The Host Dispatch: A Literary Podcast

In this episode, we dive deep into the creative practices and philosophies of the brilliant gamer, poet, professor, scholar, and the most charismatic introvert we know, dezireé a. brown! 

Dez's debut poetry collection, they/she/he: ritual to forget your (un)becoming, won the 2025 Joe W. Bratcher Prize, for its immense tenderness, singular experimentation, and refusal to conform to what we think we know about poetry.

Influenced by v...

What a maximalist joy it was to speak with Summer Farah, Palestinian American editor, zine-maker and author of THE HUNGERING YEARS! In this conversation, we geek out about our poetic obsessions, and pick Summer's brain about her relationship to digital collage, Etel Adnan, and Supernatural, just to name a few. Listen to this wild conversation for a boost of creative energy, and enjoy the sneak preview into Summer Farah's magnetic c...

After a long hiatus (while we converted to nonprofit and published 4 new books!) we're back with Season 6 of The Host Dispatch! We're thrilled to be kicking off this season with a very special episode, a conversation with one of our all-time favorite creatures, heidi andrea restrepo rhodes! heidi is the author of Wayward Creatures, which we had the privilege to publish in August of 2025. After a delightful set of readings and an ...

In this episode, it was a thrill to speak with Katherine Packert Burke about her captivating debut novel, Still Life (Norton, 2024).

"Katherine Packert Burke’s Still Life is everything you want from a Künstlerroman: smart, sexy, funny, sly, and exceptionally queer. With biting insights and heartbreaking attention, this debut captures the daunting thrill of becoming an artist while becoming yourself." — Isle McElroy, author of Peop...

We're thrilled to announce that we are currently open for submissions!

In this episode, we discuss what's new about this year's open reading period, our tips and tricks for submitting your work, and what our vision for Host's 2025 publishing program holds!

We're looking for poetry and fiction (short stories or novellas) full-length manuscripts submissions between September 13th, 2024 through October 15th, 2024. Please review the fi...

In this episode, we had the immense honor to chat with mónica teresa ortiz, author of book of provocations, the inaugural winner of the Joe W. Bratcher Prize for Poetry. mónica teresa ortiz (they / them) is a poet, memory worker, and critic born, raised, and based in Texas.

In this episode, we discuss the importance not only of amplifying queer rights, but the ways in which queer activism can work to advocate for the liberation of all, with Pride month events this year donating proceeds to efforts for Palestinian liberation and relief funds. One such event in Austin this year is Sunbird Fest, an arts and education festival organized by Austin community members in solidarity with Palestine happening Ju...

This episode dives head first into the age old question: how the hell do you end a poem? Investigating the endings of three poems by poets we admire, we discuss the various strategies poets use to make a grand (or subtle, or repetitive, or mysterious) exit.  In this episode, we use this amazing list of 50 ways to end a poem, curated by the poet Emily Skaja, as a kind of map to guide us along the way. 

The poems we discuss in thi...

To kick off season 5 (!!) we has the chance to chat with the winner of the Spring 2024 Host Publications Chapbook Prize, Stephanie Niu about her incredible chapbook, Survived By: an Atlas of Disappearance. 

Stephanie is a Chinese-American poet, digital humanities scholar, and ecology enthusiast from Marietta, Georgia. She is the author of She Has Dreamt Again of Water, winner of the 2021 Diode Editions Chapbook Contest, and the edi...

In this episode, we had the immense pleasure of talking with our forthcoming poet and author of the chapbook threesome in the last Toyota Celica & other circus tricks m. mick powell! We talked about everything from digital collage and it's relationship to mick's poetry practice, to the way the organization of a book of poems can be inspired by the way an album is composed. mick's brilliance and depth as a poet is undeniable, an...

Hello Wildlings! In this episode, Claire and Annar discuss the idea of the primal in poetry, how and why we might tap into our most raw and instinctive urges in the making of a poem, to explore "the unknown capacities of the mind and heart" (Dean Young). In a sprawling but intimate conversation about fueling the fire of imagination, empathy and a spirit of desire unhindered by doubt, this episode dives in head first, discussing the...

In this episode, Annar and Claire celebrate one of their favorite literary months, Women in Translation Month, by turning to the work of a couple of the podcast's favorite poets - Yi Lu and Alejandra Pizarnik. Discussing themes of loss, eco-poetry, drama and surrealism, these two poets were a perfect pairing for the celebration of women in translation. 

The books featured on this episode are:

Yi Lu's Sea Summit (formerly featured o...

In this episode, the second in our Adventures in Cover Design series, Managing Editor and cover designer extraordinaire, Annar Veröld, gives us her personal masterclass in all things color! We talk about everything from the ways to use the Pantone wheel to create the perfect color combinations, to the prehistoric origins of Barbie Pink (yup, you heard that right!) 

Here are the color design resources that Annar recommends from this...

This episode asks the age old question: What the Hell is an Em Dash? As the first punctuation mark Annar and Claire cover in the WTH series, it is a fan favorite among contemporary writers, as evidenced by this tweet from author Alexander Chee: “Em-dash is the ‘just belt it and go’ of punctuation. Thus my devotion to it.” There's even a (particularly nerdy) Distracted Boyfriend Meme circulating the web. 

So what distinguishes an em...

In this episode, we had the abundant pleasure of talking with the Spring 2023 Host Publications Chapbook Prize Winner, Bianca Alyssa Pérez! In this conversation supercharged with Bianca's charm, we talked about  all things Gemini Gospel, from the inspiration behind the cover art to the poems themselves, full of spirit, grief and healing. We know you'll be charmed, too, by this lovely conversation with Bianca!   If you're listenin...

For this episode, Claire and Annar each brought "something old" and "something new" - a mashup of very old and very contemporary poems to learn a little more about what poetry can do, what it has always done, and how it speaks remarkably clearly to us through the centuries. 

Annar's Mashup: "Darkness" by Lord Byron and three poems from the book Blood Snow by dg nanouk okpik. 

Claire's Mashup: "Field-Song" by Anachreon, (from Stone ...

In this episode, Claire and Annar get into the nitty gritty of where, how and what to submit when sending your writing out for publication, whether it be to a literary magazine, a chapbook prize, or to a press for full-length manuscripts. 

Focusing on the practical details, we offer lists, tips and insights into the the daunting task of sending work out to be considered for publication, and dive into some philosophical questions li...

Welcome to Season 4 of The Host Dispatch!! 

We're kicking this season off with another pressing question: "What the Hell is Dada?" Annar and Claire dive into the absurdity, revolution, play, and anti-art of the Dada movement, sharing some of their favorite writings from the likes of Tristan Tzara, Til Brugman, and Mina Loy.

Here's our curated Dada Reading List, including books we discuss in this episode:

Seven Dada Manifestos and L...