peanut Butter Bars, J. Ryan Stradal writes with a special kind of meticulous tenderness--missing nothing and accepting everything. A superbly gratifying debut."--Meg Howrey, author of The Crane's Dance  "An impossible-to-put-down, one-of-a-kind novel. The prose is beautiful, the characters memorable, and the plot is surprising at every turn. I have never read a book quite like this--and neither, I'll bet, have you. This stunning debut announces J. Ryan Stradal as a first-rate voice in American fiction. This is a wildly creative, stunningly original, and very moving novel. I can't wait to see what Stradal does next."-- Rob Roberge, author of The Cost of Living  "A Great American Novel in the fullest sense of the term. Everything you want a book to be."--Ben Loory, author of Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day J. Ryan Stradal is the author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest. Born and raised in Minnesota, he now lives in Los Angeles, where he is Acquisitions Editor at Unnamed Press and the Fiction Editor at The Nervous Breakdown.  Julia Ingalls is primarily an essayist. Her work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, Guernica, and KCRW, among others. From David Mitchell to Alan Ball to Amelia Gray, she's had the pleasure of conversing with the world's finest imaginative writers, a tradition she continues tonight with J. Ryan Stradal.

Speak (Ecco Press)  A thoughtful, poignant novel that explores the creation of Artificial Intelligence--illuminating the very human need for communication, connection, and understanding. In a narrative that spans geography and time, from the Atlantic Ocean in the seventeenth century, to a correctional institute in Texas in the near future, and told from the perspectives of five very different characters, Speak considers what it means to be human, and what it means to be less than fully alive. A young Puritan woman travels to the New World with her unwanted new husband. Alan Turing, the renowned mathematician and code breaker, writes letters to his best friend's mother. A Jewish refugee and professor of computer science struggles to reconnect with his increasingly detached wife. An isolated and traumatized young girl exchanges messages with an intelligent software program. A former Silicon Valley Wunderkind is imprisoned for creating illegal lifelike dolls. Each of these characters is attempting to communicate across gaps--to estranged spouses, lost friends, future readers, or a computer program that may or may not understand them. In dazzling and electrifying prose, Louisa Hallexplores how the chasm between computer and human--shrinking rapidly with today's technological advances--echoes the gaps that exist between ordinary people. Though each speaks from a distinct place and moment in time, all five characters share the need to express themselves while simultaneously wondering if they will ever be heard, or understood. Praise for Speak "Speak reads like a hybrid of David Mitchell and Margaret Atwood; a literary page turner that spans four centuries and examines the idea of who and what we define as human. Louisa Hall has written a brilliant novel."—Philipp Meyer, author of New York Times bestseller The Son "Speak is that rarest of finds: a novel that doesn't remind me of any other book I've ever read. A complex, nuanced, and beautifully written meditation on language, immortality, the nature of memory, the ethical problems of artificial intelligence, and what it means to be human."—Emily St. John Mandel, author of Station Eleven “Louisa Hall’s Speak is a deeply original and intelligent novel. It’s also riveting. I wouldn’t have thought artificial intelligence, as a subject, would make for such a warm and human and psychologically astute novel. I’ll be thinking about Babybots and Hall’s quietly chilling and all-too-plausible vision of the near-future for a long time to come.”—Adelle Waldman, author ofThe Love Affairs of Nathaniel P “Speak is a triumph. With a poet's voice, Louisa Hall reaches into the past and imagines the future to weave a beautifully complex novel about our human need to communicate. The result is a transcendent story about artificial intelligence that heartbreaking and very, very real.”—Ivy Pochoda, author of Visitation Street Louisa Hall grew up in Philadelphia. After graduating from Harvard, she played squash professionally while finishing her pre-medical coursework and working in a research lab at the Albert Einstein Hospital. She holds a Ph.D. in literature from the University of Texas at Austin, where she currently teaches literature and creative writing, and supervises a poetry workshop at the Austin State Psychiatric Hospital. She is the author of the novel The Carriage House, and her poems have been published in The New Republic, Southwest Review, Ellipsis, and other journals.   Ivy Pochoda is the author of Visitation Street and The Art of Disappearing and has a BA from Harvard University in English and Classical Greek with a focus on dramatic literature and a MFA from Bennington College in fiction. She is a former professional squash player and now lives in Los Angeles with her husband.