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I cannot tell you how excited I am to have an interview with Nina MacLaughlin up on The Believer Logger today. Nina has been a role model and inspiration to me since I first met her in spring 2015, right before the debut of her memoir, Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter. It was such a pleasure to talk to Nina about her new book Wake, Siren: Ovid Resung, which was published this past fall by FSG Originals. Thank you to Hayden Bennett at The Believer for his edits and for publishing the interview, and thank you to Nina for letting me ask her a million questions and for giving such thoughtful responses. I hope you enjoy reading the interview as much as I enjoyed doing it. Here’s the opening:

“THESE STORIES HAVE BEEN EXISTING IN ME ALL ALONG, LIKE HOW THEY EXIST IN ALL OF US, WHETHER WE KNOW IT OR NOT.”

Nina MacLaughlin and I went to the same high school, but not at the same time. She graduated nine years ahead of me—long enough that we didn’t overlap as students, but short enough that we shared many of the same teachers and experiences. Nina and I speak a common language—that of two people who both grew up in the suburbs of Boston, who both attended a New England prep school, who both studied a dead language, who both have spent their adult lives in Cambridge, who both love books and plants and art, who are both working writers.

Up until recently, Nina and I also had in common the fact that we both only write nonfiction—she is the author of Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter, a memoir about her decision to leave journalism (Nina wrote for The Boston Phoenix for almost a decade) and pursue carpentry. But I arrive at her Cambridge apartment—located on the first floor of an old brick building, a former Harvard dormitory—to chat with Nina not about writing what she calls “true books,” but about another kind of true writing: fiction.

Nina is the author of Wake, Siren: Ovid Resung, a modern retelling of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, published this fall by FSG Originals. Sure, it’s not nonfiction—but what is this book? A short story collection? A series of vignettes? An epic poem? A historical novel? Fan fiction? I arrive at Nina’s flustered from the extraordinarily hot August day—having walked the fifteen minutes to her apartment from my own, because we are neighbors, too—and also from the fact that talking about fiction is out of my usual comfort zone.

I trip on an uneven floorboard in the vestibule of Nina’s building—the same spot where I tripped entering Nina’s place for a housewarming party several years ago—but I catch myself. Nina and I exchange a sweaty hug, and she welcomes me in, offers a ginger beer, and I take a seat on her couch behind a beautiful wooden coffee table, handmade by Nina from a board from her grandmother’s house. Nina arranges herself in a chair across from me, her legs tucked up under a billowing skirt, and I wonder if we are still part of the same world.

—E.B. Bartels

Read the interview with Nina here.

Also, never forget:

Bojack Horseman (season 5).

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This past month I’ve been reading a lot about the small businesses closing in and around Harvard Square, such as Black Ink, as outside developers drive up rent to unsustainable rates. Therefore, this month, I’d like to take a moment to remind you all to support small and local businesses as you do your gift shopping this holiday season (F*CK AM*ZON). Some of my favorite places, in addition to Black Ink, for unique and whimsical gifts are Ward Maps, Nomad, Joie de Vivre, Magpie, and Loyal Supply Co. Rebekah Brooks is magnificent for vintage jewelry, and I love Raspberry Beret and The Garment District for vintage clothing. For delicious edible gifts, check out Honeycomb Creamery and Curio Spice Co., for all your toy and game needs go to Henry Bear’s Park, Comicazi, and Pandemonium, and if you want to paint your own gifts, go to Made By Me.

And, obviously, I am obsessed with independent bookstores. This past month I went to so many fantastic author events, all courtesy of your favorite local bookstores. So please, please, PLEASE consider ordering your book presents (because books make the best presents, right?) this holiday season from your local independent bookstores as opposed to the evil empire (F*CK AM*ZON). Some of my favorite bookstores include:

• Newtonville Books in Newton, MA
• Porter Square Books in Cambridge, MA
• Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, MA
• Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, MA
• Papercuts J.P. in Boston, MA
• Book Ends in Winchester, MA
• Trident Booksellers in Boston, MA
• More Than Words in Boston, MA
• Blue Bunny Books in Dedham, MA
• The Silver Unicorn Bookstore in Acton, MA
• Wellesley Books in Wellesley, MA
• The Concord Bookshop in Concord, MA
• Belmont Books in Belmont, MA
• I AM Books in Boston, MA
• McNally Jackson in Manhattan & Brooklyn, NY
• Astoria Bookshop in Queens, NY
• Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, NY
• The Strand in Manhattan, NY
• Barrett Bookstore in Darien, CT
• Elliott Bay Books in Seattle, WA
• Powell’s in Portland, OR
• Book & Bar in Portsmouth, NH
• Green Hand Bookshop in Portland, ME
• Hello Hello Books in Rockland, ME

Please tell me some of your favorite independent bookstores and/or other favorite small businesses in the comments below. And happy holiday shopping!

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November has been a kickass month of author events, thanks to several amazing indie bookstores. THIS is the stuff you can’t get from that giant online retailer. THIS is why we need local bookstores!!!

On 11/6, I heard Carmen Maria Machado in conversation with Kelly Link at the Brattle Theatre, discussing Carmen’s new memoir In The Dream House, courtesy of Harvard Book Store.

On 11/8, I laughed with Lindy West about her new book The Witches Are Coming at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, also courtesy of Harvard Book Store.

On 11/18, I listened to Ta-Nehisi Coates talk about his debut novel The Water Dancer with Meghna Chakrabarti at the Chevalier Theatre, courtesy of Brookline Booksmith.

On 11/20, I celebrated Nina MacLaughlin‘s fiction debut Wake, Siren: Ovid Resung at Harvard Book Store.

And on 11/22, I enjoyed Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne and Kelly J. Ford in conversation about Elizabeth’s debut novel Holding On To Nothing at Newtonville Books.

Seriously, what a great month. Thank you to the independent bookstores who made this possible! Remember these places when you start your holiday shopping in the next few weeks.

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This week marks five years that I have been living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. To celebrate, I spent the better part of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday tweeting about some of my favorite things about this city. Click here to see the thread on Twitter or here to see a more-easily-readable version of the thread.

I’d love to hear what some of your favorite Cambridge spots are — leave a comment below or @ me on Twitter!

The post Five years of living in Cambridge! appeared first on E.B. Bartels.

In the mean time, there are a couple of ways that you can get involved with Pangyrus right now:

Pangyrus co-sponsors a series called Resistance Mic! which happens at the Oberon Theatre in Harvard Square. The Resistance Mic! Season Opener is TONIGHT (Tuesday 9/25) at 8pm and there are still tickets available. See you there?! If that’s too last minute for your taste, then save the date for the rest of the 2018-2019 Resistance Mic! season: Tuesday 11/13/18, Tuesday 2/9/19, and Tuesday 4/16/19. Tickets are $10 and you can buy them here.

If going to live shows isn’t your thing and you’re more of a curl-up-on-the-couch-and-read type, don’t worry because Pangyrus Vol. 5: The Resistance Issue will be out in October! You can get a copy of your very own if you subscribe to Pangyrus for $3/month via our Patreon. Come on, this issue features REGIE GIBSON. He’s the best. 

Also, while we are at it, consider supporting our Patreon in general. Pangyrus is still a relatively new literary magazine, and they’ve already done so many great things in the few years since they published their first issue in spring 2015. Help us be able to do even more great things and pay our authors the big bucks they deserve! Plus, for a small monthly donation, you can get a Pangyrus notebook or mug or drawstring backpack, and who doesn’t want that?!

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Look! I am on the website and everything:

So you know what this means? Pitch me your nonfiction writing! Submissions reopen on September 20, so check out our guidelines and send in your stuff. I can’t wait to read it!

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In case you missed it, I now share my home with a celebrity. Terrence the tortoise (a.k.a. @theofficialmrt) was featured in the summer 2018 issue of Wellesley Magazine, in a piece called “The Heart of a Pet” by Lisa Scanlon Mogolov. The fame is really going to his head, and he is becoming insufferable to deal with. But it’s okay, I still love him. I mean, just look at that cute illustration by Miranda Sofroniou! What a guy.

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Did you know that I am available for hire as a private writing/English tutor in the Boston area? Well, I am! I can also provide assistance as a writing coach remotely, via email and Google Docs. Learn more about my teaching experience on my website.

Did you know that I also work as a freelance editor? Well, now you do! I’m happy to help with all editing needs, from personal statements to college essays to cover letters to book-length projects. Learn more about my editing experience, also on my website.

Please use the contact me form to inquire about rates and references. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

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As you may know, I’ve become a bit of a regular reader at the Mortified show at Oberon, thanks to the best-ever Mortified producer, Sara Faith Alterman. But now I’m super excited to share that you don’t have to be in the Cambridge area to hear me read my most embarrassing childhood journal entries!

Check out the most recent episode of the Mortified Podcast (89: An Ode to Childhood Pets), to hear about my past pet tortoise Aristotle and my current book project. I’m honored to be featured with such hilarious individuals––and it’s comforting to know I wasn’t the only kid who felt closer to animals than people, or who tried to incorporate pets into every possible school project. Thanks to Neil Katcher for interviewing me and including me in the podcast.

Listen here or download on iTunes.

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Nina MacLaughlin is the author of Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter, a memoir about her transformation from journalist to carpenter. After spending her twenties as a staff writer at the award-winning alternative newsweekly the Boston Phoenix, in 2008 MacLaughlin quit her job to work as a carpenter’s assistant. Eight years later, MacLaughlin continues to pursue both building and writing. Her reviews and essays have appeared in the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Review of Books, The Believer, The Rumpus, The Millions, and Bookslut, among other places, and she has been a guest on All Things Considered. MacLaughlin also writes a blog called Carpentrix. She lives near the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The post Non-Fiction by Non-Men: Nina MacLaughlin appeared first on E.B. Bartels.