In Episode 36, we interview the wonderful and engaging, award-winning author Ramona Ausubel about her latest novel, THE LAST ANIMAL, published by Riverhead, and named Best Book of The Year by Oprah Daily, NPR and Kirkus Reviews. Her debut novel, NO ONE IS HERE EXCEPT ALL OF US, was a New York Times Editor’s Choice, winner of both the PEN USA Fiction Award and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and her two collections of short stories have also stacked up many well-deserved accolades. THE LAST ANIMAL is my first introduction to Ausubel’s work, and I have to be honest, I am blown away by her talent. What I enjoyed most in this conversation was her refreshing approach to finding the story through a ‘half draft’ technique that she discusses at length. I am going to try it myself! It might just help you start writing your book too. This was such a fun conversation between two working moms, writing teachers, and destined ‘Book Sisters.’ I loved hearing Ausubel’s energy and learning about her passionate writing journey for all her works. She reminds us about the importance of curiosity, persistence and the sheer joy of bringing stories to life (and in the case of THE LAST ANIMAL, an extinct baby woolly mammoth). Maybe it’s the Colorado air of which she breathes, but this one is full of magic. Hope you enjoy it!
Page One, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.
About the guest author:
Ramona Ausubel is an award winning author of three novels and two short story collections. Her latest book, THE LAST ANIMAL, published by Riverhead, was named Best Book of The Year by Oprah Daily, NPR and Kirkus Reviews. Her debut novel, NO ONE IS HERE EXCEPT ALL OF US was a New York Times Editor’s Choice and winner of both the PEN USA Fiction Award and the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. It was also named one of the Best Books of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Huffington Post as well as being a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award, the California and Colorado Book Awards, longlisted for the Story Prize Frank O’Connor International Story Award and and nominated for the International Impac Dublin Literary Award.
A native of New Mexico, Ausubel holds an MFA from the University of California, Irvine where she won the Glenn Schaeffer Award in Fiction. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Tin House, The New York Times, NPR’s Selected Shorts, One Story, Electric Literature, Ploughshares, The Oxford American, and collected in The Best American Fantasy and online in The Paris Review. She has also been a finalist for the prestigious Puschart Prize and a Fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. She has taught at Tin House, The Community of Writers, Writing by Writers, the Low-Residency MFA programs at the Institute of American Indian Arts and Bennington. She is currently an assistant professor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
About the host:
Holly Lynn Payne is an award-winning novelist and writing coach, and the former CEO and founder of Booxby, a startup built to help authors succeed. She is an internationally published author of four historical fiction novels. Her debut, The Virgin's Knot, was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers book. She recently finished her first YA crossover novel inspired by her nephew with Down syndrome. She lives in Marin County with her daughter and enjoys mountain biking, surfing and hiking with her dog. To learn more about her books and private writing coaching services, please visit hollylynnpayne.com or find her at Instagram and Twitter @hollylynnpayne.
If you have a first page you’d like to submit to the Page One Podcast, please do so here.
As an author and writing coach, I know that the first page of any book has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. So I thought to ask your favorite master storytellers how they do their magic to hook YOU.
After the first few episodes, it occurred to me that maybe someone listening might be curious how their first page sits with an audience, so I’m opening up Page One to any writer who wants to submit the first page of a book they’re currently writing.
If your page is chosen, you’ll be invited onto the show to read it and get live feedback from one of Page One’s master storytellers. Page One exists to inspire, celebrate and promote the work of both well-known and unknown creative talent.
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If you're interested in getting writing tips and the latest podcast episode updates with the world's beloved master storytellers, please sign up for my very short monthly newsletter at hollylynnpayne.com and follow me @hollylynnpayne on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. Your email address is always private and you can always unsubscribe anytime.
The Page One Podcast is created at the foot of a mountain in Marin County, California, and is a labor of love in service to writers and book lovers. My intention is to inspire, educate and celebrate. Thank you for being a part of my creative community!
Thank you for listening! Be well and keep reading.
~Holly~