023: Brian Allen Carr

Brian Allen Carr is a novelist originally from Texas, author of the books Sip; Opioid, Indiana, and his newest book, Bad Foundations, which is out via Clash Books as of January 23, 2024.

It is a peek into a hidden and ignored world beneath the feet of midwesterners, a world that literally supports their entire lives. The narrator is a man named Cook, someone who will essentially become a coworker to readers as they open this book.

Brian chats with Ledger about the importance of setting, how he utilizes and thinks of genre (one of Ledger's favorite topics; but in this case there are sharks leaping out of puddles), and how he is currently working as a foundation inspector like his book’s protagonist.

One of the bigger topics in this episode is success and, specifically, what happens when you win a big short story contest? Brian won the inaugural Texas Observer Short Story Contest in 2011, which was judged by Larry McMurtry.

Make sure you check out Bad Foundations out from Clash books. Thank you so much to Brian for chatting and thank you for listening!

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