The Pantscast Adam Robinson

In November 2017 I sat down to talk to Bud Smith about his book Work, which had just come out from Civil Coping Mechanisms.



Now Bud has another book out, Double Bird, from Maudlin House.



So, if you're keeping track, it took me longer to put out this podcast than it did for Bud to publish two books. I cut all my parts out of the interview, so you'll just hear Bud tell fascinating stories about his very early days as an artist and how he dabbled in everything.

"We had all the ambition in the world when we were little kids. You'd make these ridiculous movies with all your friends. It was almost impossible."

"As soon as I found out you could go online and upload your thing and order one copy of it I was like 'cool, this is all I ever got to do.' I didn't know about submitting... I just knew I didn't have to go to Staples anymore and pay $20 to get my book of poems printed up."

"I feel so bad for all the editors of the world... people get so upset about getting rejection slips. I wish everybody had to reject somebody. Then you would know what it's like. Why don't you tell somebody 'no' and see how you feel. It sucks."

And you have to hear the story about getting his first book published, which starts by finding a bunch of poems stuffed into a toilet at a bar.

Bud also reads a short section from Work.

Welcome to the third episode of the Pantscast. This time it's hosted by Amy McDaniel and features Zach Dodson and his extraordinary new book, Bats of the Republic. Check out our review of the book, by Alban Fischer.

Listen using the embedded player above, or subscribe on iTunes.

The Washington Post says, "Bats of the Republic cumulatively becomes a book about the way books are made and the way stories work. Dodson has quite brilliantly exposed the gears and cogs whirring in the novelist’s imagination. It is a mad and beautiful thing."

Zach is a writer, publisher, and graphic designer—among other things. Bats of the Republic has been available since the beginning of October, so maybe (hopefully) you’ve had a chance to see it for yourself. If not, here's a peek:


Plus! Will Oldham
Also on this episode, we’re really proud to present an 8-minute excerpt from the book, read by Will Oldham.

In episode 2 of the Pantscast, I Skype with Rachel B. Glaser about her funny and sad new book, Paulina and Fran, which came out in September from HarperPerennial. We discuss the process of writing the book, which started as a 3-page short story. We talk about hair, too, and life, and what the book means to her.

Also on the episode you'll hear a joke (-ish) from Amy McDaniel and a song by Mike Young. The opening music is by W. G. "Snuffy" Walden and stick around for the closing song, "Playwrights," by my old band, The Flying Party.

In this, the first episode of the Pantscast, we hear a joke from Edward Mullany, then I introduce the show and what I like about the podcasts I've been listening to, and then I talk a little bit about Ebook Flights, the new ebook-only book program from Publishing Genius.

The keynote of the show is my conversation with Michael Kimball. We talk about the writing life, how writing can be taught, and a little bit about softball.

Here's a link to Ebook Flights. Listen to the show to find out how you can download them for free.

And here's a link to Michael Kimball's recent essay at FastCo, about how he came to write The One-Hour MFA, which we just started serializing here for free.

The opening music is by the Rah Brahs.