Hi Everyone,

Please join us for an interview with Madeleine Stein about her prize-winning story, “Too Beautiful,” first published in The Hopkins Review. This discussion was recorded with our paid subscribers and members of the Conscious Writers Collective, hosted by Maya C. Popa.

How “Let’s Deconstruct a Story” works:

Read the story below carefully. This is important because the interview will contain spoilers. During our sessions, authors discuss their personal practice and analyze craft elements such as plot, character, setting, dialogue, pacing, and revision. The aim is to learn how the story was built, with the hope that this will help you with your process.

Madeleine Stein is a fiction writer living in the Hudson Valley. Her work has appeared in The London Magazine, The Hopkins Review, The Kenyon Review, Ambit, Raymond Carver Review, Saranac Review, Cairo Times, and Orbis. She taught at the American University in Cairo and New York University.

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Let’s Deconstruct a Story will return September 15th after our summer break.

We sincerely appreciate our paid subscribers, as this podcast is a labor of love. In addition, paid subscribers have access to our live discussions with the authors, as well as video recordings and annotated texts.

More soon!

Cheers,

Kelly

Please read “The Bed and Breakfast” before listening to the episode.

Molly Dektar is the author of two novels, The Absolutes and The Ash Family. Her short stories have been published in the Best American Short Stories 2024, the Yale Review, N+1, the Harvard Review, Ploughshares, and the Sewanee Review, among others. The recipient of a Dakin Fellowship from the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and a residency at Hawthornden, Brooklyn, she is from North Carolina and lives in Queens, NY.

Follow her on Instagram here.

This interview is available here on Substack and on Apple, Spotify, and other platforms.

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Would you Like Your Story Reviewed?

I’m offering a review right here on the show. If you want my professional feedback on your short story, here’s how it works:

* Join the paid subscriber community at letsdeconstructastory.substack.com

* Leave a review for the podcast on Apple Podcasts (and send me a screenshot!)

* Email your draft (up to 15 pages) to kfordon450@gmail.com

Let me know if you’d like your feedback to be anonymous, if you want your name shared, or if you’d just prefer your comments emailed to you instead of being discussed on air.

I’ll be selecting one story each month to talk about live on the podcast.

I cannot wait to read your work.

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In July and August, we will be on summer hiatus, working on the fall schedule.

Please feel free to send story suggestions anytime!

Cheers,

Kelly

I recorded a short episode chock-full of advice from the last few podcast episodes. Hope you enjoy it! Let me know if you would like me to record more of these. I am cleaning up some old recordings, and I’m always struck by how often the person I’m interviewing offers the most unexpected yet sound counsel.

PS: It’s Andre Dubus III :) My apologies for botching that.

***This summer, we’re introducing a brand-new benefit to build community here on LDAS. We’re piloting a “Listener Submission” segment where I will deconstruct a story from an audience member live on the air.

* The Format: I will pick a submission (up to 15 pages) and provide a “Report Card” with three specific areas that are working, plus ideas for revision.

* This is a Tiered Benefit for paid subscribers: All you have to do is join as a yearly member, leave a review on Apple or Spotify, and send me a copy of your story (up to 15 pages) at kfordon450@gmail.com.

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Congratulations to Let’s Deconstruct a Story podcast guest, Erika Krouse, who won the Joyce Carol Oates Prize this month for her collection, Save Me, Stranger. Erika discussed one of the stories, “Jude,” here on the podcast last year.

Congratulations also to ‘Pemi Aguda, whose new novel, One Leg on Earth, was published by Norton this month as well. It’s already racking up rave reviews! ‘Pemi discussed her story, “Manifest,” here on the podcast from her collection, Ghostroots, which was a finalist for the National Book Award.

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Paid subscribers are welcome to join me for an interview with Madeleine Stein on June 11th at 6 pm EST about her prize-winning story, “Too Beautiful,” first published in The Hopkins Review.

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How “Let’s Deconstruct a Story” works:

Read the story below carefully. This is important because the interview will contain spoilers.

During our session, the author will discuss their personal practice and analyze craft elements: plot, character, setting, dialogue, pacing, and revision. The aim is to learn how the story was built, with the hope that this will help you with your process.

Here’s a copy of Madeleine’s story:

Madeleine Stein is a fiction writer living in the Hudson Valley. Her work has appeared in The London Magazine, The Hopkins Review, The Kenyon Review, Ambit, Raymond Carver Review, Saranac Review, Cairo Times, and Orbis. She taught at the American University in Cairo and New York University.

**I’ll send the Zoom link to paid subscribers one week before we record.

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Lastly, the podcast episode (audio only) with Molly Dektar will be released on Apple and Spotify for all listeners on June 1st. Be sure to read her story first here at The Harvard Review.

If you would like to access the video recording of our interview, it’s already available to paid subscribers here.