Lizzie Stark

Apparently, some fiction does not enjoy first amendment protection. Consider the case of Dwight Whorley. This Virginia man authored an icky pornographic story that included pedophilia, then emailed his fantasy to likeminded internet friends, Wired reports. Whorley was convicted for possessing obscene Japanese manga and for possession of a filthy piece of print -- his pedophiliac fantasy. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has declined to hear his case, setting the stage for a Supreme Court Appeal. On the one hand, the production of written ... Read More

From the subversive mind of novelist Tom Robbins comes a children’s book about... beer? Yes, it’s a bedtime story with burping. A Daily Beast Feature. The Daily Beast, April 28, 2009. Read More

The protagonist of Eric Bogosian's new novel, Perforated Heart seems oddly like the author of Talk Radio. A Daily Beast interview. The Daily Beast, May 5, 2009. Read More

Move over Twilight. The underworld's Philip Marlowe is on the case. This piece looks at bestselling author/LARPer Jim Butcher's Turn Coat, the newest in the supernatural detective series the Dresden Files. The Daily Beast, April 8, 2009. Read More

 I woke up about a month ago and realized something shocking: I hadn't read any literary fiction in more than a month. I drove myself to the bookstore immediately to rectify this horror, and ended up selecting The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, because I love modernist literature and wanted to get myself back on track with something I knew I'd love. This novel has got everything: a scathing indictment of the heteropatriarchal order that Wharton cleverly puts in the mouth of Newland ... Read More

A guide to some of the finest literary magazines, from Quick Fiction to One Story. The Daily Beast, March 17, 2009. Read More

Check out this awesome story on the Jedi exercise routine from my buddy, the inestimable Vidya Rao. Well done, Ms. Rao -- a fine use of the force. Read More

I spend last weekend medieval camping in the wilds of Sparta, New Jersey at the Knight Realms LARP as part of my book research.  Well, not quite medieval camping -- I and around 60 others huddled in heated cabins that had electricity, but we wore medieval style dress and lugged around boffers. The highlights: On Friday night Mr. Lizzie Stark and I were hiking back to our sleeping quarters and we stopped to look at the stars in the middle of a field because ... Read More

I have an interview with Raz Godelnik, the brains behind Eco-Libris, up over on the Fringe Blog, in honor of the recent environmental issue. Fringe Blog, March 3, 2009. Read More

I talk to Jayne Anne Phillips, the acclaimed writer of a new novel, Lark and Termite about her writing habits, early publications, and what inspired the book. The Daily Beast, March 2, 2009. Read More