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Season Two Premiere: ZZ Packer on 20 Years of ‘Drinking Coffee Elsewhere’

Hello friends!

We are so excited to be back for Season Two of the Ursa Short Fiction podcast—starting with a special 20th anniversary celebration of ZZ Packer’s iconic short story collection, Drinking Coffee Elsewhere.

This season, we have more stories, more conversations—and our show is now 100% independent, supported by you, our listeners. Our deepest thanks to everyone who has supported us and encouraged us as we’ve worked to build this into a wonderful new home for storytelling.

So let’s get on with it! Season Two, Episode 1 is our conversation with the brilliant ZZ Packer. We hope you enjoy it. You can listen in your favorite podcast app.

-Dawnie, Deesha, and Mark

p.s. If you’d like to sponsor our show this season, we’d love to give you (or your business) a shout-out on the show! Drop a note to mark@ursastory.com to learn more.

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Season Two, Episode 1: ZZ Packer

In our Season Two premiere, co-hosts Deesha Philyaw and Dawnie Walton talk with the beloved ZZ Packer, author of Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, a collection first published in 2003 that went on to inspire countless writers. Packer talks about how she found her voice, style, and authenticity as a young, Black, female writer who hadn’t even planned on becoming a writer. She addresses ideas of navigating both physical and figurative spaces and learning how to find a place in the literary world.

Reading List: Authors, Stories, and Books Mentioned

Read more from Deesha Philyaw and Dawnie Walton: 

Episode editor: Kelly Araja

Associate producer: Marina Leigh

Producer: Mark Armstrong

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