PodcastsFictionNovelist Spotlight

Novelist Spotlight

Mike Consol
Novelist Spotlight
Latest episode

118 episodes

  • Novelist Spotlight

    Episode 200: Novelist Spotlight #200: Canadian novelist Jane Bow on her new thriller and the writing life

    15/04/2026 | 1h
    In the spotlight is Canadian novelist Jane Bow, who grew up in Canada, the United States, Spain, England and Czechia. Three of her four novels have been award finalists in Canada, the United States and Britain. Bow has also written for literary journals, Chatelaine Magazine and CBC radio, and has presented her
    work internationally. Bow, who lives in Victoria, Canada, is out with a new novel titled The Angels’ Share.
     
    Learn more about Jane Bow here: https://janebow.com/
     
    Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no
     
    Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
  • Novelist Spotlight

    Episode 199: Novelist Spotlight #199: ‘Troublemaker,’ the extraordinary life of activist Jessica Mitford

    07/04/2026 | 59 mins.
    In the spotlight is Carla Kaplan and her biography of Jessica “Decca” Mitford, titled Troublemaker: The Fierce, Unruly Life of Jessica Mitford. Kaplan is an award-winning professor and writer who holds the Stanton and Elisabeth Davis Distinguished Professorship in American Literature at Northeastern University. She has also taught at the University of Southern California and at Yale. Kaplan is the author of The Erotics of Talk and Zora Neale Hurston: A Life in Letters.  
     
    A recipient of a Guggenheim and many other fellowships, Kaplan has been a fellow in residence at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute, among other research centers. 
     
    Learn more about Carla Kaplan here: https://carlakaplan.com/ 
     
    Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no     
          
    Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
  • Novelist Spotlight

    Episode 198: Novelist Spotlight #198: Tyson Cornell on Rare Bird Books’ new partnership with Simon & Schuster

    03/03/2026 | 53 mins.
    In the spotlight is repeat guest Tyson Cornell, the founder and publisher of Rare Bird Books, an independent press committed to bold, boundary-pushing storytelling. He has more than two decades of experience in publishing, bookselling and author advocacy, and has championed hundreds of acclaimed titles across fiction, nonfiction and music. 
     
    Learn more about Rare Bird Books here: https://rarebirdlit.com/about-rare-bird 
     
    Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no    
         
    Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
  • Novelist Spotlight

    Episode 197: Novelist Spotlight #197: The writing life and the perils of girlhood and keeping memories

    12/02/2026 | 57 mins.
    In the spotlight is Melissa Fraterrigo, the author of the memoir-in-essays titled “The Perils of Girlhood.” She has also written the novel “Glory Days,” as well as the short story collection “The Longest Pregnancy.” 

    Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies from Shenandoah and The Massachusetts Review to  storySouth and Notre Dame Review. She has been a finalist for awards from Glimmer Train on multiple occasions, twice nominated for Pushcart Awards, and was the winner of the Sam Adams/Zoetrope: All Story Short Fiction Contest.  

    She teaches creative writing at Purdue University and in the MFA program in creative writing at Butler University in Indianapolis and also offers instruction on the art and craft of writing at the Lafayette Writers’ Studio in Lafayette, Indiana. 

    Learn more about Melissa Fraterrigo here: https://www.melissafraterrigo.com/ 
     
    Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no   
        
    Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]
  • Novelist Spotlight

    Episode 196: Novelist Spotlight #196: ‘Rock of Pages’ illustrates connection between 1980s heavy metal and literature

    24/01/2026 | 57 mins.
    In the spotlight is Jesse Kavadlo, author of “Rock of Pages,” a book inspired by his decades of work as a professor of literature and as a musician. In “Rock of Pages,” Kavadlo analyzes the ways in which 1980s heavy metal aligns with and develops many of the themes prevalent in the canon of literature. In doing so, the book examines some of the contexts of 1980s heavy metal, including the Cold War, the rise of MTV, and the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center and subsequent congressional hearings. 
     
    Learn more about Jesse Kavaldo and his books and teaching here: https://jessekavadlo.com 
     
    Novelist Spotlight is produced and hosted by Mike Consol. Check out his novels here: https://snip.ly/yz18no  
       
    Write to Mike Consol at [email protected]

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About Novelist Spotlight

Novelist Spotlight is a gathering place for people interested in reading and writing great fiction and literature. This is where you will hear from the authors who write the novels and learn of their motivations, writing process, characters, struggles and successes. Novelist Spotlight is hosted by Mike Consol, a lifelong journalist and author of four novels.
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