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| photo: Jordan Villegas-Verrone | |
P.C. Verrone's work has appeared in FIYAH, Nightmare, PodCastle, Strange Horizons, and numerous anthologies. He graduated from Harvard College and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Newark. His debut novel, Rabbit, Fox, Tar (Catapult, June 2, 2026), explores the complexities of race, desire, and selfhood through a mysterious Black woman's arrival in an insular neighborhood with a sordid history.
Handsell readers your book in 25 words or less:
If you're intrigued by the combination Beloved meets Frankenstein meets Br'er Rabbit, this book might be for you.
On your nightstand now:
The Age of Calamities by Senaa Ahmad. I have literally been waiting for her short story collection since I first read "Let's Play Dead" in 2021. Also, Richard Siken's collection of prose poems I Do Know Some Things. I bought it as a gift for my husband who loved it so much that he is insisting I read it.
Favorite book when you were a child:
I was a big fan of Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth, which set me on a path of adoring books with wordplay, puzzles, and an absurdist kind of humor. As a kid, I spent many summers writing stories that were far less clever versions of that book, though my parents (bless them) never let on.
Your top five authors:
Toni Morrison is my number one, and I know that's not a unique answer, but it's true. Her work with language is just extraordinary. John Steinbeck has been a longtime favorite, and reading him always makes me feel distinctly Californian. Louise Erdrich's characters feel so alive, and I really connect to the way she crafts her stories. I feel the same way about Carmen Maria Machado's writing. I love spending time in her worlds, no matter how horrific they are. I was introduced to Helen Oyeyemi's work in grad school, and her punchy voice and play with fairy tales made her an instant favorite.
Book you've faked reading:
Walden by Henry David Thoreau. It was assigned in high school at the same time as two other books, and I just did not have time to read them all. That came back to bite me in college when a bunch of my friends wanted to visit Walden Pond, and I still had to pretend I'd read the book.
Book you're an evangelist for:
The Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate. Seductive, gay vampires on a boat! It's sensual and gothic and creepy and overflows with gorgeous prose (I read David Bowles's translation). It hits the perfect balance of uncanny and suspenseful and horrifically sexy and delightfully queer. And no one knows about it (at least, not in the United States)!
Book you've bought for the cover:
Ours by Phillip B. Williams, and it did NOT disappoint. That vibrant image of two Black kids in pastel outfits and haloes immediately caught my eye. That cover certainly captures the vibe: the lushness of Williams's language and the verdure of the setting in that incredible Afrosurrealist saga.
Book you hid from your parents:
I was one of the many preteens who saw Wicked the musical and then read the Gregory Maguire novel WAY too young. I am certain my parents had no idea how mature that book was, but I remember reading it in my closet because I thought they might suspect something. I especially did not want them to accidentally see the illustration before Part III.
Book that changed your life:
Anne Carson's Autobiography of Red. I was living in Vancouver and happened to wander into a reading by Carson. I was so delighted by her sense of humor that I bought the first book of hers I could find, which happened to be Autobiography. Reading that novel as a queer, lovesick 18-year-old completely blew me away. I had no idea you could play with mythology that way, or that you could write so tenderly and yet with such a sharp wit. I have introduced so many other readers to that book, and it is always a hit!
Favorite line from a book:
Since we're talking about Autobiography of Red: "Then he met Herakles and the kingdoms of his life all shifted down a few notches." I mean, if you're going to introduce a doomed romance, that's it!
Five books you'll never part with:
A Mercy is my favorite Toni Morrison novel. You can just feel her excitement to explore the characters' perspectives in a time period that predates race as we know it. East of Eden by John Steinbeck is a perfect epic, moving between deeply personal and biblical scales seamlessly. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong is filled with so much poetry and tenderness and yearning. I adore Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders because it is hilarious and contains such hauntingly bizarre imagery. I love novels with multiple points of view, and There There by Tommy Orange is a masterclass in weaving characters together in unexpected ways.
Book you most want to read again for the first time:
This is hard because I love revisiting books, and I think you notice so much more on the second, third, or 18th read. Maybe In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado. I have read that memoir four or five times from cover to cover, but it really is a completely different experience if you don't know the twists and turns it takes.