Ep 43 The Difference between Short Fiction and Novels with Thomas Dodson

The Artsy Raven Podcast about Writing and Art with host JF Garrard

Thomas Dodson grew up in a small town in northeast Missouri, here he spent most of his time reading comic books, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and learning martial arts from a badass farmer. He holds graduate degrees from the Ohio State University, Kent State University, and the University of Iowa, where he was an Iowa Arts Fellow at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in fiction. Founding editor of the journal Printer’s Devil Review, Thomas served as its editor and designer for five years. He was also the executive editor of the Best Indie Lit New England series.

No Use Pretending is an astounding debut collection that expertly blends diverse genres to capture the nature of circumstance. The characters in these stories have been forced into conditions of life that they find unbearable, and the stories chart their often tragically misguided attempts to relieve their suffering via connections with other people or through the pursuit of addictive attachments. This Iowa Short Fiction Award winning piece is perfect for readers interested in the absurd, messy complexity that is being a human in the 21st century.

On The Artsy Raven, we discuss the short story format, what inspires him to write short stories and the difference between short fiction and novels.

At time 18:21, Thomas reads from his debut collection, No Use Pretending.

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