Apr 16th, 2022 by writerandcritic
On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, dispense with lengthy preambles and get pretty much straight into it.
The books being discussed this month are two collections of short fiction: I Would Haunt You if I Could by Seán Padraic Birnie [2:10] and Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby [28:50].
For those listeners who enjoyed the Seán Padraic Birnie collection, Kirstyn would also like to draw your attention to a recent short story of his, "Funny Faces" over at The Dark.
If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 48:50 for a minor rant about novels vs collection plus brief final remarks.
Next month, the two books up on the slab will be:
Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!
Mar 26th, 2022 by writerandcritic
On this episode of The Writer and the Critic your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, begin by discussing the state of the world, farts in jars and a possible niche side project involving uncontrollable sobbing.
The books being flensed this month are The Wych Elm by Tana French [5:10] and My Phantoms by Gwendoline Riley [37:15].
Ian would also like to make sure you know about the new short story that Kirstyn has had published in The Dark. You're welcome.
If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:04:25 for brief final remarks.
Next month, the two books up on the slab will be:
Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!
Feb 19th, 2022 by writerandcritic
On this first episode of The Writer and the Critic for 2022, your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond, begin with an exciting announcement: Kirstyn will have some actual books being published this year! She's a writer again! Huzzah!
Ahem. The books up for discussion this month are When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut [6:08] and A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofal [52:35].
If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:18:15 for final remarks including a discussion about just what we mean when we say "novel" and why we might need to find some new words to describe long-form fiction.
Some helpful links for things mentioned in this episode:
Next month, the two books up on the slab will be:
Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!
Nov 20th, 2021 by writerandcritic
On this final episode of The Writer and the Critic for 2021, your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond discuss birthdays, Halloween and Jewish Stuff before moving on to wax lyrical about this month's books: Little Eve by Catriona Ward [6:35] and Light Perpetual by Francis Spufford [36:35].
If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 1:16:45 for final remarks.
Next episode - in February 2022! - the two books up on the slab will be:
Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!
Oct 16th, 2021 by writerandcritic
On this episode of The Writer and the Critic, your hosts, Kirstyn McDermott and Ian Mond have a mercifully brief and borderline hysterical conversation on the state of COVID before jumping a discussion of this month's books: The Cost of Living: A Working Autobiography by Deborah Levy [3:45] and Dissolve by Nikki Gemmell [29:50].
If you've skipped ahead to avoid spoilers, please come back at 58:15 for final remarks, including a minor rant on the subject of book annotations/defacement.
Next month, the two books up on the slab will be:
Read ahead and join in the spoilerific fun!
