Author Dana Diehl sits down at the interview table after her fantastic Spillers No. 7 short story reading to chat about teaching creative writing to the incarcerated, why distraction-free writing spaces don’t inspire, and how short form fiction helps her keep things weird.

Purchase Dana’s debut short story collection, Our Dreams Might Align, here: http://www.jellyfishhighway.com/our-dreams-might-align-by-dana-diehl/

Leah Roper sits down after her Spillers № 7 reading to chat about naming her online literary magazine after a weasel, why writers need to embrace new storytelling formats and mediums, and how difficult it can be to kill the same character again and again and again.

After his Spillers № 7 reading, Spillers’ own Robert Hoekman Jr talks about the stellar literary education he’s received in the last two years, why his non-fiction book The Build has him watching the television show Portlandia with an eagle eye, and how the obsession of landing on an expertly-crafted final line fuels his novel writing.

Writer Urian Garcia joins us after his Spillers № 7 reading to talk about unmasking the themes in his writing, the importance of discovering Oscar Wao, and why Arizona is where he wants to continue to develop his burgeoning writing career. [Note: This episode is for mature audiences, only.]

Novelist Susan DeFreitas joins us after her Spillers № 7 short story reading to tell us why Southwestern writers are literary outlaws, how being misunderstood requires you to understand yourself, and why circus arts beats the Suzuki method any day. [Note: This episode is for mature audiences, only.]

[Originally released on December 10, 2015 as ep. 3.] Kelsey Pinckney is a lot of things–author, publisher, lachrymose birthday gal–and she’s our first guest to have ever run into a person outside a tattoo parlor on Friday the 13th while riding a new bicycle. Kelsey’s story “Crying on My Birthday” was a hit at Spillers № 2, and here she tells us what it takes to slap an issue of her literary journal Four Chambers together and why all her narrators are alternate-reality Kelseys.

[Originally released on July 24, 2016 as ep. 31.] Matt Bell possesses a slew of writing insights, and he’s not shy about cracking open his notebook to share. After closing out Spillers № 4 in fine style with his short story reading, we bind the author and ASU creative writing professor to a chair until he tells us about getting his start far away from the New York publishing support system, how hair boxes played a prominent role in pre-Tinder dating, and why it’s imperative for literary communities to connect with each other.

Author and educator and all-around kind human being Erin Stalcup tackles heavy subjects in her writing, so believe her when she says she’s a serious sort. After closing out Spillers № 6 in fine style with her elegant short story reading, Erin sits across the interview table to reveal why she prefers to write from inside her characters’ skulls, how her dream job is teaching convicted felons, and why literary success for one is success for both when you’re married to a fellow writer.

Author and ASU creative writing program assistant director Jenny Irish is quick to turn the spotlight on her students, and that only makes her shine as an educator. On the heels of her Spillers short story reading, Jenny chats about the reason her public readings are a rarity, how the ASU writing program eschews student competition in favor of support, and why poetry–poetry!–is capturing the interest of the freshman set.

Humorist, writer, and Spillers co-host Brian Dunn may have twice turned his back on stand-up comedy, but he still brings the funny in his writing. After reading his humorous short story at Spillers № 6, Brian fields the questions for a change, chatting with Robert on subjects ranging from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency’s acceptance algorithm to the role of art in turbulent times to whom you might attract by attending a typewriter roundup wearing your favorite Hunter S. Thompson t-shirt.