Craft from the Couch: Episode 06 | Isle McElroy
The author and community organizer talks about supporting others as a way to handle grief
Hello friends and (happy?) Wednesday,
If you, like me, have spent the last few weeks wondering: where do we go, now? What do I need, now? Should I get up off my carpet or just stay here all night and let the cat sit on me while I ponder the contagion of America? then I have some good news for you. Isle McElroy (they/them) is a healthy dose of medicine. Calm, measured, intuitive, and wildly intelligent, Isle’s two books (THE ATMOSPHERIANS and PEOPLE COLLIDE) are like nothing I’ve ever read. Just like Isle, they can’t be gendered, they can’t be categorized. I like to compare Isle’s work to the absurdist melancholy of Deb Olin Unferth’s VACATION in the passenger seat of a station wagon driven by Garth Greenwell. If you’re read these two authors and adored them, you will find a new favorite author in Isle McElroy.
Isle’s second novel, the New York Times critics’ pick PEOPLE COLLIDE, is just out in paperback, but like with all Craft from the Couch interviews, we question our authors off the book, instead of on it. Today, we’re revisiting an initiative Isle started back in 2021 during the pandemic. Called “Debuts and Redos,” it was a reading series Isle started for people like themselves whose book launches were more or less cancelled by Coronavirus. It ran successfully for two years before Isle stepped away, feeling satisfied that the reading series had served its purpose, bringing people together in the name of hope and fun.
In light of my decision to shutter my own nonprofit and many people’s deep need to build or strengthen their communities as we head deeper into an already charged political atmosphere, I’m confident that Isle’s balanced, altruistic thoughts about community-building will feel wonderful to watch, like chamomile tea but with a tiny bit of tincture, because Isle’s written work is both generous and weird.
One lucky person will win the giveaway of Isle’s paperback, but all you lucky readers/listeners can enjoy our chat on the topic of supporting others as a way to process grief.
Happy reading and/or listening, and thank you so much, Isle, for joining me at Craft from the Couch.
Learn more about Isle on their website or follow them on Instagram. is also on Substack.
Craft from the Couch 06: Isle McElroy on building up others as a way to process grief
Want more Craft from the Couch interviews? Check out our recent episodes!
Wasn’t that an uplifting video? I’m trying to convince Isle to do voiceovers and meditation apps— I could listen to their soothing voice all day. If you’d like to watch our other interviews on a variety of topics, we’ve got some treats in store:
Marie-Helene Bertino (BEAUTYLAND) on: Voice
Chloe Caldwell (WOMEN) on: Reprints
M.L. Rio (IF WE WERE VILLAINS) on: Deadlines
Lauren Hough (LEAVING ISN’T THE HARDEST THING) on: Dogs
Priyanka Mattoo (BIRD MILK + MOSQUITO BONES) on: Debuting 101
Book Giveaway details for People Collide:
Paid subscribers can enter to win the Craft from the Couch book giveaway by typing the special giveaway phrase from the video into the comments below. A few guidelines:
Book giveaways are a perk reserved for paid subscribers. Upgrade if you’d like to enter this giveaway and other giveaways we run.
Only residents in the continental United States can enter the giveaway, (sorry!).
The phrase must be typed exactly as Isle read it with correct grammar and punctuation.
The winner will be notified in the comments and via Substack DM.
Regarding notification of the winner— this post will hit the day after I undergo a second surgery for breathing issues so I might not be able to check in and notify the winner for a while. But one of you will win this exceptional novel, and I’ll mail it out when I am better. Thank you for your patience and your understanding!
In conclusion…
Need more audio/video content? I was just on the podcast Literary Prospects talking all things publication, rejection, stamina and accountability. You can listen to it on Spotify or via Apple Podcasts.
As I mentioned earlier, today’s newsletter will land the day after a revision surgery for breathing issues I’m still trying to conquer so…I’m not sure how often I’ll be posting in the weeks to come because I have no idea what recovery will be like as this surgery is more aggressive than the one I had in April.
At the time of writing, I’m planning to watch either the entirety of The Crown or 1883—or hell, both—during recovery and to listen to the gripping Serial production podcast The Retrievals. Dark stuff, but if you read my book recommendation post last week, I use dark material to get through dark times, apparently!
That’s all for now, friends. Remember to enter the book giveaway for PEOPLE COLLIDE in the comments! And thanks for being here.
Lovely:
"Americans were puppets of their ambitions, obsessed with taking part in their own lives, in knowing themselves, in doing, in being, in living, in fundamentally changing the world, all in the service of our own egos."
Great interview!
Here's what I heard:
"Americans were puppets of their ambitions -- obsessed with taking part in their own lives, in knowing themselves, in doing, in being, in living, in fundamentally changing the world -- all in the service of our own egos."
And yes, what wonderful voice. It's a trustworthy and intelligent voice.