Mark Foss

Artist Statement

I am interested in the intersection of fiction and creative non-fiction (CNF), past and present, and absence and presence. In my novel, Spoilers, an apocryphal narrative is punctuated by factoids that tell the larger story of two once-famous personalities. In my novel Molly O, the disappearance of their younger sister in childhood pushes one brother to remember, the other to forget. Keeper of the Records, a novel in progress, draws on archival records and private letters to bring the daughter of a long-forgotten literary figure in Canada into history for the first time. Since the pandemic, I have been increasingly drawn to CNF, which explores grief, loss and resilience through lyrical essays and more whimsical flash. At Marble House, I will be finalizing a collection under the working title of Slow for Dust—a memoir in pieces.

Mark Foss_Molly O_Novel_2016

Bio

Based in Montreal, Mark Foss writes fiction and creative non-fiction. He is the author of Kissing the Damned, a collection of linked short stories, and two novels, Spoilers and Molly O. Recently, his words have appeared in journals such as The New Quarterly, Star 82 Review, JMWW, Hobart and Bending Genres. His short fiction and essays are also featured in several Canadian and American anthologies. A novel in progress, Borrowed Memories, was a finalist for the 2020 Guernica Prize in Canada for innovative fiction. His background in film studies often informs his writing. Spoilers draws on the silent film era, while Molly O offers self-mocking “close readings” of experimental remakes of Mary Pickford films. In addition, he has worked in film production and post-production, including Spoon, a poetic and political exchange between the writer/director Michka Saäl and Spoon Jackson, a Black American poet sentenced to life in California without possibility of parole. In 2021, he collaborated with Jackson on The Book of Judith (New Village Press, 2022), an homage to the life of poet, writer, and teaching artist Judith Tannenbaum and her impact on incarcerated and marginalized students.

www.markfoss.ca

Alison Smith

Artist Statement

Alison is currently writing about about the history, science and culture of hearing voices.

Cover art from Alison Smith's memoir, Name All the Animals

Bio

Alison’s first book, Name All the Animals, was s New York Times notable book and named one of People’s ten best books of the year. Other honors include the Barnes & Noble Discover Award, a Lambda Literary Award, the Judy Grahn Award and a National Magazine Award from Mental Health America. Her stories and essays have appeared in Granta, McSweeney’s, The London Telegraph, The Believer, Real Simple, Glamour and Public Seminar, among others. Her story The Big Empty was adapted into a short film starring Selma Blair. When she's not writing, Alison plays city planner Jane Jacobs on the television series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She has two dogs and eleven chickens. She lives in Northampton, MA.

www.namealltheanimals.com