Jason and Brett are joined by Claire Lombardo (Same As It Ever Was), last month's Reese's Book Club pick for her novel, The Most Fun We Ever Had. They talk to Claire about secrets in relationships, favorite children, Boo Radleyism, and debate Joni Mitchell.

What Guys & Dolls reference is Jason talking about in the intro? Listen here.

More info about Claire & Jason in conversation at Warwick's HERE.

Claire Lombardo is the author of The Most Fun We Ever Had, which has been optioned for television by Reese Witherspoon. She lives in Iowa City, where she has taught at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Grinnell College and works part-time as a bookseller at Prairie Lights Books.

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**BOOKS!**
Check out the list of books discussed on each episode on our Bookshop page:
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In the final PRIDE installment of Upcoming/Up & Coming, Jason and Brett talk to debut* authors Kimberly King Parsons (We Were the Universe), KB Brookins (Pretty), and Santiago Jose Sanchez (Hombrecito). They talk about the theatre of parenthood, queer representation in books and media, and using writing to better understand your own story.

*Debut-ish! Kimberly’s debut novel and KB’s debut memoir.

Kimberly King Parsons is the author of Black Light, a collection of stories that was long-listed for the National Book Award and the Story Prize. In 2020, she received the National Magazine Award for fiction. Born in Lubbock, Texas, she lives in Portland, Oregon, with her partner and children. We Were the Universe is her first novel.

KB Brookins is a Black, queer, and trans writer and cultural worker from Texas. They are the author of Freedom House and How to Identify Yourself with a Wound. Brookins has poems, essays, and installation art published in Academy of American Poets, Teen Vogue, Poetry Magazine, Prizer Arts & Letters, Okayplayer, Poetry Society of America, Autostraddle, and other venues. They have earned fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, PEN America, Equality Texas, and others.

Santiago Jose Sanchez (they/them), a Grinnell College assistant professor of English and a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, is a queer Colombian American writer. Santiago’s writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, ZYZZYVA, Subtropics, and Joyland and been distinguished in Best American Short Stories. They are the recipient of a Truman Capote Fellowship from the University of Iowa and an Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellowship from Lambda Literary.

Gays Reading is sponsored by Audible. Get a FREE 30-day trial by visiting audibletrial.com/gaysreading

**BOOKS!**
Check out the list of books discussed on each episode on our Bookshop page:
https://bookshop.org/shop/gaysreading | By purchasing books through this Bookshop link, you can support both Gays Reading and an independent bookstore of your choice!

Join our Patreon for exclusive bonus content!

Purchase your Gays Reading podcast Merch!

Follow us on Instagram
@gaysreading | @bretts.book.stack | @jasonblitman

What are you reading?
Send us an email or a voice memo at gaysreading@gmail.com

Jason and Brett talk to Rufi Thorpe (Margo’s Got Money Troubles) about her obsession with wrestling (and how learning about it was like an all-cereal buffet), having a public persona and the chaos of the modern internet, falling in love with strangers, and of course, @tooturnttony.

Rufi Thorpe is the author of The Knockout Queen, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner award; Dear Fang, with Love; and The Girls from Corona del Mar, which was long-listed for the International Dylan Thomas Prize and the Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize. A native of California, she currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.

Gays Reading is sponsored by Audible. Get a FREE 30-day trial by visiting audibletrial.com/gaysreading

**BOOKS!**
Check out the list of books discussed on each episode on our Bookshop page:
https://bookshop.org/shop/gaysreading | By purchasing books through this Bookshop link, you can support both Gays Reading and an independent bookstore of your choice!

Join our Patreon for exclusive bonus content!

Purchase your Gays Reading podcast Merch!

Follow us on Instagram
@gaysreading | @bretts.book.stack | @jasonblitman

What are you reading?
Send us an email or a voice memo at gaysreading@gmail.com