About this episode
Michael Harren interviews writer and zinester Ayun Halliday about her new book Panther City and the emotional landscape of childhood.
I loved this conversation with writer and zinester Ayun Halliday . We got into her new book Panther City , an illustrated comedy set in the pre-bicentennial Midwest, and talked about how she captured the emotional intensity of childhood without losing the humor and weirdness of that age. The book’s dual-narrator structure gave us a lot to chew on, not to mention the little mysteries she plants along the way. We also talked about our own childhood memories, how kids learn about the world from each other, and why those early peer moments feel so high-stakes. From there, we shifted into the incredible story behind Panther City’s illustrations—drawn by Ayun’s nine-year-old pen pal, Leni Yow-Fairs. The whole process is exactly the kind of DIY magic I adore Ayun for. Ayun and I also dug into creative habits: the pull between festivity and focus, the joy of making work for its own sake, and her long relationship with self-publishing—from traditional book deals to the handmade, decades-long world of The East Village Inky . Based in New York City, Ayun Halliday is a writer, illustrator, performer, and the creator of the legendary zine The East Village Inky…
People in this episode
Host: Michael Harren
Guest: Ayun Halliday
Topics covered
- childhood memories
- illustrated comedy
- DIY spirit
- creative habits
- self-publishing
Keywords
- Ayun Halliday
- Panther City
- childhood
- illustrations
- self-publishing
- The East Village Inky
- DIY
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The East Village Inky
Books & works: Panther City
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