How Acclaimed Debut Novelist Molly McGhee Writes

Critically acclaimed debut novelist, Molly McGhee, spoke with me about the best day of her life, her part in The Great Publishing Resignation, losing a parent, and her first book JONATHAN ABERNATHY YOU ARE KIND.

Molly McGhee writes fiction and essays and taught in the undergraduate creative writing department at Columbia University where she also graduated with an MFA in fiction.

Her debut novel is Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind, described by The New York Times as a story about, “... debt-laden citizens [who] are recruited to ‘audit’ others’ dreams — all in the name of productivity.”

In a starred review Booklist said of the book, “… a superlative state-of-the-nation novel like no other. Full of astoundingly resonant and eminently quotable points about labor, capital, and depression, this wondrous literary creation brilliantly captures the excessive demands of contemporary work.”

Molly has worked in the editorial departments of McSweeney’s, The Believer, NOON, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, and helped launch a horror imprint at Tor. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, LitHub, and others.

[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]

[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]

In this file Molly McGhee and I discussed: 

• Her past life as a NY Times bestselling editor
• Using writing as a coping mechanism for grief
• The nightmare that became a book
• Why she thinks of herself as a reader first
• Learning how to give yourself grace
• The importance of authenticity and vulnerability in your writing
• And a lot more!

Show Notes:

• mollymcghee.com
• Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind: A Novel By Molly McGhee [Amazon]
• This Science Fiction Novel Scrapes the Work Force of Human Suffering
• The "Great Publishing Resignation" Exposes the Failings of the Industry
• Men Who Don’t Know Women: On Unlearning the Lessons of “Dick Lit” - Molly McGhee for LitHub
• Molly McGhee on Instagram
• Molly McGhee on Twitter
• Kelton Reid on Twitter

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices