22: Alice Bolin and Kristen Martin on the Problem With Dead Girl Stories

fiction/non/fiction

In this episode of the Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast, writers Alice Bolin and Kristen Martin talk with Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan about the appeal and popularity of stories that revolve around dead girls and women. Bolin, author of Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession, discusses why we seek out stories that depict violence against women and how we can be more deliberate and reflective in our consumption of true crime. Kristen Martin, author of “Why We Love—and Need to Leave Behind—Dead Girl Stories,” joins in on the discussion about this ubiquitous and problematic trope. Readings: • [Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession](https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062657145/dead-girls/) by Alice Bolin • [“Why We Love—and Need to Leave Behind—Dead Girl Stories”](https://lithub.com/why-we-love-and-need-to-leave-behind-dead-girl-stories/) by Kristen Martin • “[Picturing America](https://www.threepennyreview.com/samples/marcus_f06.html)” by Greil Marcus • [Gone Girl](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781524763671?aff=penguinrandom) by Gillian Flynn • [Helsinki press conference transcript](https://www.vox.com/2018/7/16/17576956/transcript-putin-trump-russia-helsinki-press-conference) on Vox •[Over Tumbled Graves](https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061712838/over-tumbled-graves/) by Jess Walter • [In Cold Blood](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-cold-blood-truman-capote/1101755577) by Truman Capote • [Everything I Never Told You](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780143127550) by Celeste Ng • [What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780735211025?aff=penguinrandom) by Lesley Nneka Arimah • [The Lovely Bones](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lovely-bones-alice-sebold/1100259243#/) and [Lucky](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781501171635) by Alice Sebold • [My Body Is a Book of Rules](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781597099691) by Elissa Washuta • [Dead Girls](http://www.dzancbooks.org/our-books/dead-girls-and-other-stories) by Emily Geminder • [A Time To Kill](http://www.jgrisham.com/books/a-time-to-kill/) by John Grisham • Stranger Things by The Duffer Brothers / Netflix • Twin Peaks by David Lynch / Netflix • [Give Me Your Hand](https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/megan-abbott/give-me-your-hand/9780316547185/) by Megan Abbott • [The God of Small Things](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780006550686) by Arundhati Roy • [The Huntsman](https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780142001318) by Whitney Terrell

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