Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross

About this episode

Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross discusses her debut book and the evolution of her writing influenced by parenthood.

My guest on this episode is Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross. Jacquelyn’s fiction, poetry, essays, and art criticism have appeared in BOMB, C Mag, The Ex-Puritan, Fence, Mousse, and elsewhere. In addition, She is an editor at The Capilano Review. Her debut book, The Longest Way to Eat a Melon , was published by Sarabande Books in 2025. The New York Times called it "a collection of short stories each more satirical and surreal than the last." Jacquelyn and I talk about her book ending up in a New York Times trend piece, about turning self-consciousness from an obstacle to her writing into one of its central themes, and about how her approach to writing has been changed by becoming a parent. This podcast is produced and hosted by Nathan Whitlock , in partnership with The Walrus . Music: "simple-hearted thing" by  Alex Lukashevsky . Used with permission. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Nathan Whitlock

Guest: Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross

Topics covered

• fiction
• poetry
• writing process
• parenthood
• satire
• art criticism

Keywords

• Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross
• The Longest Way to Eat a Melon
• writing
• parenthood
• satirical stories
• art criticism
• New York Times

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Capilano Review, Sarabande Books, The New York Times, The Walrus

Books & works: The Longest Way to Eat a Melon

More episodes of What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books

• Dennis Bock · June 8, 2026 · 28 min
• Kate Cayley · June 1, 2026 · 29 min
• Adriana Barton · May 25, 2026 · 32 min
• Gabrielle Drolet · May 18, 2026 · 30 min
• Miriam Toews · May 4, 2026 · 31 min
• Ira Wells · April 27, 2026 · 35 min