Weekly shoutout: A new essay on HowlRound by theatermaker and friend of the show, Anne Mason!

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Hi there,

Today I am delighted to be arts calling author Monica Macansantos! (monicamacansantos.com)

About our guest: Monica Macansantos is a Filipino writer from Baguio, and is currently a Marguerite and Lamar Smith Fellow with the Carson McCullers Center in Columbus, Georgia. She is the author of the essay collection, Returning to My Father's Kitchen (Curbstone/Northwestern University Press, 2025), and the story collection, Love and Other Rituals (Grattan Street Press), 2022. She was a 2024-25 Shearing Fellow with the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV, and her work has appeared in Colorado Review, The Hopkins Review, Bennington Review, River Styx, Electric Literature, Literary Hub, and Katherine Mansfield and Children (Edinburgh University Press), among other places. She earned her MFA from the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin, and her PhD in Creative Writing from the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Her work has been recognized as Notable in Best American Essays 2016 and 2021-2023.

RETURNING TO MY FATHER'S KITCHEN, now available from Northwestern University Press/Curbstone Books:

Purchase from Northwestern University Press: https://nupress.northwestern.edu/9780810148390/returning-to-my-fathers-kitchen/

From Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/returning-to-my-father-s-kitchen-essays-monica-macansantos/

Purchase from Book People in Austin, which sells signed copies of the book! https://bookpeople.com/book/9780810148390

Also from Monica, LOVE & OTHER RITUALS, a collection of stories: https://www.monicamacansantos.com/loveandotherritualsselectedstories.html

Thanks for this amazing conversation, Monica! All the best!

Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro.

HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

Much love,

j

artscalling.com

Weekly shoutout: Check out my friends at FunUsual Suspects!

Hi there,

Today I am delighted to be arts calling singer songwriter Josh Jensen! (https://linktr.ee/joshjensenmusic)

About our guest: Josh Jensen is a singer songwriter based in Seattle that once graced the Bellingham musio stages with his band Sweet Beets. Josh’s honeyed vocals and fingerstyle guitar accompany a wide range of what he dubs as PNW Americana stylings that make up his music. Josh recently released his album This Is Where We Landed’, which was pressed on PET records through Washingtones.

THIS IS WHERE WE LANDED, the new album now available through Washingtones Records! https://washingtonesrecords.myshopify.com/products/josh-jensen-this-is-where-we-landed-180g-lp-pre-sale

Listen to Eclectic Mementos EP on Bandcamp!

Listen on Spotify | Listen on YouTube Music

Instagram: @joshjensenmusic | Follow on Youtube

Thanks for this amazing conversation, Josh! All the best!

Josh Cover Image by @twicebaked.photo.

Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro.

HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE!

Much love,

j

artscalling.com

Hi there, Today I am delighted to be arts calling literary agent and author Jessica Berg! (https://www.rosecliffliterary.com)

About our guest: Jessica Berg is a literary agent, author, and the founder of Rosecliff Literary, where she champions bold, emotionally resonant fiction with unforgettable characters, strong stakes, and a sense of urgency. She is currently closed to fiction. She is especially drawn to upmarket, historical, and supernatural suspense, with a soft spot for haunting atmosphere, richly layered relationships, and characters who carry deep emotional wounds. Give her a protagonist standing at the edge of reinvention, a world on the brink of change, or a past that refuses to stay buried. She loves stories that explore grief, longing, ambition, and survival and the complicated ways they intersect. If your book feels like it belongs in a candlelit room with a storm raging outside, she wants to see it. She earned her MFA from Spalding University and contributes regularly to Writer’s Digest. Jessica serves on the boards of the Women’s National Book Association and the Historical Novel Society, and teaches nationally on querying, comp titles, and the business of authorship, with a focus on building sustainable, long-term writing careers. Her client list includes Vincent Zandri, Lisa Roe, Arizona Bell, and others Visit jessicaberg.me for more information.

Thanks for this amazing conversation, Jessica! All the best!

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Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro.

HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN.

Much love,

j

artscalling.com

Hi there, we're back!

Today I am delighted to be arts calling Camille U. Adams once again! (https://www.camilleuadams.com/)

About our guest: CAMILLE U. ADAMS, Ph.D. was born and raised in beautiful Trinidad and Tobago. She is the author of the explosive memoir How To Be Unmothered: a Trinidadian memoir, finalist in the Restless Books Prize in New Immigrant Writing 2023. (https://linktr.ee/Camille_U_Adams)

Camille is a memoirist, a poet, and a nature writer. Camille has been awarded Best of The Net—nonfiction 2024. She has received five Pushcart Prize nominations and three Best of the Net nominations for her memoir writing. Camille’s work has also received recognition as a notable essay in Best American Essays 2022. Her writing has been long-listed in the Graywolf Creative nonfiction Prize 2022 and selected as a finalist for The 2021 Orison Anthology Award in Nonfiction. Her other honours include an awarded fellowship as an inaugural Tin House Reading Fellow, an inaugural Granta nature writing workshop fellowship, an inaugural Anaphora Arts Italy Writing Retreat Fellowship, a McKnight Doctoral Fellowship, a Community of Writers Fellowship, A VONA scholarship, and a Roots Wounds Words Fellowship. A Tin House Summer Workshop alum, Camille has served as a juried reader for Tin House for two consecutive years and as a moderator for two author panels. She has also received support from Kenyon Writers Workshop, Grubstreet, and others. In addition, Camille has been an associate CNF editor at Variant Lit and an assistant memoir editor at Split Lip Magazine and at The Account. She has long taught English and creative writing, emphasising the importance of strong craft, beautiful prose, and ugly truths. Having earned her MFA in Poetry from City College CUNY and her Ph.D. in Creative Nonfiction from FSU, Camille currently teaches creative writing and literature in New York City. She is at work on her second memoir.

Thanks for this amazing conversation, Camille! All the best!

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Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro.

HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN.

Much love,

j

artscalling.com

Weekly shoutout: Check out Lynchpins at the coalition, our ongoing David Lynch tribute series!

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Hi there,

Today I am delighted to be arts calling novelist Nancy Kricorian! (https://nancykricorian.net)

About our guest:

Nancy Kricorian, who was born and raised in the Armenian community of Watertown, Massachusetts, is the author of four novels about post-genocide Armenian diaspora experience, including Zabelle, which was translated into seven languages, was adapted as a play, and has been continuously in print since 1998. Her new novel, The Burning Heart of the World, about Armenians in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War, will be published in April 2025. Her essays and poems have appeared in The Los Angeles Review of Books Quarterly, Guernica, Parnassus, Minnesota Review, The Mississippi Review, and other journals. She has taught at Barnard, Columbia, Yale, and New York University, as well as with Teachers & Writers Collaborative in the New York City Public Schools, and has been a mentor with We Are Not Numbers since 2015. She has been the recipient of a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, a Gold Medal from the Writers Union of Armenia, and the Anahid Literary Award, among other honors. She lives in New York.

THE BURNING HEART OF THE WORLD, now available from Red Hen Press!

Bookshop | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

Nancy Kricorian’s The Burning Heart of the World tells the story of a Beirut Armenian family before, during, and after the Lebanese Civil War. Returning to the fabular tone of Zabelle, her popular first novel, Kricorian conjures up the lost worlds and intergenerational traumas that haunt a family in permanent exile. Leavened with humor and imbued with the timelessness of a folktale, The Burning Heart of the World is a sweeping saga that takes readers on an epic journey from the mountains of Cilicia to contemporary New York City. > Like colorful miniatures–from a childhood of elders haunted by the Armenian genocide, to girlhood and adolescence amidst war in Beirut, to marriage and children in New York at the time of 9/11—Nancy Kricorian finds just the right scale to bring her heroine’s passage to vivid, reverberating life. > — Aram Saroyan > An arrestingly beautiful novel of how families draw us together, but also push us apart. Set amidst the backdrop of displacement and war, The Burning Heart of the World illuminates how we carry history deep into even the most forgotten corners of ourselves. Once you start reading about Vera and her family you won’t be able to put this book down. > — Marie Myung-Ok Lee, Author of The Evening Hero Thanks for this amazing conversation, Nancy! All the best!

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Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro.

HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN.

Much love,

j

artscalling.com

Weekly shoutout: coalitionworks issue 10 is now live!

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Hi there,

Today I am delighted to be arts calling writer, actor, and producer Sandra Cruze! (sandracruze.com)

About our guest:

Sandra Cruze was steeled in the uprisings of the 60’s and 70’s, and underground art world of DTLA, where she sang in punk bands, reggae bands and performed in street theater. She believes the "PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD" and picked hers up. Having experienced the transformation of good story telling which has saved her on many occasion, her works traverse the mindfield that is America today. She writes about dangerous women and women in danger.

Acting in Films, TV and Stage, Sandra also creates her own content. Her short film, "Physics of Killing", was selected for the Toronto International Women’s Film Festival 2022, and an IMDB writers credit. Her play, "Little Sugar", was a quarter finalist with ScreenCraft in 2022 and 2023. "We're Not Dead Yet", a YouTube web series co-produced by Two Heads are Better Productions, has received multiple awards and selections for both the series and the scripts, winning semifinalist for pilot script.

https://www.housetheater.net/

Further accomplishments for film and theater can be found on IMDB and https://linktr.ee/sandracruzeproductions

ABBY NORMAL THE MUSICAL FUNDRAISER EVENT AT HYPERION ARTS, LOS ANGELES: CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS APRIL 25 AND 26!

Thanks for this amazing conversation, Sandra! All the best!

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Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro.

HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN.

Much love,

j

artscalling.com

Weekly shoutout: Christopher Soriano-Palma (AC23) releases a new poetry collection!

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Hi there,

We're back! Today I am delighted to be arts calling musician/producer Mo Milan! (momilan.com)

About our guest:

Mo Milan is a Las Vegas-based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, crafting music under two distinct monikers: Cocoa Pastel and Mo Milan.

As Cocoa Pastel, she delivers vibrant, synth-driven pop infused with dark wave and electronic influences, centering on resilience, reinvention, and new beginnings. Handling every aspect of production—from songwriting to mixing—she creates dynamic, immersive soundscapes.

Under Mo Milan, she explores experimental and introspective realms, blending neo-classical, folktronica, and cinematic elements. A classically trained violinist and skilled multi-instrumentalist, she pairs music with self-directed visuals, amplifying emotional depth.

Previously a member of REIGN-A, Atomic Heart Band, Echo Stains, and Angel Groove, Milan is now preparing her debut dual mini-album: two EPs showcasing the energetic pulse of Cocoa Pastel and the cinematic introspection of Mo Milan.

Project Premiere March 28th in Las Vegas, NV at SPCKRFT STUDIOS!

Instagram: @noitsnotmo

LISTEN TO COCOA PASTEL HERE: https://linktr.ee/cocoapastel

Thanks for this amazing conversation, Mo! All the best!

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Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro.

HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN.

Weekly shoutout: Read Issue 5 of Engine(Idling Lit!

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Hi there,

We're back! Today I am delighted to be arts calling playwright/producer Anna Capunay! (annacapunay.com)

About our guest:

Anna Capunay is a Queens, NY native. Her plays include: A Cat’s Tale (Roy Arias Stages), and Cowl Girl (The Players Theatre). These works were adapted for the screen -- A Cat’s Tale winning Best Director for Comedy and Best Ensemble Cast for Comedy at the San Francisco’s Best Actors Film Festival. The indie feature debuted at the Chelsea Film Festival in NYC, 2016. Cowl Girl was shot as a TV pilot and was included as Best of the Fest finalist at the Chicago International REEL Shorts Film Festival, 2017. Anna’s directorial debut was for the short film she also wrote, Your Silent Face. The short won multiple awards via the film festival circuit, most notably for Best Screenwriting at the Festival of Cinema NYC and Best LGBTQ Film at the L.A. Punk Film Festival, both in 2023. Anna has received multiple grants over the years supporting her projects. Most recently, she was awarded the NYC Women's Fund for Media, Music and Theatre via the New York Foundation for the Arts. This grant has fully funded this stage production of La Gota Fria: The Cold Sweat. Additionally, Anna was awarded a Queens Arts Funds grant (her third) to help produce her short film, Sombras, later this year. Anna’s upcoming project includes writing her first feature film to be produced with her partner, Bill McDonald, called Contigo.

ABOUT THE PLAY: LA GOTA FRÍA: THE COLD SWEAT is a dramedy set in 1990s Queens, NY. When the matriarch of the Gonzalez family falls ill, her loved ones rally around her: a blind but hyperaware grandfather, a frenzied daughter and her doting husband. And the meddlesome family friend with a particular interest for the Gonzalez women, including the cat. LA GOTA FRÍA:THE COLD SWEAT is a new sick family comedy that will have you rethink your choices for cancer treatments. So let's go back in time to Queens, NY in the 1990s when you, your family and your friends were dancing to new and classic Salsa, Merengue and Latin Pop! Website: https://lagotafriaplay.com

Now playing at The Players Theatre NYC, March 6-23 2025. Get your tix NOW! https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/cal/277/1740805200000

Thanks for this amazing conversation, Anna! All the best!

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Arts Calling is produced by Jaime Alejandro.

HOW TO SUPPORT ARTS CALLING: PLEASE CONSIDER LEAVING A REVIEW, OR SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! YOUR SUPPORT TRULY MAKES A DIFFERENCE, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN.