THE TABAGO PAGE

Konstantine Paradias is a bilingual Greek-English novel and short-stories writer. His latest published novel is Sorry, wrong country . What is your earliest reading memory? If I had to say for certain, it would have to be "No-man in Yes-Land", a children's books that my brother and I took turns reading. Back then, we really enjoyed the story of the contrarian weirdo ruining the normies' fun, but when I found the copy again and re-read it for this interview, it read more like a children's picture book into to dystopian fiction. I am not sure, but this book is kind of what got me scared of people in the first place. Thankfully, my faith in the natural order of things was restored, when I read Pienkowski's "Oh My A Fly" and found out that we're all just parts in a clunky, sighing, aching machine. Has writing been a conscious choice or a natural thing for you? I started writing, believe it or not, when I was 14 an...

JS Breukelaar  is an Australia-based American writer of Dystopian and Oniric Horror. Her works include the novels Aletheia and American Monster . What is your earliest reading memory? Probably Doctor Dolittle. The image of the inside of the giant snail shell is one of my earliest reading memories. And a book of Japanese Fairy tales that my grandfather gave me.    Has writing been a conscious choice or a natural thing for you? Very natural. I seem to have been always doing it. Do you have any special habits or rituals when you write? Coffee. Earphones. And a notebook with a pen beside the keyboard. Do you choose your stories/poems or do the stories/poems choose you? It never seems to work when I choose my stories. The best ones choose me. I try and make them my bitch, they always bite back.   What national books/authors do you enjoy re-reading and why? That’s tricky because I’m an ex-pat, so ...

Christoph Paul is an American writer specialized in horror comedy. He also writes Bizarro Erotica under the pseudonym Mandy de Sandra His books include Social Media for Anti-Socials and Slasher Camp for Nerd Dorks What is your earliest reading memory? My parents never read to me so I learned to read myself. The earliest memory I can recall is reading a Cam Jansen novel and wondering how she will solve the case. I remember feeling jealous of her because I wanted to have a photographic memory too.   Has writing been a conscious choice or a natural thing for you? Both. When I was younger I started writing about monsters that lived in pools or under the bed. It was natural for me but as an adult I do make the conscious choice to write because I approach it like a job. The act itself still feels natural but with focus on always improving.      Do you have any special habits or rituals when you write? Sort of. I like to sit on m...

Matt Bialer is an American poet, an artist and a street-photographer. His poetry revolves around urban legends, mythical characters and monsters. He has published numerous collections, among which Bridge , Distant Shores , Formation and Wonder Weavers . What is your earliest reading memory?   Probably Dr. Seuss. But the first novel I ever read that made me go WOW was Slaughter House Five  by Vonnegut. Has writing been a conscious choice or a natural thing for you?   Both. It was a natural thing when I first started and then I became too self-conscious and could not write for years. Then I got loose again and started to write again. I am always nervous before I begin writing something. I love finishing a piece. Do you have any special habits or rituals when you write?   I have to read a lot (as in research for a long, epic poem). I write down what I read because I want the words and images in my head to help trigger other words and im...

Alicia Young is an American poet based in Cincinatti, Ohio.  Her poems focus on women issues. She has published two collections, Hell on heels and Fried Chicken Schmussy. What is your earliest reading memory? Sitting on my mother’s lap, her reading Little Golden Books and Heidi’s Song to me. I followed her finger as she pointed to each word. It’s how I learned to read. Words made sense, organically. I don’t remember not knowing how to read because of her. She filled my world with books. It was the best thing she ever did for me…giving me the world through language and literature. Has writing been a conscious choice or a natural thing for you? It was a natural thing, though writing assignments in my middle school years fostered this need to express myself. Do you have any special habits or rituals when you write? At one point my ritual was purely bourbon, but that’s a weary cliché. I somehow bought into the notion that the best writers were...