Let's Deconstruct a Story Podcast Por Kelly Fordon arte de portada

Let's Deconstruct a Story

Let's Deconstruct a Story

De: Kelly Fordon
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Let's Deconstruct a Story: A podcast for the story nerds! Aspiring writers need to understand the components of a good story before they can write one. Choices of POV, plot, setting, and tone are crucial. In each episode, I'll be interviewing a writer about one of their own stories, which will be available for listeners to read for free on my website before they listen. www.kellyfordon.substack.com and letsdeconstructastory.substack.com

letsdeconstructastory.substack.comKelly Fordon
Episodios
  • Let's Deconstruct a Story featuring 'Pemi Aguda

    Let's Deconstruct a Story featuring 'Pemi Aguda
    Apr 1 2026
    Hi Everyone, I’m so happy to share ‘Pemi Aguda’s short story, “Manifest,” with you. Please read the story before you listen to the podcast, because there will be spoilers!Read “Manifest” here on Granta (or here: https://granta.com/manifest/).Let’s Deconstruct a Story is available here on Substack, as well as Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.Bio: ‘Pemi Aguda is from Lagos, Nigeria. She has an MFA from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan. Her short stories have won O. Henry Prizes, a Nommo Award for Short Story, a Henfield Prize, and the Writivism Prize. Her work has been supported by an Octavia Butler Memorial Scholarship, and her novel-in-progress won the 2020 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award. She was a 2021 Fiction Fellow with the Miami Book Fair, a 2022 MacDowell fellow, and is the current Hortense Spillers Assistant Editor at Transition Magazine. Ghostroots, her debut story collection, was a finalist for the 2024 National Book Awards in Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award.W. W. Norton, Virago, and Masobe published Ghostroots in 2024 and will publish her novel, One Leg on Earth, in 2026.I hope you enjoy this episode!Cheers,KellyUpcoming Podcast Release Schedule: May 1st: Jim ShepardPlease read “The Queen of Bad Influences” before you listen to the episode.JIM SHEPARD is the author of seven previous novels, most recently The Book of Aron (winner of the 2016 PEN New England Award, the Sophie Brody medal for achievement in Jewish literature, the Ribalow Prize for Jewish literature, the Clark Fiction Prize, and a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award) and five story collections, including Like You’d Understand, Anyway, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and won The Story Prize. His short fiction has appeared in, among other magazines, The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, McSweeney’s, The Paris Review, The Atlantic, Esquire, Tin House, Granta, Zoetrope, Electric Literature, and Vice, and has often been selected for The Best American Short Stories and The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories. He lives in Williamstown, Massachusetts, with his wife, three children, and three beagles, and he teaches at Williams College.June 1st: Molly Dektar: Please read “The Bed and Breakfast” before listening to the episode.Molly Dektar is the author of two novels, The Absolutes and The Ash Family. Her short stories have been published in the Best American Short Stories 2024, the Yale Review, N+1, the Harvard Review, Ploughshares, and the Sewanee Review, among others. The recipient of a Dakin Fellowship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and a residency at Hawthornden, Brooklyn, she is from North Carolina and lives in Queens, NY.Follow her on Instagram here.In July and August, we will be on summer hiatus, working on the fall schedule. Please feel free to send suggestions!Cheers, KellyPaid Subscribers:One last chance this season to join us for a live discussion. On April 14th at 11 am EST, I will be talking to Molly Dektar about her 2024 Best American Short Story, “The Bed and Breakfast.” First read: “The Bed & Breakfast.” Then bring your questions! The Zoom link for paid subscribers is posted here. We Need You!Live Discussions with the author are one good reason to become a paid subscriber! Another good reason to become a paid subscriber? Access to the video recordings.Yet, another? Annotated texts. A fourth, and final reason: I would love to produce more podcasts. Currently, I can only afford to produce one per month. I hope that will change someday soon. There are so many wonderful stories out there.Cheers,Kelly This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe
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    36 m
  • Let's Deconstruct a Story featuring Toni Ann Johnson

    Let's Deconstruct a Story featuring Toni Ann Johnson
    Mar 1 2026

    Welcome to Let’s Deconstruct a Story!

    How this works:

    Read the story carefully. This is important because the interview will contain spoilers.

    During this session, we will talk with the author about their personal process and analyze craft elements: plot, character, setting, dialogue, pacing, and revision.

    The aim is to learn how the story was built, with the hope that this will help you with your process.

    Hope you enjoy it.

    Cheers,

    Kelly

    Toni Ann Johnson will be talking about her story, “Daughtered Out,” from The Coachella Review.https://thecoachellareview.com/2021/06/02/daughtered-out-by-toni-ann-johnson/

    TONI ANN JOHNSON is the winner of the 2021 Flannery O’Connor Award for short fiction with her linked collection Light Skin Gone to Waste, released in October 2022. Roxane Gay selected the book for the prize and is its editor. Johnson’s novella Homegoing was a semi-finalist for the William Faulkner Wisdom Award in fiction. It won Accents Publishing’s inaugural novella contest in 2020 and was released in May of 2021. The novel Remedy For a Broken Angel was released in 2014 and earned Johnson a 2015 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Literary Work by a Debut Author.

    In 1998, Johnson won the Christopher Award and the Humanitas Prize for her screenplay “Ruby Bridges,” the Disney/ABC movie and true story of the young girl who integrated into the New Orleans Public School system. In 2004, Johnson won a second Humanitas Prize for her screenplay “Crown Heights” (Showtime), also a true story.

    Purchase Toni Ann Johnson’s book here.



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe
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    49 m
  • Let's Deconstruct a Story featuring Shastri Akella

    Let's Deconstruct a Story featuring Shastri Akella
    Feb 1 2026

    Hi Everyone,

    During this episode, Shastri Akella discusses his Best American Short Story, “The Magic Bangle.”

    The podcast episode is also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.

    Please read the story before listening to the podcast episode.

    It’s available here at The Fairy Tale Review.

    I hope you enjoy this discussion with Shastri as much as I did!

    Cheers,

    Kelly

    PS: As always, I would love to hear about your favorite stories! Please send ideas anytime.

    Bio: Shastri Akella’s debut novel, “The Sea Elephants,” has been published by Flatiron Books (USA, Canada) and Penguin (India). He was a writing resident at the Fine Arts Works Center (2021) and the Oak Springs Garden Foundation (2023). He’s the winner of the 2022 FracturedLit Flash Fiction Contest and the 2023 Best Microfiction Contest. His writing has appeared in Guernica, Fairy Tale Review, CRAFT, The Masters Review, Electric Literature, World Literature Review, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing and a PhD. in Comparative Literature at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He’s an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Michigan State University. Contact him for readings and book signings at your bookstore, college, or library at shastriakella.com.

    Shastri Akella’s book is available here.

    Upcoming Podcast Schedule

    Free and available on Spotify, Apple, and Substack, as well as other podcast platforms.

    March 1st: Toni Ann Johnson

    April 1st: ‘Pemi Aguda

    May 1st: Jim Shepard

    June 1st: Molly Dektar

    Upcoming interview schedule:

    Paid subscribers and former guests are welcome to join me for live interviews with these writers below. Please read the story beforehand and come ready to discuss it with the author :)

    On February 17th at 1 pm EST, I will talk to ‘Pemi Aguda about “Manifest.”

    On March 4th at 1 pm: Jim Shepard: “The Queen of Bad Influences.”

    On April 8th at 11 am: Molly Dektar: “The Bed & Breakfast.”

    If you are a member of the Conscious Writers Collective with Maya C. Popa, you are also welcome to join us for the interviews. I highly recommend CWC. The instructors are amazing, and everyone is extremely supportive. I hope you will check it out!

    In other news, I am heading to France from March 11th to May 29th to serve as the Resident Fellow at VCCA’s Moulin à Nef campus. If you’re nearby (or heading there for a residency), I’d love to see you!

    Cheers,

    Kelly



    This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsdeconstructastory.substack.com/subscribe
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    39 m
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