Two Things That Are Anathema in Publishing — Deesha Philyaw tells the story of The Secret Lives of Church Ladie

Two Things That Are Anathema in Publishing — Deesha Philyaw tells the story of The Secret Lives of Church Ladie

From Writing Stories by Brianna Avenia-Tapper

May 29, 2025 · 41 min · Season 4 · Episode 64

About this episode

Deesha Philyaw discusses her experiences and insights related to her work, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, and the broader implications of race in publishing.

Send us Fan Mail Deesha Philyaw tells the story of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies Along the way she covers: Being in the Norton Anthology of Literature Jamaica Kincaid's story Girl The ways Church Ladies is proudly Black Ways white supremacy shapes the stories we read and tell Misconceptions about race in publishing Revision for her novel Boundaries Her brilliant agent and unorthodox publishing moves Learn more about Deesha ...

People in this episode

Host: Brianna Avenia-Tapper

Guest: Deesha Philyaw

Topics covered

  • publishing
  • race in literature
  • Black representation
  • revision process
  • literary anthologies
  • unorthodox publishing

Keywords

  • Deesha Philyaw
  • The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
  • publishing
  • race
  • revision
  • Norton Anthology
  • Jamaica Kincaid
  • Black literature

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, Norton Anthology of Literature, Girl, Boundaries

More episodes of Writing Stories

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Writing Stories podcast page.