Book Fight

A podcast where writers talk honestly about books, writing, and the literary world. Hosted by Mike Ingram and Tom McAllister, authors and long-time editors for Barrelhouse, a nonprofit literary magazine and book publisher. New episodes every other week, with bonus episodes for Patreon subscribers.

Holiday Spectacular: SKRUJ! 12/23/2024

Holiday Spectacular: SKRUJ! It's that time of year again: our annual holiday episode, where we invite several members of the Barrelhouse editorial team to read and discuss a very sexy holiday-themed novel. This year's book is , by bestselling author Honey Phillips. The book is a retelling, of a sort, of the Dickens Christmas classic, but starring a grumpy alien man with a weird (and gigantic) penis, and his human lover. Our guests this year include: Chris Gonzalez, Becky Barnard, Dave Housley, Erin Fitzgerald, and first-timer Christina Beasley. Plus our regular hosts, Mike Ingram and Tom McAllister. Note: This will be the last episode of the podcast on the regular feed for a spell, while we work on our next season. But we'll continue to post new episodes for our Patreon subscribers: for $5/month, you can get those episodes, plus access to our entire back catalog. Thanks for listening, and happy holidays! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/34582440

The Pink Panther 12/16/2024

The Pink Panther We wrap up our noir season with one final episode, this one discussing the 1963 Peter Sellers movie The Pink Panther, and the series more generally, which spoofed many of the tropes of the noir/detective genres. We also look back at the season--what we learned from diving into the noir genre, and our favorite books. If you like this episode, we've been doing an entire series on noir films over on our Patreon, which you can access for just $5/month. We'll also keep posting episodes over there in the new year, leading up to our next season of regular episodes: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/34467965

Nadira Goffe on Blacktop Wasteland 12/09/2024

Nadira Goffe on Blacktop Wasteland We welcome Nadira Goffe (culture writer for Slate) to talk about a Black, Southern noir from S.A. Cosby. We learn about Nadira's love of the Fast and the Furious franchise, her fear of actual driving, and her mixed feelings about an over-the-top metaphor. Plus: Mike gets pedantic about dialogue tags, and Tom realizes there's a limit to how many car-chase sequences he's willing to read in a novel. Vroom vroom! Note: this is the eighth (and final) episode in our noir-themed season, but there's no reason you need to listen to the episodes in order. If you're enjoying the podcast, and want to help support it (while getting yourself some sweet, sweet bonus content) please consider subscribing to our Patreon. For $5 a month you get two monthly episodes, which could also help tide you over until our next season: As always, thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/34341975

Tod Goldberg on Winter's Bone 12/02/2024

Tod Goldberg on Winter's Bone We welcome back best-selling crime novelist Tod Goldberg to talk about one of his favorite books, by one of his favorite authors. Daniel Woodrell's 2006 novel was the basis for the 2012 film of the same name, which netted Jennifer Lawrence an Oscar nomination at the age of 20. The movie is a pretty faithful adaptation of the novel, though the book's musical language and rich detail make it worth a read even for those who've seen the film. We talk about the book's fresh take on a familiar story structure--the "hero's quest"--and how it both fits and doesn't within the "crime" genre. We also talk to Tod about his own work, how he develops the plots of his novels, why he no longer gives readings, and lots more. Including our first-ever Book Fight blind item! You can learn more about Tod, and his many books, at his website: And check out the Hannukah noir anthology he recently edited for Penguin Random House, . Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/34220960

Daniel DiFranco on Do Evil in Return 11/25/2024

Daniel DiFranco on Do Evil in Return We're joined by novelist and high-school music teacher Daniel DiFranco (Panic Years, Devil on My Trail) to discuss the Margaret Millar novel Do Evil in Return, a staple of the noir genre. We talk about the line between serious and campy, how to move plot forward in a novel, and the difficulty of endings. For more about our guest, including where to find his books, check out his website: If you like our podcast, and would like more of it in your life, $5 gets you a couple bonus episodes each month plus access to our huge backlog of bonus content: Thanks for listening! Note: This episode is part of our ongoing season on noir novels, but you don't need to listen to the episodes in order, and you don't need to read the books to enjoy the discussion. /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/34132051

Joanna Pearson on Mary Gaitskill 11/18/2024

Joanna Pearson on Mary Gaitskill We welcome Joanna Pearson (author, most recently, of Bright and Tender Dark), who makes the case that we should put Mary Gaitskill's short stories in the "noir" category--or at least mark them as noir-adjacent. We discuss two specific Gaitskill stories, "The Other Place" and "The Girl on the Plane," as well as the particular darkness of the Gaitskill universe. We also talk with Joanna about readers' expectations for genre books, and what it's been like to have her own novel placed in various genre boxes. Plus: what's the right way to organize one's bookshelves? To learn more about Joanna, and her work, visit her website: If you like the podcast, and would like more of it in your life, subscribe to our Patreon ($5) to get two bonus episodes each month: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/33953687

Steph Cha on The Postman Always Rings Twice 11/11/2024

Steph Cha on The Postman Always Rings Twice We're joined by Steph Cha (author of Your House Will Pay) to talk about a famous California hardboiled novel none of us had ever read. What will it took us about tramps, insurance fraud, and the relative difficulty of staging a fake car-related murder? And what's the deal with that postman, with his infernal ringing? Steph, who has written several acclaimed crime novels herself, helps us to understand the genre we're exploring this season, and its evolution over time. To learn more about our guest, and her work, check out her website: If you like our podcast, and would like to help support it--plus get access to two bonus episodes every month--check out our Patreon: Thanks for listening! (Note: this is the 4th episode in our Noir season, but there's no reason you need to listen to them in order. Also, you don't need to read the book to enjoy the show.) /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/33878502

Charlie Demers on The Comedy is Finished 11/04/2024

Charlie Demers on The Comedy is Finished We're joined by comedian and writer Charlie Demers to discuss a novel that the famous crime writer Donald Westlake finished in the early '80s but which wasn't published until after his death. At the time, he apparently worried that the plot--about a famous comedian kidnapped by a Weather Underground-style group of revolutionaries--was too similar to the Martin Scoresese movie The King of Comedy. We talk about the book's take on politics and comedy, which may have some echoes in our current cultural moment. And also Charlie's relationship to these characters, since he's a stand-up comedian and someone who's quite active in progressive politics. Plus: beatniks, Bob Hope, the fragmentation of popular culture, and our pitch for a show about a detective with ADHD. To learn more about Charlie, and follow his work, visit his website: If you like our podcast, and want to exchange a few bucks for two montly bonus episodes, check out our Patreon: Note: This is the 3rd episode in our Noir season, but you don't need to listen to the episodes in order to enjoy them. /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/33767997

In a Lonely Place w/ Isaac Butler 10/28/2024

In a Lonely Place w/ Isaac Butler The 1947 Dorothy Hughes novel In a Lonely Place is considered a hallmark of the noir genre, and also something of a feminist reimagining of those genre's tropes. We're joined by Isaac Butler (author of The Method: How the 20th Century Learned to Act) to talk about some of the book's narrative tricks, including an unreliable third-person narrator, and how it subverts the genre's "femme fatale" trope, among others. Plus: What made Dorothy Hughes think that 'Brub' was a good name for a character? In the second half of the show, we learn about Isaac's relationship to Halloween costumes, which Muppet could play a hardboiled cop, and why Isaac thinks he's too old to read Slaughterhoue Five for the first time. If you like the podcast, consider joining our Patreon. For $5 a month, you get two bonus episodes, plus access to our entire back catalog of bonus content. During our current season, we're watching and discussing noir films, both classics and newer entries to the canon. Find Isaac on Instagram: Or on Blue Sky: You can subscribe to Mike's Substack (for free): Anc check out the newly revamped Barrelhouse newsletter, which now features an original monthly essay (writers writing about their non-writing obsessions): (scroll down to the bottom of the page) Thanks, as always, for listening! Note: This is the second episode in our Noir season. But there's no reason you have to listen to the episodes in order. /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/33630177

Sarah Weinman on The Blunderer 10/21/2024

Sarah Weinman on The Blunderer We're back! This episode kicks off a new season of the podcast, and this one's all about noir. In our first installment, guest Sarah Weinman (author of Scoundrel, and The Real Lolita) joins us to discuss a Patricia Highsmith novel, The Blunderer, about a rather hapless man who, despite not actually killing his wife, manages to convince nearly everyone that he has. If you like the show, and want more of it in your life, consider subscribing to our Patreon, where during this season we'll be watching a series of noir and neo-noir films, including Double Indemnity, The Third Man, Blade Runner, and more. Five bucks a month gets you those bonus episodes, plus access to our entire back catalog of bonus material: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/33546007

Dave Housley on Bridget Jones's Diary 06/24/2024

Dave Housley on Bridget Jones's Diary In the final episode of our "marriage plot" season, we welcome fan favorite Dave Housley (author, most recently, of The Other Ones, and founding editor of Barrelhouse Magazine) to talk about a book that updated the 19th-century marriage plot novel for the 1990s: Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary. Dave had seen the movie version of the novel multiple times. But none of us had ever read the novel, which began as a jokey column in a London newspaper. We talk about the book's quirky voice, which of its jokes still land in 2024, and whether our culture's attitudes toward diet and body image have changed significantly in the last few decades. Plus: Dave's advice to Mike for marital harmony, and is author Matthew Quick part of the sprawling QAnon conspiracy? You can learn more about Dave, and his books, at his website: . And keep up with all things Barrelhouse here: If you like the podcast, and would like more of it in your life, please consider subscribing to our Patreon: This is the eighth and final episode in our "marriage plot" season, which means we'll be taking a break until our next season drops, sometime in the fall. But we'll continue to post new episodes every two weeks on our Patreon, including our ongoing Hunt for the Worst Book of All Time, and our deep dive into the fictional portrayal of writers in movies and TV shows. If you have ideas for Patreon episodes, please don't hesitate to reach out! And, as always, thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/31859357

Lucas Mann on The Marriage Plot 06/17/2024

Lucas Mann on The Marriage Plot We couldn't do a season on "the marriage plot" in literature without reading the Jeffrey Eugenides novel that's literally titled The Marriage Plot. Guest Lucas Mann (author, most recently, of the essay collected Attachments, and co-owner of Riffraff Bookstore and Bar in Providence, Rhode Island) joins us to discuss Eugenides' novel, which contains a "marriage plot" while also being a kind of meta-commentary on marriage plots. Plus: Is the book's clinically depressed, bandana-wearing character meant to be David Foster Wallace? How does Lucas employ "power poses" to sell books? And is there anything worse than a cash-bar wedding? You can find more info about Lucas, including where to read his work and how to buy his books, at his website: If you like the podcast, and would like more of it in your life--two bonus episodes each and every month--consider chipping in $5 to our Patreon: Note: This episode is the 7th of 8 in our Marriage Plot season (not that you need to listen to them in order!). After next week's episode we'll be taking a break, but we'll continue to post new episodes every other week on our Patreon feed. /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/31765065

Beth Ann Fennelly on How to Stay Married 06/10/2024

Beth Ann Fennelly on How to Stay Married Poet and novelist Beth Ann Fennelly (Heating & Cooling, The Tilted World) joins us to talk about an unconventional love story, Harrison Scott Key's How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told. We talk about learning life lessons from memoirs, how to write about difficult relationships--especially when you're still in them--and Beth Ann's experience of writing a novel collaboratively with her husband. Plus: Mike's pre-marriage angst about wedding rental companies, and why it costs so much to rent a chair. /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/31673387

Curtis Sittenfeld on Alice Munro 06/03/2024

Curtis Sittenfeld on Alice Munro We continue our "marriage plot" season with guest Curtis Sittenfeld (Prep, American Wife, Romantic Comedy) who talks us through one of her favorite Alice Munro stories, why she admires it, and how it's influenced her own work. Plus: Are trains romantic? Is some writing trying too hard to be sexy? And what's the ideal bathroom situation for a marriage? For more about Curtis, and her books, visit her website: If you like the podcast, and would like more of it in your life, consider joining our Patreon, where $5/month gets you lots of bonus content, and helps support the show more generally: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/31576782

Peter Ho Davies on Ben Lerner's 10:04 05/27/2024

Peter Ho Davies on Ben Lerner's 10:04 Our "marriage plot" season continues, but with a twist: on this episode, novelist Peter Ho Davies introduces us to "the parent plot," which he argues is a contemporary successor to all those 19th-century novels about choosing a mate. For many, becoming a parent is not only one of life's biggest choices, but also a cultural marker of adult responsibility and growing up. As an example, we dive into Ben Lerner's 2014 novel, 10:04, about a writer trying to finish his next book and also decide whether to father a child with his platonic best friend. To learn more about Davies, and his many wonderful, widely-celebrated books, you can visit his website: If you like our podcast, and want to support it--plus get access to twice-monthly bonus episodes--please consider subscribing to our Patreon, for just $5 a month: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/31473652

Tyrese Coleman on Outlander 05/20/2024

Tyrese Coleman on Outlander Our season on "the marriage plot" continues, with author Tyrese Coleman (How to Sit) joining us to talk about the first book in the Outlander series, which is one of the most popular historical fantasy romance novels ever written. She tries to help us understand why people find it sexy, rather than tedious. We also talk about the book's relationship to various genre tropes, and Ty tells us about the time she got banned from a Facebook fan group for suggesting some of the novel's characters were a little racist. You can keep up with Tyrese, and her writing, at her website: If you're enjoying our podcast, and want more of it in your life, consider subscribing to our Patreon, where $5 a month gets you two monthly bonus episodes, and access to our entire back catalog: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/31250282

Catherine Nichols on The Tenant of Wildfell Hall 05/13/2024

Catherine Nichols on The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Our "marriage plot" season continues, with freelance writer and podcaster Catherine Nichols joining us to talk about the "least fun" Bronte sister, and her novel about what happens when you marry a drunken frat boy (or whatever the 19th-century equivalent of a frat was). Check out Catherine's podcast, Lit Century, in which she and author Sandra Newman read through the 20th century, one year at a time: If you're enjoying our show, and would like more of it, subscribe to our Patreon for just $5 a month, which gets you two monthly bonus episodes (and access to a whole host of old episodes): Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/31249447

Adelle Waldman on Sense & Sensibility 05/06/2024

Adelle Waldman on Sense & Sensibility We kick off our new, 8-episode season on "the marriage plot" in literature with guest Adelle Waldman (The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., Help Wanted) talking to us about one of her favorite authors, Jane Austen. You can learn more about Adelle and her books at her website: If you like the podcast, and want more of it in your life, join our Patreon: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/31140858

Ep 440: Michael Tager 01/29/2024

Ep 440: Michael Tager We welcome writer and editor Michael Tager (Mason Jar Press; Pop Culture Poetry: The Definitive Collection ) to talk about Mindy Kaling's essay collection Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? Tager read Kaling's book during a period when he was reading a lot of memoirs and essay collections by comedians, including books by Tina Fey and Chelsea Handler. He talks about what made Kaling's stand out, and how his usual reading habits were interrupted by fatherhood. You can learn more about Tager's writing and editing projects, including his forthcoming book, at his website: If you like our podcast, and would like more of it in your life, please consider subscribing to our Patreon, where $5 a month gets you two monthly bonus episodes, plus access to our entire back catalog: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/29687373

Ep 439: Sal Pane 01/16/2024

Ep 439: Sal Pane We're joined by Sal Pane--author, most recently, of the short story collection The Neorealist in Winter (winner of the 2002 Autumn House fiction prize) to discuss a pair of novellas by Italian writer Natalia Ginzburg. Plus: writing for video games, surviving winter, and cuffing season. For more about Sal, and his books, visit his website: If you'd like more Book Fight in your life, consider subscribing to our Patreon, where $5 gets you two bonus episodes each month, including throughout our upcoming hiatus: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/29500988

Christmas Spectacular 2023! 12/11/2023

Christmas Spectacular 2023! It's a fan favorite every year: we choose a (possibly terrible) Christmas novel, and we invite some of our fellow Barrelhouse editors on to discuss it. This year the book was , by the "king of Christmas fiction," Richard Paul Evans. And our guests include Dave Housley, Becky Barnard, Chris Gonzalez, and Joe Killiany! Is this book a heartwarming autobiographical tale about a young boy's friendship with an old African-American man in late-1960s Utah? Or is it the story of a little incel boy who will eventually grow up to found a creepy men's rights organization and compare the plight of white men to Jews in Nazi Germany? Every year we try to take a "fun" trip to Christmas Town, and every year we somehow wind up mired in a terrible shit show. Feliz Navidad! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/29015133

Ep 437: Hannah Grieco 11/27/2023

Ep 437: Hannah Grieco We're joined by Hannah Grieco (writer, editor, recent MFA finisher) to discuss the 2021 novel , by Rachel Yoder, and its depiction of an overworked mother gone feral. You can order a copy of , the anthology Hannah edited featuring 40 stories of people running away. And if you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting us by , where $5 gets you two bonus episodes each month. /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/28803978

Ep 436: Athena Dixon 11/13/2023

Ep 436: Athena Dixon We're joined by Athena Dixon (, Tin House Books) to talk about a famous novel she hated when she was first made to read it, and why it spoke to her so much more strongly when she revisited it years later. You can find links to order Athena's new essay collection . You can sign up for Mike's Substack here: And if you like our podcast, $5/month can help us keep it going, plus give you access to two bonus episodes each month (and a whole slew of back episodes): /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/28605368

Ep 435: Adam O'Fallon Price 10/30/2023

Ep 435: Adam O'Fallon Price Author Adam O'Fallon Price (The Hotel Neversink) returns to talk about a great--if tough to categorize--Don Carpenter novel, . We talk about the novel's many plot swerves, and the depth and surprise in its portrayal of complicated men. Plus: an update on Tom's fancy "white glove service" desk from West Elm. For more on Adam, you can , or visit . If you like the podcast, and want more of it in your life, we're doing two monthly bonus episodes for just $5: /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/28457798

Ep 434: Jaime Green 10/16/2023

Ep 434: Jaime Green Our guest this week is the series editor for , and author of the book . She had us read an Ursula LeGuin novella about a "generation ship," a science fiction trope involving humans traversing the universe in search of a new planetary home. Did she pick this specifically to troll Mike, who is on the record as a sci fi skeptic? It's entirely possible! We talk about what drew Jaime to science writing, and why she considers herself an essayist, rather than a journalist. Also: what would be on our wish lists for a new planet? And will this LeGuin novella finally be the thing to win Mike over to the side of sci fi? You can learn more about our guest, and her work, at her website: And if you like the podcast, and would like more of it in your life, consider joining our Patreon: /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/28322021

Ep 433: James Hynes 10/02/2023

Ep 433: James Hynes We're joined by novelist James Hynes (Sparrow, The Lecturer's Tale, Next) to talk historical fiction. What are we looking for when we read a historical novel, and how is that different from what we want from actual history? How can writers put themselves inside the consciousness of someone living in a different time and place? For our book this week, we read , by Eva Figes, a slim 1984 novel that recouts a day in the life of the artist Claude Monet. We also talked about Jim's new book, , which tells the story of an enslaved Roman boy being raised in a brothel. For all things James Hynes, visit his website here: And if you like our podcast, and want more of it in your life (and want to help support its creation), check out our Patreon, where $5/month gets you access to bi-weekly bonus episodes: /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/28194323

Ep 432: Dan McQuade 09/18/2023

Ep 432: Dan McQuade We're talking YA sports books with Defector Media editor/co-owner Dan McQuade, who gave us two classics of the genre to read. Hoop Crazy was written in 1950 by Clair Bee, who was also a college basketball coach of some renown. The book features a Gallant type who has to defend his school's top-ranked team from the dangers of both racism and the three-point shot. Dan's second selection was Iron Duke, a 1938 novel by New Yorker writer John Tunis, who never considered himself a children's author, despite the fact that nearly all his 24 books were marketed to children. You can find out more about Defector Media here: And find Dan on Twitter: If you like the podcast, and want to help support it, plus get two bonus episodes every month, you can do that on our Patreon: /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/28059990

Ep 431: Nick Farriella 09/05/2023

Ep 431: Nick Farriella We're always happy for an excuse to revisit the work of Denis Johnson, so when this week's guest said he wanted to discuss Johnson's novel Angels, we were all in. We talk to Nick about being a self-taught writer, the fine line between funny and sad, and why Johnson's portrayals of substance abuse and mental health struggles spoke to him. You can pick up a copy of Nick's first book, a collection of stories, . If you like the podcast, consider , where $5 a month gets you access to a huge treasure trove of exclusive bonus episodes. /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/27941679

Ep 430: Chill Subs 08/21/2023

Ep 430: Chill Subs We talk with the creators of Chill Subs, an online portal for all things literary publishing, about the state of lit mags, why finding places to submit your work is such a chore, and why they created a site that attempts to make it easier. Karina Kupp and Benjamin Davis joined us from Poland and Georgia, respectively, to chat about their own experiences in the lit world, and their ambitious plans for Chill Subs. You can check out their site here: You can read the Roxane Gay essay we discussed here: (that piece also links to the Ted Genoways essay Roxane's piece was responding to). And if you like the podcast, and want to ensure it keeps existing in the world, please consider joining our Patreon, where a mere $5/month gets you access to regular bonus episodes, plus a treaure trove of past bonus content: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/27803367

Ep 429: Edan Lepucki 08/07/2023

Ep 429: Edan Lepucki We're joined by New York Times bestselling author Edan Lepucki, whose newest novel, Time's Mouth, is out now from Penguin Random House. We talk about her recent love of Larry McMurtry, why she'll never publish a short story collection, and why people need to get over their prudishness when it comes to literary depictions of sex. You can find all things Edan at her website, including links to order her new book, and to subscribe to her Substack: If you like our podcast, and want to help support it, please consider joining our Patreon, where we release two bonus episodes each month: Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/bookfightpod/id/27681351

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