I’ve given a lot of thought to what the story is and what it can be. In many ways, this book feels like a truer introduction than the novel, and so I’m just nervous and excited to be sharing these stories with the world.īT: Mostly because the short story is where I feel that I have something to say. How does it feel now that your debut collection is about to be released into the world?īrandon Taylor: I feel nervous but also really excited to share this book with readers. Greg Mania: In our last interview, we talked about your love for the short story, and you shared that your publisher bought a collection of your own along with Real Life. And it is sure to be one of many opuses born from the mind of a writer whose craft continues to carve its indelible mark on the world.Įditor’s note: Brandon Taylor is the editor-at-large at Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading. It is vivacious as much as it is delicate, enigmatic as it is exposed. “What Made Them Made You” offers an intimate portrayal of a family fractured by a young woman’s battle with cancer. In another, the title story, a young man, weeks away from being sent to an “enrichment program” by his parents, contends with feelings for his best friend. In one story, a potluck serves as the impetus to the main character’s panic attack in the bathroom, begetting a turbulent love triangle with two dancers in an open relationship. Teeming with the same tenderness and sophistication that’s deemed Taylor a writer-to-watch last year, Filthy Animalsthreads longing, desire, and violence among a group of young adults set against the backdrop of the Midwest. It was never a question of if, but when Taylor would release a collection of short stories.

Brandon taylor books