Join me for a zoom-enabled literary-trivia game show, produced every Tuesday until I’m sued for copyright infringement.
The meeting ID for April 21st is 870-997-228. There’s a password to keep out the trolls; get it by signing up here. (Hint: the password is the writer of To The Lighthouse.) What’s it like? Here's a video of our first go-round.
This week’s guest authors are Deb Olin Unferth (Barn 8) and Adrienne Raphel (Thinking Inside the Box)!
Deb Olin Unferth is the author of six books. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and three Pushcart Prizes, and was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. Her work has appeared in Granta, Harper’s, McSweeney’s, and The Paris Review.
Adrienne Raphel is the author of WHAT WAS IT FOR (Rescue Press, 2017), selected by Cathy Park Hong as winner of the Rescue Press Black Box Poetry Prize; and the chapbook But What Will We Do (Seattle Review, 2016), selected by Robyn Schiff as winner of the Seattle Review Chapbook Contest. She has written for The New Yorker online, The Paris Review Daily, The Poetry Foundation, Public Books, The Atlantic online, Slate, Lana Turner Journal, Prelude, and Poetry Northwest, among other publications. Born in New Jersey and raised in Vermont, Raphel graduated from Princeton and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and she currently studies poetics at Harvard.
ABOUT THE GAME
How does this work? It's a book-centric version of the "Jeopardy!" show, but with more swearing and less professionalism. Join the zoom and open the chat window. You'll use this to submit your answers—in the form of a question, of course. It's best to play on a laptop, as mobile isn't ideal for entering in responses. There are two rounds of twenty-five clues each. The top three players advance to Final Jeopardy, and the winner receives our heartiest applause and temporary respect.
Can I bring friends? The more the merrier.
What if I can't make it? Literary Hub is posting a video of each game in their Virtual Book Channel, along with the clues and answers. Simply press play and yell at the screen. Alternatively, you can join next week's game. The best way to stay in the loop is by signing up here.
This is free. How can I show my support? Buy books! Start with our guests. You should also consider donating whatever you can to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation.
Who are you again? I've produced IRL versions of this game show at book festivals and LitCrawls. Last year I published my debut novel Riots I Have Known. It's a black comedy about a prisoner trapped in a room, about to die, with only a computer to reach the outside world. NPR and The Washington Post said nice things about it.
I have questions. I might have answers. Email me.