In Episode 47, Caroline Zancan (author of We Wish You Luck) discuss her time getting her MFA at the Bennington Writing Seminars, how her job as an editor at Henry Holt impacted her as an author, and the allure of campus novels.

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Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Book of the Month. Use the code SARAHSBOOKSHELVES at checkout to get your first book for just $9.99!

This month, I chose You Are Not Alone, The Holdout, and Anna K. Check out my commentary on all the February picks to help choose the right book for your reading taste.

Highlights

• What parts of Caroline’s experience at a low-residency MFA Program she incorporated into We Wish You Luck.
• The allure of campus novels.
• The value of having a degree from a MFA Program (and the ways it doesn’t help you).
• Why she chose to tell the story in the collective voice and to leave the three main characters’ perspectives out of the collective.
• How her job as an Editor impacted her as an author and, conversely, what she learned as an author that she took back to her editorial job.
• How the “book shopping” process works for someone who works in publishing.
• Some funny Goodreads reviews of Ulysses.
• How publishers factor events like elections into their publishing calendars.

Caroline’s Book Recommendations

Two OLD Books She Loves 

• Play it As it Lays by Joan Didion | Buy from Amazon [23:54]
• Happiness, As Such by Natalia Ginzberg | Buy from Amazon [27:51]

Two NEW Books She Loves

• The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [31:15]
• Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman | Buy from Amazon [35:22]

One Book She DIDN’T Love

• Ulysses by James Joyce | Buy from Amazon [37:41]

One NEW RELEASE She’s Excited About

• Rodhamby Curtis Sittenfeld (Release Date: June 30, 2020)| Buy from Amazon [41:16]

*Note: when we recorded, there was no cover or full blurb about this book available from the publisher. Since recording, you can now see the cover on Goodreads, which interestingly, features an actual photo of Hillary Clinton (how is this legally possible?!)!

Other Books Mentioned

• You Are Not Aloneby Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen (Out March 3) | Buy from Amazon [1:10]
• The Holdoutby Graham Greene | Buy from Amazon [1:10]
• Anna Kby Jenny Lee | Buy from Amazon [1:10]
• Local Girlsby Caroline Zancan | Buy from Amazon [2:16]
• We Wish You Luckby Caroline Zancan (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [2:28]
• The Secret Historyby Donna Tartt | Buy from Amazon [10:17]
• Oligarchyby Scarlett Thomas | Buy from Amazon [11:41]
• The Truantsby Kate Weinberg | Buy from Amazon [11:41]
• The Virgin Suicidesby Jeffrey Eugenides (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [15:11]
• Then We Came to the Endby Joshua Ferris | Buy from Amazon [15:11]
• The Woman in the Windowby AJ Finn | Buy from Amazon [23:06]
• The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion | Buy from Amazon [23:35]
• Family Lexiconby Natalia Ginzburg | Buy from Amazon [29:09]
• Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [34:13]
• Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | Buy from Amazon [39:00]
• An American Wifeby Curtis Sittenfeld | Buy from Amazon [41:20]
• You Think It, I’ll Say It: Storiesby Curtis Sittenfeld (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [43:10]
• Eligibleby Curtis Sittenfeld | Buy from Amazon [43:32]
• I’ll Be Gone in the Darkby Michelle McNamara (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [45:12]
• Before the Ruinsby Victoria Gosling | Buy from Amazon [46:27]
• The Other’s Gold by Elizabeth Ames (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [48:07]
• The Ensemble by Aja Gabel (My Review) | Buy from Amazon [48:07]
• The Comfort of Strangersby Ian McEwan | Buy from Amazon [51:48]

Other Links

• Winter 2020 Book Preview
• “Rediscovering Natalia Ginzburg”, The New Yorker
• Sarah’s Best Books of 2019 List
• “New Curtis Sittenfeld Novel Will Imagine Hillary Clinton’s Life Without Bill”, The Guardian

About Caroline

Caroline Zancan is the author of the novels Local Girls and We Wish You Luck. She is a graduate of Kenyon College and holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. A Senior Editor at Henry Holt, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their children.

Next Episode

Mini Episode featuring Genevieve Trono (@genthebookworm)…airing February 26.

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