The YourShelf Podcast
#7 Fantasy City with Alex Pheby
Episode Summary
In episode seven, YourShelf's chief curator Juliano Zaffino (Jay) catches up over Zoom with Alex Pheby, author of Playthings and Lucia, for a deep-dive into his new fantasy novel Mordew. Together they discuss Alex's influences and career, the tension between genre and literary fiction, and how fantasy offers a much needed escape.
Episode Notes
To support our work and listen to additional content, see here: https://patreon.com/yourshelf and follow us on social media @_yourshelf_. In our latest, seventh episode of The YourShelf Podcast, Fantasy City, our chief curator Juliano Zaffino (Jay) catches up with writer Alex Pheby to discuss books, genre fiction vs literary fiction, the world of rights and publishing, and the ins-and-outs of Pheby's new fantasy novel, Mordew. For full show notes, see here: https://podcast.yourshelf.uk/episodes/7. Thanks for listening.
Links
Episode Notes
- Jay asks Alex about who he'd like to get a book recommendation from, what book he'd like to live in, and what his home bookshelves look like. (from 0:48)
- Alex discusses the origins and influences of his new fantasy novel Mordew, the tensions between genre fiction and literary fiction, the complicated world of rights and publishing, and the darkly fantastical world of Mordew. (from 15:15)
- Finally, Alex discusses the future of the Mordew trilogy and what he's currently reading. (from 1:02:28)
- Jay wraps up with the books and authors that were discussed in the episode: the works of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy, Jack Vance, JRR Tolkien, Paul Stanbridge, Albert Camus’ The Plague, Simon Gough’s The White Goddess, Eimear McBride's A Girl Is A Half Formed Thing, Jonathan Gibbs’ Randall, Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, Stephen King's Carrie, Lucy Ellmann’s Ducks, Newburyport, Graham Greene, Preti Taneja, Fritz Leiber's Swords and Deviltry, Iain M Banks, Hilary Mantel, and the short stories of Richard Yates. Jay also recommends two of his favourite fantasy/sci-fi writers, Ursula K LeGuin and Becky Chambers. (1:12:25)
- Buy, read and review Mordew now, available from all good bookstores! Alex's earlier novels Lucia and Playthings are also available for purchase. Alex's bonus episode is available on our Patreon page now.
- Thanks for listening and tune in again (very very very) soon for Episode Eight!