News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Short Story Writer Nelson's Got 'Nothing Right'

The characters in Antonya Nelson's new book of stories aren't spies, sleuths, or superheroes. The word "schlub" might spring to mind. They are often people adrift — fretful mothers, teenagers who become unexpected parents and people who chain-smoke through their surgical bandages.

Antonya Nelson is considered perhaps the pre-eminent short story writer in America, telling stories that contain quiet dramas between four walls, and two people. Her stories have appeared in the New Yorker, Esquire, and Redbook. She is currently a writer at large for Texas Monthly magazine.

Host Scott Simon talks with her about her newest collection, Nothing Right.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.