Episode 397: Archives, Fandoms, and Committing Your Obsessions – Interview with Isaac Fellman

by Gabriela Pereira
published in Podcast

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing Isaac Fellman. We’ll be talking about his latest novel, Dead Collections, a heartwarming romantic fantasy that will be out on Feb 22, 2022.

Have you signed up to be a DIY MFA Radio Insider yet? This is an exciting new monthly newsletter, especially for our podcast listeners. Every month, you’ll get an email from our podcast producer with recaps of the most recent episodes, a curated Listening List of episodes on a particular theme, and other fun goodies we only share via email. Best of all, it’s free to join! The theme for February is Romance, and you can become an insider by signing up with your email at diymfa.com/insiders.

In this episode Isaac Fellman and I discuss:

  • How he used his day job as an archivist as a metaphor for his characters.
  • Why you should consider writing fanfiction to develop your writing skills.
  • His approach to exploring bigger topics in his writing and why he finds the challenge fun.

Plus, his #1 tip for writers.

About Isaac Fellman

Isaac Fellman is the author of Dead Collections, out 2-22-2022 from Penguin Books, as well as The Breath of the Sun (published under his pre-transition first name), which won the 2018 Lambda Literary Award for queer science fiction, fantasy, and horror. He is an archivist at the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco.

You can find them on his website or follow him on Twitter or Ghost.

Dead Collections 

Cover of Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman

When archivist Sol meets Elsie, the larger-than-life widow of a moderately famous television writer who’s come to donate her wife’s papers, there’s an instant spark. But Sol has a secret: he suffers from an illness called vampirism and hides from the sun by living in his basement office. On their way to falling in love, the two traverse grief, delve into the Internet fandom they once unknowingly shared, and navigate the realities of transphobia and the stigmas of carrying the “vampire disease.”

Then, when strange things start happening at the collection, Sol must embrace even more of the unknown to save himself and his job. Dead Collections is a wry novel full of heart and empathy, that celebrates the journey, the difficulties and joys, in finding love and comfort within our own bodies.  

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 397

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

Enjoyed this article?