Episode 6
A native of the Boston area, Ottessa Moshfegh received her MFA from Brown University. Initially writing poetry, Ottessa turned to narrative fiction and short stories and saw her work published in The Paris Review, Vice, The New Yorker, and The Baffler magazine. In 2016, her debut novel Eileen was shortlisted for both the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle award and won the PEN/Hemingway award for Debut Fiction. She followed this by publishing a collection of short stories titled Homesick for Another World, which was a finalist for The Story Prize. Her latest book-length work, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, was published last summer and was listed as a critic’s pick of the ten best books of 2018 by The Guardian and The New York Times.
We were lucky to be able to speak to Ottessa after her 2018 book tour ended and she was at her California home. We were able to hear Ottessa’s thoughts on the writing process — how a writer can get published initially, the comparative advantages of writing with and without a draft or outline, the importance of specificity in one’s use of language, and more! Join us for this intriguing conversation.