Five With Katie Schwartz

Next up, in our "Five With..." interview series, I'm pleased to welcome Katie Schwartz, stand-up veteran, playwright and author of a collection of essays coming out shortly called Emotionally Pantsed. She's also been a friend of Pilcrow Lit Fest since the idea was little more than some scribbles on a cocktail napkin, so please give her a warm, Pilcrowy welcome!

1. What are you working on now?
At the minee, I'm focused on promoting my first forthcoming non-fiction essay collection from So New Media, titled Emotionally Pantsed, an irreverently honest and shameful confessional, conveying the absurdities and travesties of my life thus far.

FYI: Whenever I type "pantsed", I get the MS Word squiggly red line underneath, indicating that it's a typo and should be changed to "panted". I looked it up—I know what it means, but I wanted more detail. One of the dictionary.com definitions is "To long demonstratively; yearn". Ironically, that's one of the pink-elephant-in-the-room themes of Emotionally Pantsed.

I'm writing an epistolary-ish book based on one of the essays from Emotionally Pantsed, called Shrinktails. Right now it's in that ruminating-snippets-here-and-there-still-defining-itself place. I'm into it. I'm also working on mounting one of my plays, possibly a man, too, but I'm way more passionate about the play.

2. What is your favorite part of literary festivals and why?
To be honest, I'm popping my literary-festival-cherry with Pilcrow and I'm so excited, I could burst at the seams. I can't wait to meet all of the writers I've read and admired from afar. I'm looking forward to the panels and listening to what other writers are saying about all things writing. Plus, hello, I love a good litdish fest and Pilcrow is the perfect opportunity for that as well.

3. Who are your favorite small presses mover/shaker types at the minute?
There are so many wonderful emerging and established indie publishing companies out there. I'm passionate about folks most dedicated to promoting up and coming voices with the least amount of censorship.

4. Which author do you wish was coming to Pilcrow Lit Fest this year that is not?
I wish two authors were coming, Adrienne Rich, a poet, an essayist and a radical feminist I revere and have always dreamed of meeting. I wish Andrei Codrescu was coming, too. I love his work. I'm also a huge fan of Exquisite Corpse a vulvarific literary feast.

5. If you were in charge of picking a theme song for Pilcrow Lit Fest this year, what would it be?
"Let the River Run" by Carly Simon. The song is about embracing your dreams with fearlessness. It's beautiful and uplifting and makes ya's feel like anything is possible. What's bad?!