Louise Erdrich, author of PYTHON’S KISS

Louise Erdrich in one of those relatively rare authors who has won both a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. She’s authored 19 novels as well as story collections, poetry collections, children’s books and nonfiction. Her first novel, Love Medicine, was the only debut ever to with the National Book Critic Circle Award for Fiction. The Round House won the National Book Award in 2012. The Night Watchman won the Pulitzer in 2021. Her latest story collection is Python’s Kiss. It contains 13 stories, two of which already appear in this year’s The Best American Short Stories and The O’Henry Prize Winners Best Short Stories. Five of them were in The New Yorker. They’re historical fiction, science fiction, ghost stories, love stories. And they’re accompanied by gorgeous artwork from Louise’s daughter — Aza— that only adds to the depth of these stories. Louise joins Marrie Stone to talk about the collection, including playing with points of view, world building, landing the ending, the creation of effective lists, titles, how animals can work in fiction, managing time in a short story, and so much more. For more information on Writers on Writing and to become a supporter, visit our Patreon page. For a one-time donation, visit Ko-fi. You can help out the show and indie bookstores by buying books at our bookstore on bookshop.org. It’s stocked with titles by our guest authors, as well as our personal favorites. And on Spotify, you’ll find an album’s worth of typewriter music like what you hear on the show. It’s perfect for writing. Look for the artist, Just My Type. You can find hundreds of past interviews on our website. (Recorded April 6, 2026) Host: Barbara DeMarco-Barrett Host: Marrie Stone Music: Travis Barrett (Stream his music on Spotify, Apple Music, Etc.)