Moonshine Murmurs

Moonshine Murmurs
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Moonshine Murmurs is a podcast from Stillhouse Press, part of Watershed Lit. As a small press publisher, we specialize in the primal craft of the written word. Here, we talk in-depth with authors about the stories behind their books, the writing process, and their journey to publication.

  1. 11/18/2025

    Mining the Horrific

    In this episode, host Carol Mitchell and Kristina Ten discuss Ten’s short story collection Tell Me Yours, I'll Tell You Mine, the origin of the stories, Ten’s influences, and more. Carol Mitchell is a consulting editor with Stillhouse Press and a term professor in the English Department at George Mason University. She holds an MFA from George Mason and is the author of several books for children and one novel for adults: What Start Bad a Mornin'. Kristina Ten’s debut short story collection Tell Me Yours, I'll Tell You Mine was published in 2025 by Stillhouse Press after winning our horror fiction contest. Kristina's stories appear in The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, We're Here: The Best Queer Speculative Fiction, The Best Weird Fiction of the Year, and elsewhere. She has won the McSweeney's Stephen Dixon Award for Short Fiction, the Subjective Chaos Kind of Award, and the F(r)iction Writing Contest, and has been a finalist for the Shirley Jackson Award and the Locus Award. Ten is a graduate of Clarion West Writers Workshop and the University of Colorado Boulder's MFA program in fiction, and has received fellowships from the Ragdale Foundation and the Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing. A transcript of this episode is available here.

    38 min

  2. 07/20/2025

    Throughlines: From Poetry and Community to Healing

    In this episode, host Carol Mitchell and Alicia Elkort discuss A Map of Every Undoing, Alicia's beautiful poetry collection; writing through trauma; and the importance of community in writing. Carol Mitchell is a consulting editor with Stillhouse Press and a term professor in the English Department at George Mason University. She holds an MFA from George Mason and is the author of several books for children and one novel for adults: What Start Bad a Mornin'. Alicia Elkort’s first book A Map of Every Undoing was published in 2022 by Stillhouse Press after winning our book contest. Her second book of poetry recently won the Two Sylvias Press Wilder Poetry Book Prize and will be published in 2026. Alicia's poetry has been nominated several times for the Pushcart, Best of the Net, and the Orison Anthology, and her work appears in numerous journals and anthologies. She reads for Tinderbox Poetry Journal where she also writes reviews. For more info or to watch her two video poems: https://aliciaelkort.mystrikingly.com/ A transcript of this episode is available here.

    26 min

  3. 06/03/2025

    More than Human: Moonshine Murmurs Podcast, Episode #11

    In this episode, host Carol Mitchell and Miranda Schmidt discuss Leafskin, Miranda's beautiful book of prosepoetry (not a typo) and the unavoidable physical and psychic connections between humans and nature. Carol Mitchell is a consulting editor with Stillhouse Press and a term professor in the English Department at George Mason University. She holds an MFA from George Mason and is the author of several books for children and one novel for adults: What Start Bad a Mornin'. Miranda Schmidt’s work circles the folkloric, the familial, queer magic, and the more-than-human world. Their writing has appeared in TriQuarterly, Orion, Electric Literature, Catapult, Phoebe, and more. With an MFA from the University of Washington and a PhD from Bath Spa University, they have taught creative writing at Portland Community College, the University of Washington, the Loft, and the Portland Book Festival. Their ongoing newsletter and teaching project, Writing Toward Nature, explores methods for bringing the more-than-human more deeply into our writing craft. Miranda’s debut novel, Leafskin, just out from Stillhouse Press, is a story of queer love and family-making. Rooted in folklore and poetry, Leafskin explores acts of creation in our time of environmental destruction. A transcript of this episode is available here.

    46 min

  4. 05/12/2025

    Patience is a Weapon, an interview with author Samuel Ashworth

    Patience as a Weapon: Moonshine Murmurs Podcast, Episode #10 In this episode, host Carol Mitchell and Sam Ashworth, author of The Death and Life of August Sweeney have a lively discussion about his fascinating novel and paths to success as a working author.  Carol Mitchell is a consulting editor with Stillhouse Press and a term professor in the English Department at George Mason University. She holds an MFA from George Mason and is the author of several books for children and one novel for adults: "What Start Bad a Mornin'." This podcast was produced with assistance from Jon Miller. SAMUEL ASHWORTH is a professor of creative writing at George Washington University and a former columnist at The Rumpus. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Longreads, Eater, and many others. He graduated from the George Mason Creative Writing MFA program, where he was one of the inaugural Cheuse Center fellows. He now lives with his wife and two sons in Washington, DC. The Death and Life of August Sweeney is his first novel. A transcript of this episode is available here.

    46 min

  5. 01/27/2025

    Building Community with Reading Series (& strobe lights)

    In this episode, host Carol Mitchell and Fox City Lit Reading Series founders and organizers: Billy Howell, Erika Ostergaard, and Michael Don riff about their Fairfax City reading series: Fox City Lit, discuss how reading series build community, and brainstorm reading series' ideas including strobe lights and arm wrestling.  Fox City Lit is a seasonal reading series in Fairfax City, Virginia. Check out the website for details on the dates and specific location. Carol Mitchell is a consulting editor with Stillhouse Press and a term professor in the English Department at George Mason University. She holds an MFA from George Mason and is the author of several books for children and one novel for adults: "What Start Bad a Mornin'." Erika Ostergaard is a cyber security project manager, costumer, and poet, currently working on a collection of poetry and an historical fiction novel. You can follow her adventures on Instagram at @ostergaard1of4.  Billy Howell is a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and an Associate Professor of English at George Mason. He has written lots of stories and essays, some of which are true.  Michael Don is the author of the story collection Partners and Strangers (Carnegie Mellon University Press) and Co-editor of Kikwetu: A Journal of East African Literature. He teaches in the English Department at George Mason University. For more news and press, check out the Fox City Lit  website. A transcript of this episode is available here

    34 min

  6. 11/30/2024

    Short Story Exposé, an interview with author Amy Stuber

    In this episode, host Carol Mitchell and Stillhouse author Amy Stuber discuss Amy’s new book, Sad Grownups, her journey to publication, the short story process, the process of submitting and writing.  Sad Grownups was released on October 5, 2024 from Stillhouse Press and is available for sale on our website at stillhousepress.org. Carol Mitchell is a consulting editor with Stillhouse Press and a term professor in the English Department at George Mason University. She holds an MFA from George Mason and is the author of several books for children and one novel for adults: What Start Bad a Mornin'. Amy’s short story collection, Sad Grownups was released on October 8, 2024 and is available on the Stillhouse Press website and pretty much wherever books are sold. Amy’s writing has appeared in the New England Review, Flash Fiction America, Ploughshares, The Idaho Review, Cincinnati Review, Triquarterly, American Short Fiction, Joyland, and elsewhere. She’s the recipient of the Missouri Review’s 2023 William Peden Prize in fiction, winner of the 2021 Northwest Review Fiction Prize, and runner-up for the 2022 CRAFT Short Fiction Prize. She has a PhD in English, has taught college writing, and worked in online education for many years.  For more news and press, check out Amy’s website. A transcript of this episode is available here.

    32 min

  7. 10/02/2024

    Memory and Place

    In this episode, host Carol Mitchell and Stillhouse author Paul Jaskunas discuss Jaskunas’s new book, The Atlas of Remedies.  The Atlas of Remedies was released on March 5, 2024 from Stillhouse Press and is available for sale on our website at stillhousepress.org. Carol Mitchell is a consulting editor with Stillhouse Press and a term professor in the English Department at George Mason University. She holds an MFA from George Mason and is the author of several books for children and one novel for adults: "What Start Bad a Mornin'." Paul Jaskunas is the author of the novel Hidden (Free Press), which won the Friends of American Writers Award, and of Mother Ship, a poetry chapbook forthcoming from Finishing Line Press. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, America, Tab: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics, and The Vilnius Review, among many other publications. Since 2008, he has taught literature and writing at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, where he edits Full Bleed, an annual journal devoted to the intersection of the visual and literary arts.   For more news and press, check out Paul’s website. A transcript of this episode is available here: moonshine murmurs episode 7 transcript.pdf

    45 min

  8. 09/17/2024

    Taking Chances: A discussion with T.N. Eyer

    In this episode, host Carol Mitchell and Stillhouse author T.N. Eyer discuss Eyer’s new book, “Finding Meaning in the Age of Immortality.” They discuss ideas around class in America, variations in writing process, the writer’s life, and much more. “Finding Meaning in the Age of Immortality” was released on November 7 2023 from Stillhouse Press and is available for sale on our website at stillhousepress.org. Carol Mitchell is a consulting editor with Stillhouse Press and a term professor in the English Department at George Mason University. She holds an MFA from George Mason and is the author of several books for children and one novel for adults: "What Start Bad a Mornin'." T.N. Eyer is an avid reader, hiker, and traveler, but when she's home she gets most of her exercise playing Dance Dance Revolution in her garage. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband and daughter. Her short fiction has appeared in december magazine, Hayden's Ferry Review, and Water~Stone Review, among others. Her story "Date of Death" was listed as a Distinguished Story in Best American Short Stories 2022. She is an alumna of the Bread Loaf, Community of Writers in Olympic Valley, and Futurescapes writers' workshops. For more news and press, check out Eyer’s website. A transcript of this episode is available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rNC9BFquSgD3-Lil0mQjj1DtsEGFH59l/

    40 min
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About

Moonshine Murmurs is a podcast from Stillhouse Press, part of Watershed Lit. As a small press publisher, we specialize in the primal craft of the written word. Here, we talk in-depth with authors about the stories behind their books, the writing process, and their journey to publication.

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  • Creator
    Moonshine Murmurs
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Clean
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    Moonshine Murmurs