Hi friends,
This week on Ursa Short Fiction, we’re proud to present an original audio production of “Bitch Baby,” written by Halle Hill, from her debut collection, Good Women, and performed by Nytia Nikole. “Bitch Baby” is about two siblings, Celine and Reggie, in the aftermath of Reggie being beaten by police. This story is dazzling, messy, heart-wrenching, and beautiful. Hill tackles themes of racial tensions, queerness, religion, and family. Stick around at the end for Halle Hill, in her own words, discussing her writing journey.
Halle Hill: “The story is really about two siblings and their love for each other. And the limits of love. It’s a grief story. It’s a little bit of a God story. And I think it’s a story about protection and looking for love in the wrong places. It’s really about an unbreakable bond between a brother and a sister and a love regardless of circumstance.”
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Reading List: Authors, Stories, and Books Mentioned
- “Bitch Baby” (Halle Hill, Oxford American, 2020)
- Good Women (Halle Hill, Hub City Press, 2023)
- “On paying attention to what works best for you: conversation with Kimberly King Parsons” (The Creative Independent, 2024)
More from Deesha and Dawnie
- The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (Deesha Philyaw)
- The Final Revival of Opal & Nev (Dawnie Walton)
Show Credits
Produced by Ursa Story Company
Hosted by Deesha Philyaw & Dawnie Walton
Story performed by Nytia Nikole
Interview by Marina Leigh
Associate Producers: Marina Leigh & Ashawnta Jackson
Episode Editor: Kelly Araja
Special thanks to Cleyvis Natera
Ursa Executive Producers: Dawnie Walton, Deesha Philyaw, and Mark Armstrong
About the Author
Halle Hill is the author of Good Women (Hub City Press), which was named a 2023 Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, O Magazine, Electric Literature, Book Riot and Southwest Review. A finalist for the 2023 Weatherford Award for Appalachian writing, she is the winner of the 2020 Crystal Wilkinson Creative Writing Prize and the 2020 Oxford American Debut Fiction Prize. Her short stories have been translated into French and published in journals including Joyland, New Limestone Review, Atlanta Magazine, Ursa Short Fiction and The Oxford American, among others. A born and raised East Tennessean, she currently lives, works and teaches in North Carolina.
About the Narrator
Nytia Nikole comes from the culturally rich city of Boston. She’s an award-winning actress and director, an accomplished filmmaker, writer, and producer. She is best known for her lead role in Taboo 3, and supporting roles in Fractured, Fixation 2, Dexter Jackson’s Guide to Dating, several other films as well as multiple tv roles to include Fatal Attraction, Murder Chose Me, and ATL Homicide, and Personal Injury Court to name a few. Nytia has experience in film, theatre, and voiceover performance.
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About Ursa Story Company
We make podcasts that celebrate great storytelling. Follow Ursa Short Fiction and Reckon True Stories in your favorite podcast app. Get email updates at ursastory.com, or follow us on Instagram: @ursastory. If you’d like to work with us, get in touch: hello@ursastory.com.