Maggie Kast's guest appearances

Maggie Kast

New Books in Literature

Past Forward

A World Without Books

Ann Dávila Cardinal

Donna Hemans

Kristen Millares Young

Allison Coffelt

Tina Escaja

Pamela Dorman

Margot Singer

G. P. Gottlieb

H. G. Parry

John Sibley Williams

Emily Strelow

Laura Waterman

Nina Boutsikaris

Mark Ehling

Julie Justicz

OwlTail

Maggie Kast is the author of The Crack Between the Worlds: a dancer’s memoir of loss, faith and family (Wipf and Stock, 2009) and a novel, A Free, Unsullied Land (Fomite Press, 2015). Side by Side but Never Face to Face, a novella plus stories, was published by Orison Press in June 2020.* * *Side by Side but Never Face to Face: A Novella and StoriesOrison Books, 2020

<a href="http://www.maggiekast.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maggie Kast</a> is the author of The Crack Between the Worlds: a dancer’s memoir of loss, faith and family (Wipf and Stock, 2009) and a novel, A Free, Unsullied Land (Fomite Press, 2015). Side by Side but Never Face to Face, a novella plus stories, was published by Orison Press in June 2020.* * *<a href="https://www.orisonbooks.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Side by Side but Never Face to Face: A Novella and Stories</a> Orison Books, 2020

During the first few stories, we think the book centers on Manfred, an Austrian Holocaust survivor whose parents converted out of Judaism to save him from centuries of oppression. He and his third wife, Greta, are forced to mourn the accidental death of their youngest child, a trauma that affects them deeply but differently. Only after several stories focused on Manfred’s upbringing and young adulthood do we realize that the protagonist is his wife and then widow, Greta. Starting in Mexico, the stories shift back and forth in time and place, from Europe to Chicago to Door County, Wisconsin. We follow Greta’s emotional journey, spiritual longings, and religious awakening as she survives the complexities of a full life.Today I talked to Maggie Kast about her new book Side by Side but Never Face to Face: A Novella and Stories (Orison Books, 2020) Kast received an M.F.A. in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has published fiction in The Sun, Nimrod, Rosebud, Paper Street and others. A chapter of her memoir, published in ACM/Another Chicago Magazine, won a Literary Award from the Illinois Arts Council. Her essays have appeared in America, Image, Writer’s Chronicle, and Superstition Review and have been anthologized in Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs (Beacon Press) and Gravity Pulls You In: Perspectives on Parenting Children on the Autism Spectrum (Woodbine House). Kast is a Board Member of Links Hall, an incubator and presenter of dance and performance art in Chicago. When not writing, Maggie loves cooking, and although she loves traditional midwestern food, also specialized in Viennese cuisine.If you enjoyed today’s podcast and would like to discuss it further with me and other New Books network listeners, please join us on Shuffle. Shuffle is an ad-free, invite-only network focused on the creativity community. As NBN listeners, you can get special access to conversations with a dynamic community of writers and literary enthusiasts. Sign up by going to www.shuffle.do/NBN/joinG.P. Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series and a prolific baker of healthful breads and pastries. Please contact her through her website (GPGottlieb.com) if you wish to recommend an author (of a beautifully-written new novel) to interview, to listen to her previous podcast interviews, to read her mystery book reviews, or to check out some of her healthy, awesome recipes.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

During the first few stories, we think the book centers on Manfred, an Austrian Holocaust survivor whose parents converted out of Judaism to save him from centuries of oppression. He and his third wife, Greta, are forced to mourn the accidental death of their youngest child, a trauma that affects them deeply but differently. Only after several stories focused on Manfred’s upbringing and young adulthood do we realize that the protagonist is his wife and then widow, Greta. Starting in Mexico, the stories shift back and forth in time and place, from Europe to Chicago to Door County, Wisconsin. We follow Greta’s emotional journey, spiritual longings, and religious awakening as she survives the complexities of a full life.Today I talked to <a href="https://www.maggiekast.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Maggie Kast</a> about her new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1949039080/?tag=newbooinhis-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Side by Side but Never Face to Face: A Novella and Stories</a> (Orison Books, 2020) Kast received an M.F.A. in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and has published fiction in The Sun, Nimrod, Rosebud, Paper Street and others. A chapter of her memoir, published in ACM/Another Chicago Magazine, won a Literary Award from the Illinois Arts Council. Her essays have appeared in America, Image, Writer’s Chronicle, and Superstition Review and have been anthologized in Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs (Beacon Press) and Gravity Pulls You In: Perspectives on Parenting Children on the Autism Spectrum (Woodbine House). Kast is a Board Member of <a href="https://linkshall.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Links Hall</a>, an incubator and presenter of dance and performance art in Chicago. When not writing, Maggie loves cooking, and although she loves traditional midwestern food, also specialized in Viennese cuisine.If you enjoyed today’s podcast and would like to discuss it further with me and other New Books network listeners, please join us on Shuffle. Shuffle is an ad-free, invite-only network focused on the creativity community. As NBN listeners, you can get special access to conversations with a dynamic community of writers and literary enthusiasts. Sign up by going to <a href="http://www.shuffle.do/NBN/join" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.shuffle.do/NBN/join</a>G.P. Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series and a prolific baker of healthful breads and pastries. Please contact her through her website (<a href="https://gpgottlieb.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GPGottlieb.com</a>) if you wish to recommend an author (of a beautifully-written new novel) to interview, to listen to her previous podcast interviews, to read her mystery book reviews, or to check out some of her healthy, awesome recipes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>Support our show by becoming a premium member! <a href="https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature</a>

Maggie Kast, "Side by Side but Never Face to Face" (Orison Books, 2020)