Steve Almond is the author of a dozen books, including the New York Times bestsellers Candyfreak and Against Football. His first novel, Which Brings Me to You (co-written with Julianna Baggott), was made into a major motion picture starring Lucy Hale. His work has been published in the Best American Short Stories, the Best American Mysteries, Best American Erotica, and the New York Times Magazine. Steve lives outside Boston, where he can usually be found procrastinating.
What are you working/currently trying to work on these days?
I've just started poking around at a novel, which means—just doing the math here—in three more years, I should have a finished, unpublishable novel.
What’s your workshop style, and what can people expect at Lit Fest?
I try to use a lot of radical empathy to make sure we can be radically candid, as a workshop. The whole idea is to make sure the writer sees our feedback as aimed at helping her make the story the best possible version of HER vision. I also love to use the manuscripts as a way of putting language to some common patterns that we fall into as writers. I'm pretty informal, in terms of my attitude, but rigorous when it comes to the work.
If you could only bring three books with you on a deserted island, which ones would you choose, and why?
- Stoner (the novel) by John Edward Williams—I wrote a whole frigging book about this novel, and it's taught me more about writing (and life) than any class I've taken. I also find that it's a new book every time I read it.
- Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro—Again, one of those novels that just knocks me out every time.
- The Visit of the Royal Physician by Per Olov Enquist—Again, a book I find myself reading over and over again. I'm, like, addicted to it. It's about the enlightenment and desire and courage and the question of whether human beings are a torch in the darkness, or the darkness itself.
What’s one artist or writer more people should know about?
Kevin Barry, the Irish writer. His new novel, The Heart in Winter, just KNOCKED me out. His sentences astonish me.
At Lit Fest this summer, Steve Almond will be teaching his Advanced Weeklong Fiction Workshop: The BS Detector. Interested in working with him? Apply today!
To learn more about Lit Fest, tuition, fellowships, and advanced class admittance, click here.
