Moonshine Murmurs: When Real Life Knocks

In this episode, host Carol Mitchell and Stillhouse author Morgan Christie sit down to talk about the major themes within Christie’s new book, "Liddle Deaths," and how many of those themes are inspired by the southern African American experience. Mitchell and Christie delve into the life of Niya, the main character, and how she navigates life after a tragic familial incident and returning home to the South. In this episode, they discuss African American familial values, the complexities of parent-child relationships, grief, and much more.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MjSQwDryKZ9FY3AndSeB4gNZkojFHEbL/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=107089563825182912200&rtpof=true&sd=true

Carol Mitchell is a book editor at Stillhouse Press and an alum of the George Mason University MFA program (2020). Her first novel for adults: "What Start Bad a Mornin'" was published by Central Avenue Publishing in September 2023. In the past she has written realistic fiction, however, her love of fantasy has been nudging its way into her writing and appearing as magical realism in the most unexpected places. In addition to being an author, Carol is a trained and experienced editor who enjoys working with Stillhouse authors to bring out the best in their work.

Morgan Christie’s work has appeared in Callaloo, Room, The Hawai’i Review, Sports Literate, as well as other publications. She is the author of four poetry chapbooks and her first full-length short story manuscript, “These Bodies” (Tolsun Books 2020), was nominated for the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award in fiction. She is the 2022 Arc Poetry Poem of the Year Prize recipient and her poetry chapbook, “when they come” (Black Sunflowers Press 2021) was featured in the Forward Arts Foundation’s National Poetry Day exhibit. Her collection "People Without Wings" was the winner of the 2022 Digging Chapbook Series Prize and her essay collection Boolean Logic was the winner of the Howling Bird Book Prize (2023).