Uncategorized

Conjunctions, literary haven for innovators and weirdos since 1981, has recently published my story “Arcadia Lakes” in their Ways of Water issue, which “explores the nature of water in our lives and those of our fellow beings. Through fiction and poetry, ecological and climate writing, in a multitude of genres, this issue brings together a wide community of writers to plumb this most essential matter so basic to the survival of all flora, all fauna on this fragile water-blue planet” (Morrow).

Bored Panda features The Wilds as one of “100 Weird Books for the Connoisseurs of the Unusual.“ “These kooky tomes will take you on a journey through the bizarre, the surreal, the absurd and straight to Wacky Town. From talking animals to sentient cities, from alternate realities to inexplicable phenomena, these weird fiction books are guaranteed to leave you looking for more (more answers or sanity, that is)” (Pisarenka and Kairytė).

According to Ben Fox, the creator of Shepherd: Discover the Best Books, “Discovering a new book should be a magical experience where the search is part of the fun. That is what we are creating. We give readers fun ways to find amazing books.” I’m stoked that author Lee Rozelle recommends The New and Improved Romie Futch as part of his “Contemporary Southern Gothic” list. Rozelle states, “I love this novel because it mixes Southern Gothic with speculative fiction in a hilarious epic struggle between man and hog. When middle-aged taxidermist Romie Futch becomes a research subject in the shady Center for Cybernetic Neuroscience, he becomes both super genius and guinea pig, his middle-aged brain now brilliant beyond comprehension. Troubled by errant downloads that track his thoughts and actions, Romie turns taxidermy into pop art as he hunts down the legendary super pig ‘Hogzilla.’ This is the funniest, wittiest book I’ve read in a long time.”

Infobae reviewed Lo Salvaje, the Spanish translation of The Wilds, in “El hastío infinito ante el sistema en ‘Lo salvaje’, de Julia Elliott,” declaring, “las historias que forman parte de este libro se narran de manera independiente, pero en su totalidad, cada relato se une al otro, forma parte del otro. Los personajes que aquí aparecen persiguen una idea utópica del progreso que apunta a los orígenes, a volver atrás. Viven todos en espacios enfermos, violentos, a merced del patriarcado y la barbarie. Lo salvaje no es tanto el entorno, sino el hombre contemporáneo, que se pasa los días ante la abulia, la represión y el maltrato.”

In “Animales grotescos. Reseña de Lo salvaje de Julia Elliott,” Pablo Concha reviews Lo Salvaje, the Spanish translation of The Wilds, for Libros y Letras, a non-profit cultural force that creates and promotes cultural and literary arts from Colombia and Latin America. Concha writes, “En Lo salvaje los olores y sabores están muy presentes en todas las historias, lo que consumimos y cómo nos afecta, deforma y moldea. Elliott pinta muy bien las escenas por medio de elementos atmosféricos que agudizan los sentidos del lector y lo sumergen con facilidad en el mundo ficcional. Por supuesto, lo que olfateamos y logramos saborear está lejos de ser manjares y olores agradables o edificantes, pues la autora muestra un lado crudo de sus realidades, producto de la obsesión, la amargura, los efectos de la mala alimentación, de la adicción a las pantallas y las redes: casi todo huele mal o está corrompido o al borde del colapso. Los seres humanos somos desagradables y estúpidos, vamos camino a la extinción y no nos importa.”

It’s always fun to delve into the Weird with Ray McManus. We chatted about strange fiction for the Columbia Museum of Art’s “Strangest Things” Podcast.

Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan asked some fantastic questions for Fiction/Non/Fiction’s podcast “The Country Roads Ahead: Julia Elliott and DaMaris B. Hill Consider the Future of Rural Writing.”

Agus Izquiderdo asked me some great questions about Lo Salvaje for Núvol: El digital de cultura, “the digital newspaper of culture in Catalan”: “Julia Elliott: Em vaig criar entre gent blanca racista que venrava Jesucrist, elfootball i Reagan.”

I’m humbled that my story, “Another Frequency,” is included in the Fortieth Anniversary Issue of Conjunctions. I’m grateful for Bradford Morrow, who has helmed this amazing anthology for 40 years, championing the innovative and providing refuge for weirdo writers like me. This issue is a marvel, including work by Ben Okri, Karen Russell, Lydia Davis, Samuel R. Delany, John Ashbery, Sofia Samatar, Isaac Bashevis Singer, and more.