Letters From Dinosaurs. Seriously, how could I not track down a story collection with that name? Thanks to Thought Catalogue for publishing it. Since then, Leland Cheuk has began his own indie publishing house, 7.13 Books.
EWN: Your short story collection, LETTERS FROM DINOSAURS was published in 2016. What story within the collection had the earliest publication history outside of being in the collection, and what was that history?
Leland: “Blacklights” was the first story in the collection published back in 2013 by Pif Magazine. It’s a story about a seemingly content Chinese American couple’s marriage unraveling over the course of a dinner where the husband’s best friend brings over his new white girlfriend.
EWN: How did the publication of this particular collection come about? Were you solicited by the publisher, win a contest, agent submission, etc.?
Leland: I was just cold-submitting the thing all over the place. Seventeen small presses, I think. Any small press that did nice looking covers. Thought Catalog Books emailed me less than two months after I submitted and said they wanted it and wanted it out quickly. From signing to publication, it also only took less than two months. So from submission to publication, it took a little over three months. I was shockingly lucky.
EWN: Where do short stories fit within your life as an author? Primary form to work with, or something you write when an idea hits, or …?
Leland: I definitely consider myself more of a novelist, just because a novel or two seems to always be on the front burner. I primarily started writing short fiction in the hopes of building publication credits that would help me get an agent for a novel. Over the last few years, I’ve learned to really enjoy the short story form and am looking to take my stories in more surreal, absurdist,and experimental directions.
EWN: Where do short stories fit within your life as a reader?
Leland: I was reading Like You’d Understand, Anyway by Jim Shepard when I started writing short stories. Like everyone, I love the stories of George Saunders. The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami has stuck with me over the years. Twilight of the Superheroes by Deborah Eisenberg was also a lighthouse text I was using as a guide. Recently, I enjoyed collections by Allegra Hyde, Randa Jarrar, Nic Pizzolatto, Alexander Weinstein, Tobias Carroll, and Sara Schaff.
EWN: How will you be celebrating National Short Story Month this May?
Leland: Hopefully reading and writing short stories. I’ve got a collection of oddities going right now.
EWN: Thank you very much for your time!
Leland: No, thank you, Dan, for all you do for the world of books!
Leland Cheuk is the author of the story collection LETTERS FROM DINOSAURS (Thought Catalog Books, 2016) and the novel THE MISADVENTURES OF SULLIVER PONG (CCLaP Publishing, 2015). Cheuk’s work has been covered in Vice, The Millions, The Rumpus, Asian American Writers Workshop, among other outlets. He has been awarded fellowships and artist residencies at The MacDowell Colony, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, 1-Park Foundation, and Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts. He is the founder of the indie press 7.13 Books. You can follow him on Twitter @lcheuk and at lelandcheuk.com
Comments