Best Constant Reader Podcasts (2024)

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3.79: Mr. Mercedes (Overview) 2:05:25

25m ago2:05:25

2:05:25

This week it's time for our overview episode as we take one last look at Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes. We chat about Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney and what the book was ultimately talking about. Then we read and answer some of your questions before finally revealing what's next for us after Kingslingers comes to an end. Next week we'll be chatting about…

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209 – Anna Bogutskaya & A Deep Fear of Things Sincere 1:25:33

1h ago1:25:33

1:25:33

Send us a Text Message. Anna Bogutskaya is one of the UK’s most prominent film critics, with a penchant for horror. She knows her scary onions. And in her new book, Feeding the Monster, she asks an important question (well, important to the likes of you and me) – Why does horror have a hold on us? In concise but free-ranging essays, she looks at th…

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3.78: Mr. Mercedes (Part 5) 2:19:20

1h ago2:19:20

2:19:20

This week on the show we reach the end of Mr. Mercedes as we chat about Kisses on the Midway through the end of the novel! Bill has a heart attack! Holly steps up! Chekhov's Happy Slapper! We chat about this and more! Next week is a mailbag and overview episode of Mr. Mercedes! Send in your questions Check out the show schedule: https://tinyurl.com…

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208 – Adam Cesare & Making Scary Clowns Great Again 1:15:11

1h ago1:15:11

1:15:11

Send us a Text Message. Send in the clowns. Tell them not to forget their crossbows and chainsaws. This week our guest is Adam Cesare, who’s Clown in a Cornfield trilogy reaches a climax (I won’t say end) in Book 3: The Church of Frendo. I read all three books in one mad rush and they confounded all of my horror-savvy, slasher-weary expectations. T…

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3.77: Mr. Mercedes (Part 4) 2:17:31

23h ago2:17:31

2:17:31

It's a sad day here at Kingslingers as we cover chapter 5 of Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes: Call for the Dead. As Bill and his new team get closer and closer to finding The Mercedes Killer, Brady strikes out against the Det.-Ret. and misses. Only for someone to end up in his crosshairs. Discussion Question: In your opinion what is the most effective …

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207 – Lena Valencia & What Can Lurk Where There Are No Shadows? 59:49

14d ago59:49

59:49

Send us a Text Message. Literary or genre fiction? Dumb question. This week’s guest showcases just how dumb! With her debut collection of stories, Mystery Lights showing that horror is literary and literary is horror. These tales of the American desert are full of hauntings, monsters, killers, and other oddities, yet they take a non-typical approac…

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Off Book #3 – Trevor Henderson 1:13:11

13d ago1:13:11

1:13:11

Send us a Text Message. This week’s guest on Talking Scared: Off Book scares children. I mean… that’s not his main job or intent (I don’t think) but he does it anyway. Trevor Henderson is the internet’s favourite horror artist. He creates digital nightmares that have become the fuel for a new generation of nightmares. Trust me, in the few moments t…

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3.76: Mr. Mercedes (Part 3) 2:18:45

23d ago2:18:45

2:18:45

Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes continues with the 4th chapter: Poison Bait! We chat about Bill's new relationship and Brady who is managing to be both incredibly gross and tremendously lame. Discussion Question: Who is your favorite poisoning in fiction? (bonus points for an oops, accidental poisoning) Next week, Mr. Mercedes continues with the fifth …

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206 – Gabino Iglesias & Doing Really Bad Things for All the Right Reasons 1:22:20

7d ago1:22:20

1:22:20

Send us a Text Message. Finally, Gabino Iglesias is on the show. I tried, and failed, to get him for his break-out Stoker-winning smash, The Devil Takes You Home. Now he’s here to talk about his brand new barrio-noir, House of Bone and Rain. It’s an amalgamation of brutal street violence and Lovecraftian otherness – all taking place in the swelteri…

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3.75: Mr. Mercedes (Part 2) 2:20:26

12d ago2:20:26

2:20:26

Our coverage of King's Hard Boiled Mr. Mercedes continues as we cover the third chapter: Under Debbie's Blue Umbrella. We chat about how King is making us hate Brady, the examination of classic tropes of the genre, and the delightful new characters. Discussion Question: Who is your favorite hard boiled detective in fiction? Next week, Mr. Mercedes …

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205 – Jonathan Janz & The Bittersweet Magic of Sixteen 1:31:02

14d ago1:31:02

1:31:02

Send us a Text Message. Remember those books you read in the summer when you were young? Kids fighting evil in their small town? Bikes, and blood brothers and promises to keep? If you love those kinda stories then you’re in good company. This week Jonathan Janz joins me to talk about the coming-of-age horror in his ongoing epic, Children of the Dar…

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3.74: Mr. Mercedes (Part 1) 2:08:22

1M ago2:08:22

2:08:22

It's new book week! We're setting our sights on Stephen King's Crime obsession by taking a look at the 2014 novel Mr. Mercedes. This week we read and discuss the first two chapters: Grey Mercedes and Det.-Ret. Discussion Question: Which type of mystery story do you prefer? The one where you discover the killer's identity when the detective does? or…

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Episode Forty - KingCON 2024 (Convention organisers Kris Webster & Andy Graham) 1:14:23

23d ago1:14:23

1:14:23

This Autumn why not head to the Linq Hotel between the 24th-27th of October for the first-of-its-kind Stephen King Convention (AKA KingCON2024)? There is a great lineup of guests, including Mick Garris, Robert Kurtzman and two of my recent favorite authors, Jonathan Janz and Ronald Malfi. There are also a host of illustrators, artists, writers, col…

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Episode Thirty-Nine - The Drawing of the Three w/Kim C. (Podcast Host - The Year of Underrated Stephen King, Patreon - The Danse Macabre with Kim C) 1:18:13

20d ago1:18:13

1:18:13

Back once again with undisputed Queen of Stephen King podcasting, Kim C. In this episode, Kim C. plays Sherpa Tenzing to my increasingly word-baggery Edmund Hilary as we scale the second Dark Tower novel, The Drawing of the Three. As you will hear, this installment of the DT series left us bewitched, bothered, bemused and with breathe completely ta…

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204 – Adam Nevill & Watch For the Freak Wave 1:17:39

21d ago1:17:39

1:17:39

Send us a Text Message. Why is Adam Nevill so scary? I don’t know. Do you? He’s a nice guy – as you’ll hear in this episode. Yet he tells stories that crawl under your skin and stay there. Stories that squat in your subconscious. His latest novel, All the Fiends of Hell is no exception. Same elusive nightmare mystery, but expanded to a whole epic e…

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203 – Constant Readers & Celebrating Stephen King’s Short Stories (Part Two) 2:15:31

25d ago2:15:31

2:15:31

Send us a Text Message. Part One was epic. Part Two is just as good. In that way, it’s much better than the adaptation of IT! In the second part of this celebration of King short stories, a whole other roster of Constant Readers come along to talk about their favourites. We have writers for all ages, a fellow podcaster and a filmmaker with importan…

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3.73: 11.22.63 1:36:32

1M ago1:36:32

1:36:32

This week we're taking a look at the Hulu adaptation 11.22.63. It's a show! With James Franco! It's....not great. But also not bad? I dunno. .I probably wouldn't go back in time to prevent it from being made. Probably Next week, it's new book time. We'll be reading the first two chapters of Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes. Check out the show schedule: …

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202 – Constant Readers & Celebrating Stephen King’s Short Stories (Part One) 2:12:37

29d ago2:12:37

2:12:37

Send us a Text Message. What’s your favourite Stephen King story? Everyone has one. Hot off the back of the recent interview with the man himself, it seemed a neat idea to get a few friends on the show to talk about their own preferences from King’s huge back-catalogue of short fiction. I am the architect of my own doom! What was supposed to be a s…

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3.72: 11/22/63 (Overview) 1:57:29

1M ago1:57:29

1:57:29

This week we take one final look at 11/22/63! We chat about our problems with the novel and if we were perhaps just focusing on the wrong things. Then... mailbag time! Next week, we're taking a look at the 2016 Hulu adaptation 11.22.63 Check out the show schedule: https://tinyurl.com/yxa7lojv Get Merch: https://doofmedia.myshopify.com/ Support us o…

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201 – Stephen King & Touching Other Worlds 1:06:54

2M ago1:06:54

1:06:54

Send us a Text Message. Stephen King is back! What other intro do you need? Okay, fine. He talks to me about the stories behind the stories in his new collection, You Like it Darker. I had the audacity to ask him “where he got some of his ideas.” He also updates us on the potential of a third Jack Sawyer book, to follow The Talisman and Black House…

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3.71: 11/22/63 (Part 11) 2:12:49

2M ago2:12:49

2:12:49

This week we finally reach the end of Stephen King's 11/22/63. Jake heads back to the future and finds out that saving Kennedy didn't work out the way he thought it would and has to make a difficult choice. Discussion Question: Mailbag time! Send us your questions! Next week, it's our overview episode as we take one last look at 11/22/63 Check out …

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200 – Every-Damn-One and Their Scariest Story 2:40:38

2M ago2:40:38

2:40:38

Send us a Text Message. 200 episodes! Madness. Who knew there could be so much to say about horror? I knew. You knew. And here we are. It turns out that the real cursed treasure was the friends we made along the way – and how better to celebrate the bicentennial, than by inviting some of the Talking Scared nearest and dearest, to tell us their scar…

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Episode Thirty Eight - The Stand Part Two w/Andy Stanton (Author of Benny the Blue Whale, co-host of the Tumbler's Willy Podcast) 1:48:46

1M ago1:48:46

1:48:46

Our fever for The Stand has gone full blown this month, as we finish our epic conversation with Andy Stanton. We discuss the mutations of The Stand, from the graphic novels to the miniseries and touching on the forthcoming The End of the World as We Know It, a collection of short stories set in the world of Captain Trips with contributions from pas…

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3.70: 11/22/63 (Part 10) 2:26:15

2M ago2:26:15

2:26:15

This week we finally reach the titular 11/22/63 as Jake and Sadie scramble to make it to Dealey Plaza with time to prevent the JFK assassination. We're chatting about chapters 26-28! Discussion Question: Would you sacrifice your life to go back in time and save JFK? Next week, 11/22/63 concludes as we finish the novel! Check out the show schedule: …

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199 – Josh Malerman & The Most Frightening Love Story 1:18:46

2M ago1:18:46

1:18:46

Send us a Text Message. My unpaid cohost returns. Josh Malerman ladies and gentlemen. Josh has been on the show many times before, but never have I been so excited to speak to him. His latest novel, Incidents Around the House is about as good a horror book as I’ve ever covered on this show… or possibly read in my life. It’s the story of a young gir…

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Kingslingers Live - The Recap 1:03:41

2M ago1:03:41

1:03:41

It's been one week since Matt, Scott, and 150 listeners all headed up to Bangor for the first Kingslingers Live! We thought we'd sit down and chat about the experience for a bit! Next week we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming as 11/22/63 continues with chapters 26-28 Check out the show schedule: https://tinyurl.com/yxa7lojv Get Merc…

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Off Book #2 – National Park After Dark 1:09:11

2M ago1:09:11

1:09:11

Send us a Text Message. In the second Off Book episode we get out of our armchairs and go on a real adventure. Well, not really – but we talk to two people who do. Danielle and Cassie are the hosts of National Park After Dark – a podcast catering to the “morbid outdoor enthusiast.” They have skyrocketed to success, with well-researches stories of m…

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Kingslingers Live in Bangor w/ Robin Furth 2:06:17

2M ago2:06:17

2:06:17

Alright folks... here's the deal. This audio sucks. I mean it super sucks. Things went wrong with the recording of the live episode and what you are essentially listening to is an iPhone that was slammed down on a table near the stage. It's not great, but it's all we have. We thought for a while about just not releasing this but at the end of the d…

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198 – Paul Tremblay & The Book is Better 1:05:24

2M ago1:05:24

1:05:24

Send us a Text Message. Paul Tremblay returns to Talking Scared on a long orbit, like that fabled Planet X that’s going to kill us all. He’s back after two years for another discussion of horror aesthetics, introspective terrors and mixed-media nightmares – this time in Horror Movie, his meta-take on cursed cinema and lethal creativity. Horror Movi…

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Castle Talk - 1.01 & 1.02 1:19:07

2M ago1:19:07

1:19:07

Hey folks! Matt and I are on our way to Bangor right now and as such we couldn't prep, record, and edit an episode this week. We wanted to leave you with something anyway, so here's our episode recorded in January where we watched and discussed the first two episodes of Hulu's Castle Rock TV series. It's pretty good! Next week you'll hopefully get …

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197 – Elle Nash & Insects in the Ozarks 1:15:10

3M ago1:15:10

1:15:10

Send us a Text Message. Elle Nash’s Deliver Me ruined my week. In the best possible way. This book, about a woman so desperate for a child that she does truly terrible, no-good things, contains some of the bleakest, most brutal scenes I’ve read in a while. And it’s not even really being treated as a horror novel. Elle and I talk about that. We also…

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Episode 272-You Like It Darker 1:14:33

3M ago1:14:33

1:14:33

I'm back because HE'S back with a new collection of short stories. I review each one of them and rank them in order of appreciation. Grab a flashlight and join me for You Like It Darker!By Constant Reader

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3.69: 11/22/63 (Part 9) 2:37:55

2M ago2:37:55

2:37:55

This week: Jake finally comes clean with Sadie and resolves to take out Oswald. But unfortunately, our hero's gambling finally catches up with him. We're chatting about chapters 23-25 of Stephen King's 11/22/63! Discussion Question: Was Jake overly harsh to George De Morenschildt & Jennifer Caltrop? Why? Next week, 11/22/63 continues with chapters …

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196 – Todd Keisling & The Eras Tour: Horror Version 1:04:19

3M ago1:04:19

1:04:19

Send us a Text Message. Todd Keisling can write the hell out of a short story. So well, in fact, that they may convince you to resist a bully, stop going to church, or tell your boss to f**k off! Cold, Black and Infinite is full of liminal tales of the between-places. Cosmic “Otherness” that defies religion or belief. Corporate soul-hells that take…

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3.68: 11/22/63 (Part 8) 2:35:14

3M ago2:35:14

2:35:14

Things are moving faster now as Jake finally gets to 1963 and the job that awaits him there. Unfortuantely the Obdurant past has something else in mind as Sadie gets a visit from an old friend. We're chatting about chapters 19-22 of Stephen King's 11/22/63! Discussion Question: What is your favorite Rear Window-esque moment where you observe a char…

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195 – Emil Ferris & The Patron Saints of our Imperfection 1:15:04

3M ago1:15:04

1:15:04

Send us a Text Message. Something new for me this week. A bold venture into uncharted territory. The graphic novel!! As is proper, I’ve started with one of the best. Emil Ferris joins me to talk through the creation of her landmark epic, My Favourite Thing is Monsters. Volume 1 came out in 2017 to rapturous acclaim, and now, Volume 2 picks up exact…

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Off Book #1 – Phil Nobile Jr. & Fangoria 1:10:14

3M ago1:10:14

1:10:14

Send us a Text Message. Believe it or not, there is more to life than just books. Very little, granted… but there is more. Talking Scared: Off Book is a chance for this show to spread its wings a little. To fly further, wider, deeper into the world of horror and come back carrying different kinds of guests in our bloody beak! (ok, I may have stretc…

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3.67: 11/22/63 (Part 7) 2:16:38

3M ago2:16:38

2:16:38

This week we temporarily shift from a love story to Historical Fiction as Jake begins his actual mission. Finally. We're chatting about chapters 17 and 18 of Stephen King's 11/22/63! Discussion Question: This book turns towards historical fiction more than it has in a while. What's your favorite historical fiction story? Next week, 11/22/63 continu…

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194 – Alan Baxter & The Flavour of Vintage Blood 1:09:46

3M ago1:09:46

1:09:46

Send us a Text Message. We return to Australia for the second time in a month, to find that (once again), home invasion isn’t the worst thing to happen on a typical day. Alan Baxter’s Blood Covenant is a violent, thrilling story of a threeway battle between an innocent family, a nasty criminal gang of bogans (see, I’m learning!) and an otherworldly…

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3.66: 11/22/63 (Part 6) 2:34:25

3M ago2:34:25

2:34:25

This week: the rise and fall of Sadie and Jake. Jadie? Sake? Jadie. We're chatting about chapters 14-16 of Stephen King's 11/22/63! Discussion Question: In honor of the disastrous end (for now) of Jake and Sadie's relationship, what is your favorite fictional relationship that we witness crash and burn? (We're not talking tragic, star-crossed doome…

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193 – L.P. Hernandez & Kudos On the Cruelty 1:08:23

4M ago1:08:23

1:08:23

Send us a Text Message. A charming man approaches. With dark secrets to tell you. Yeah, that L.P. Hernandez. Author of the novella In the Valley of the Headless Men and the forthcoming collection, No Gods, Only Chaos. Both are great; both are entirely different. One of them will expand your horizons. One of them will shrink you in horror. I’ll let …

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3.65: 11/22/63 (Part 5) 2:25:15

3M ago2:25:15

2:25:15

It's been 5 weeks, but Jake FINALLY gets to Dallas....and then immediately leaves it. We're chatting about chapters 12 and 13 of Stephen King's 11/22/63. This episode has everything! Jodie, Sadie, Dumb Gamling...e! Discussion Question: King mentions a few Great American Novel candidates in this week's reading (The Catcher in the Rye & Of Mice and M…

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192 – Robert Ottone & Raising Kids in Langan Country 1:14:28

4M ago1:14:28

1:14:28

Send us a Text Message. Opinions are like assholes, they say. Everybody has one. The subtext of that, is that you shouldn’t show them to people. Well my guest and I don’t hold back on ours this week. Robert Ottone joins me for a conversation about his debut novel for adults, The Vile Thing We Created, which is almost exactly one year old. I loved i…

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3.64: 11/22/63 (Part 4) 1:53:04

3M ago1:53:04

1:53:04

This week 11/22/63 continues as we discuss chapters 9-11 of the novel. After successfully proving he can change the past, Jake heads back into 1958 to begin Operation Lee Harvey Suckswald. But first, he's got some business to take care of in Derry. Discussion Question: Jake places a pretty huge bet in this chapter. What's your favorite bet made in …

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191 – Chris Panatier & The Goo of Human Nature 1:22:27

4M ago1:22:27

1:22:27

Send us a Text Message. Ah the madhouse. The loony bin. The ASYLUM!! A classic horror location. One of my favourites, but problematic as hell in the wrong hands. Thankfully, I have the right author for the topic. Christ Panatier has the talent and the sensitivity to ensure that his novel, The Redemption of Morgan Bright can engage with the tropes w…

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Bonus Ep. 142 - I’m Sorry I Did This to You, with Eve and Julie 19:31

4M ago19:31

19:31

Why, oh why, does Eve make Julie take on questions that no person on the planet wants to be forced to think through out loud on air? (Three guesses who wrote this description.) The question this time: Is there free will? Julie's answer: .... Never mind. Skip Julie's answer and go straight to Eve's discussion of what professor of biology and neurosc…

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3.63: 11/22/63 (Part 3) 2:09:15

4M ago2:09:15

2:09:15

This week 11/22/63 continues as we chat about chapters 7 and 8 of the novel. Jake settles into life in Derry and executes Operation Kill Frank! Discussion Question: The past is obdurate, but it’s not the only thing. What are some other things you’d describe as Obdurate in Stephen King’s works (or heck, elsewhere??) Next week, 11/22/63 continues wit…

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190 – Kaaron Warren & The Un-Cosy House 1:13:46

4M ago1:13:46

1:13:46

Send us a Text Message. We all love a good spooky house. And most of us enjoy a terrifying home-invasion ordeal (or at least, I know I do). What happens when you put them together? Kaaron Warren’s The Underhistory is the answer, but it’s nothing at all like what you’d expect. This new novel by the award-winning Australian writer is a story of memor…

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3.62: 11/22/63 (Part 2) 2:10:45

5M ago2:10:45

2:10:45

This week 11/22/63 continues as Jake heads back into 1958 and to the wonderful, beautiful Derry, Maine! We're chatting about chapters 5 and 6 of the novel! Discussion Question: King not only brings us back to Derry, but delivers a love letter to two of his favorite characters from IT. What’s your favorite instance of an author returning to his (or …

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189 – The Black Girl Survives in This One, with Saraciea J. Fennell, Desiree S. Evans, Monica Brashears & Eden Royce 1:17:05

5M ago1:17:05

1:17:05

Send us a Text Message. I bite off a lot this week, in a five-way conversation with editors and contributors to the ever-so-of-the-moment anthology The Black Girl Survives in This One. That’s a promise right there on the title page, but as you will find out, survival is not always the same thing as living happily ever after. Saraciea J. Fennell, De…

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