The Peak

Associate editor Moriah Katz and author Remica Bingham-Risher discuss family, history, and the creative process behind Risher’s most recent poetry collection, Room Swept Home. Bingham-Risher’s poem, “Mary Taken to the Central Lunatic Asylum” is featured in volume 73.1. Read it here. M: Who are you? Why do you write? R: I […]

In an interview with student interns Jed Heald and Eli Hirshberg, Andy Gottschalk offers an inside look into his creative practice and shares more about “The Inheritance,” his piece in the current issue of Shenandoah. We explore different themes in his writing, his influential studio art practice and recent essays he’s been working on. […]

In the Q&A below, Lisa Ampleman, discusses her new book Mom in Space which was released in January 2024 and includes “Lunar Deceptions,” featured in Volume 72.2 of Shenandoah. Mom in Space is a complicated love letter to both the intergalactic and the terrestrial. Using the lens of spaceflight, Lisa Ampleman explores subjects ranging […]

In this Q&A, Isaac Yuen discusses the creation of his debut nature essay collection, titled Utter, Earth: Advice on Living in a More-Than-Human World. You can read Yuen’s piece, “Our Museum of the Future,” featured in Volume 68.1 of Shenandoah here. Can you tell me the story of this book: When did you […]

Associate editor Moriah Katz and author Theresa Sylvester discuss the creative process behind Sylvester’s short story, “Atonement,” featured in volume 73.1. of Shenandoah. Read “Atonement” here. Who are you and how did you find your way to writing? I’m a Lusaka girl. I was raised in a suburb called Olympia Park and […]

Morgan Hamill, author of After and somewhere to rest, featured in Volume 73.1 of Shenandoah, discusses her writing process, inspirations, and upcoming work in a conversation with Shenandoah intern Ryan Doty. Ryan: I appreciate you taking the time to write back and forth with me! The first few questions I had concerned your […]

Sara Marchant, author of “Haunted” in Volume 70.2 of Shenandoah, published her debut full-length novel, Becoming Delilah, on August 15, 2023. Here, she speaks with nonfiction editor DW McKinney about the book and writing about early girlhood and womanhood. What was your inspiration for Becoming Delilah? It’s based on my 2018 novella […]

Athena Dixon, author of the nonfiction essay “Distillation,” featured in Volume 70.2 of Shenandoah, discusses horror video games as writing inspiration, finding curiosity in life, and reexamining loneliness during her experience writing The Loneliness Files, in the essay below. Read “Distillation” here. How do you write a book about loneliness when all the world is at […]

In an interview with student interns Jed Heald and Eli Hirshberg, Allison Lee candidly explores her upbringing’s literary influence, the art of revision as an extension of creativity, and the profound personal story behind her flash non-fiction piece Song of the Sandia Mountains. E: To start, we wanted to ask about your upbringing […]