Since publishing his first book of fiction in 1980, Richard Bausch has produced ten collections of stories and thirteen novels. The tenth of those story collections, The Fate of Others, appeared this year. Already, he is working on his next novel. Here, he discusses the stories in this most recent collection, the novel he is working on, and a few of the stories from previous collections, revealing along the way how he does his work, where his stories come from, and the elements of craft he employs to achieve the level of success he aims for.

Over the course of his career, Richard Bausch has won numerous awards, including the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, the REA Award for Influence on the Short Story as a Form, two National Magazine awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

His work has appeared numerous times in The Best American Short Stories volumes, The Pushcart Prize anthologies, and The O.HenryAwards collections. His earliest stories first appeared in publications like The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and Harper’s. Three feature-length motion pictures have been made from his writings. Currently, he teaches at Chapman University in Orange, California. Earlier, he taught at George Mason University and then at the University of Memphis.

Key Takeaways:

• How playful first lines can spark entire stories
• Why context matters more than “one true sentence” in short fiction
• The role of surprise in deepening the bond between writer and reader
• Themes of fate, love, and resilience that shape The Fate of Others

#UpstartCrowPodcast #RichardBausch #ShortStoryFiction

“In almost every good story, there is a moment that it all really turns on. And sometimes you don’t even know what it is until a reader points it out later. That’s the intimacy of fiction—the writer is as surprised writing it as the reader is discovering it.” - Richard Bausch

Hosted by William Miller

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Be sure to check out our website for more information about our hosts, guests, and ways you can support the show: https://upstartcrow.org/

Thank you for listening to Upstart Crow, a part of Watershed Lit Radio

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Copyright 2025 - Upstart Crow Podcast - All Rights Reserved

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Recorded & Produced by Jon D PodCom

Veteran journalist Jerry Mitchell discusses his work that led to four reopened murder cases from the Civil Rights era including those of Medgar Evers and the three men whose story was told in the movie Mississippi Burning, with the resulting trials leading to convictions of the murderers.

Historian Robert Luckett joins to discuss the sorts of changes in society, public awareness, and the justice system that allowed for the trials’ outcomes—including the addition to the juries of blacks, both men and women, and on the white side, the addition of women. They also discuss another well-known case from that time that stands out for its lack of a conviction, the 1955 murder of Emmett Till, a case many liken to the George Floyd case of modern times.

As the Till case nears its 70th anniversary, Jerry and Robert discuss what these outcomes and situations mean for the country’s future and what might determine the course of that future.

Jerry Mitchell, a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” award, worked for three decades for the Clarion-Ledger Mississippi newspaper and in his book Race Against Time details the reporting he did while with the Clarion-Ledger that led to re-opening four major murder cases from the Civil Rights era, and the trials that ended with convictions. He founded the non-profit Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, dedicated to exposing injustices, investigating cold cases, and giving voice to the voiceless. Currently he is associated with Mississippi Today, an on-line non-profit news outlet that boasts one of the largest newsrooms in Mississippi.

Robert E. Luckett Jr. is a history professor at Jackson State University in Jackson, Miss., where he also directs the Margaret Walker Center and the COFO Civil Rights Education Center. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and carefully researched works, including a book that focuses on Joe T. Patterson, the Mississippi attorney general from 1956 to 1969. Robby and his work on Patterson were the focus of Upstart Crow episode No. 21. The book, Joe T.

Patterson and the White South’s Dilemma: Evolving Resistance to Black Advancement, offers a close read on the life and work of a dedicated white segregationist.

Hosted by William Miller

“To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.”

–William Faulkner

Special thanks to Liz Egan of Millsaps College for the introductions and help with logistics.

#CivilRightsJustice

#EmmettTillLegacy

#InvestigativeJournalism

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Be sure to check out our website for more information about our hosts, guests, and ways you can support the show: https://upstartcrow.org/

Thank you for listening to Upstart Crow, a part of Watershed Lit Radio

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Copyright 2025 - Upstart Crow Podcast - All Rights Reserved

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Recorded & Produced by Jon D PodCom

David Baldacci – What is A Calamity of Souls?

The title of his most autobiographical novel occurred to David Baldacci the day he penned the first words. And it was literally penned—he started the book in a blank notebook his wife gave him on Christmas Day, 2011. He wrote that title and about 150 pages. He wasn’t even sure himself what the phrase a calamity of souls meant. He set it aside. Several years and novels later, he came back to this unfinished work. In the swirling events of 2020, he picked up the manuscript to finish it and ready the book for publication.In this episode of Upstart Crow, David joins host William Miller to talk about this novel, how it connects to and springs from his own life.

This hugely successful writer talks candidly and quite personally about his youth in the Richmond, Va., area, examples of racism he has witnessed, and, in very personal terms, what it was like to be among the busloads of White children bused to a formerly all-Black school in order to achieve integration some 20 years after the U.S. Supreme Court first ruled for it in its landmark Brown decision. He speaks of the confusion, the uncertainty—the fights he got into nearly every day. Why he set the novel in 1968. And the connection between this novel and his reading of James Baldwin while he wrote it.

David Baldacci is a global number-one bestselling novelist who began scribbling stories as a child in a notebook his mother gave him to keep him engaged and quiet, in order to give herself a break. Now, his total number of works is quickly approaching 60 titles, which have sold more than 150 million copies, in more than 45 languages, in more than 80 countries. His books have been turned into feature films as well as television adaptations.

He and his wife have cofounded the Wish You Well Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America—reading being an activity that he believes builds empathy and enriches the lives of those who practice it.

He lives in his native Virginia, where he graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Virginia Law School, two noteworthy public institutions. He was a practicing lawyer with a DC firm before beginning his career as a writer.

“I've always thought that books were body armor against bigotry.” — David Baldacci

#DavidBaldacciInterview

#ACalamityOfSouls

#BooksAgainstBigotry

Where to Buy David Baldacci’s Books:

A Calamity of Souls on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Calamity-Souls-David-Baldacci/dp/1538750634

David Baldacci’s full catalog on Bookshop.org (supports independent bookstores):

https://bookshop.org/contributors/david-baldacci

All titles by David Baldacci on Barnes & Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/contributor/david-baldacci/_/N-2k0b

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Be sure to check out our website for more information about our hosts, guests, and ways you can support the show: https://upstartcrow.org/

Thank you for listening to Upstart Crow, a part of Watershed Lit Radio

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Copyright 2025 - Upstart Crow Podcast - All Rights Reserved

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Recorded & Produced by Jon D PodCom