Interview with Leigh Bardugo
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Interview with Leigh Bardugo [00:00:09] Kendra Hello, I'm Kendra Winchester, here with Joce of @squibblesreads. And this is Reading Women, a podcast inviting you to reclaim half the bookshelf by discussing books written by or about women. Today, we're talking to Leigh Bardugo, the author of NINTH HOUSE and—most recently—THE LIVES OF SAINTS and other books in the Grishaverse, which are out now from Flatiron Books. [00:00:34] Joce For full transcript of this episode, check out this episode's show notes on readingwomenpodcast.com. And make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss a single episode. [00:00:43] Kendra So when Flatiron pitched this interview to Reading Women, I was like, Huh. I've read a few books by Leigh Bardugo, but I think Joce has read a lot of them. And I emailed you. And then, like, all the exclamation points arrived in my inbox. [00:01:04] Joce There they were. Yes, I was extremely excited. I was like, how much of my life do I have to give to Kendra in order to get the opportunity to appear on this interview? [00:01:17] Kendra And it really works out because I have not read all of her books. And I believe you have read all—if not, most of them. And so we were able to have a great conversation with Leigh Bardugo about all of the things. And I mean, she has so many books. It's like, where do you even start? [00:01:36] Joce Yeah, I mean, yes. I have definitely read all of her books. And I think the most recent one, THE LIVES OF SAINTS, is extremely exciting because there are these beautiful illustrations. I think the book itself is just like a very beautiful object. And like you'll hear in the interview, Leigh was talking about how it will actually appear as a prop in the Netflix show, which is extremely exciting. And also kind of as we move into fall . autumn here, you know, NINTH HOUSE is everyone's favorite trend for fall and autumn dark academia. It takes place at Yale University, which Leigh also attended for her education. And we definitely talk more about how those things intertwine and how, you know, we can't really escape a lot of happenings on the college campus and in the academia world, such as conflicts of race and gender. And a big theme in the book is power. So that is now out on paperback. [00:02:32] Kendra And definitely go pick it up. I read it last fall when it came out in hardback. It's this amazing cover with this black snake on it. And I was just mesmerized. And I love a good ghost story. I love secret societies and magical societies. And so I feel like I'm a rare bird in that the NINTH HOUSE is my favorite book of hers that I've read so far. I have not finished all the books in the Grishaverse to be, you know, clear to hardcore Grisha fans. But I feel like it just goes to show her talent that she can write so many different things so well and kind of suck you into that world. [00:03:13] Joce Yeah, definitely. They are kind of very different in tone. You know, one is kind of set in, I guess in part, in our contemporary society with some tweaks, some fabulist and mystifying elements. The Grishaverse is entirely a beautiful fantasy world. I remember I read SHADOW AND BONE way back when I started BookTube in 2015/2016. And I was just immediately . I had to read all of them. And I think over the next couple of years, I read the whole series maybe four or five times. They're just amazing. And me and my friend Hannah, we actually did a lookbook for many of the characters in the SIX OF CROWS duology. And we filmed it immediately before attending her CROOKED KINGDOM release event, which was in the South Bay here in California. And yeah, I've had a very long and happy relationship with the Grishaverse for sure. [00:04:09] Kendra So obviously, you are definitely the woman to talk to her today, which is pretty great. So before we jump into the interview, a little bit about Leigh Bardugo. She is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of fantasy novels and the creator of the Grishaverse, which is coming soon to Netflix, which we do talk about in the interview. It spans from the SHADOW AND BONE Trilogy to SIX OF CROWS Duology, THE LANGUAGE OF THORNS, and KING OF SCARS—with more to come, which is very exciting. Her short stories can be found in multiple anthologies, including BEST AMERICAN SCIENCE FICTION IN FANTASY. Her other works include WONDER WOMAN: WARBRINGER and NINTH HOUSE, which was the Goodreads Choice Winner for Best Fantasy in 2019, which is being developed for television by Amazon Studios. I didn't know that. [00:05:04] Joce Yeah, that is super, super exciting. That's definitely. One of the things that we talked about in our interview was she kind of discussed how stepping into an executive producer role is very, very different from being a writer. Obviously, in our interview, we talk more about NINTH HOUSE (which is just coming out in paperback), THE LIVES OF SAINTS, we three spoonies also talked about disability advocacy. We also delved into fall fashion and the toddlering realm of putting on our patient pants and how to do so in a fashionable manner. She truly, really needs no introduction. But here is our interview with the magnificent Leigh Bardugo. [00:05:50] Kendra Well, welcome, Leigh, to the podcast. We are so excited—over the moon—to have you on this show. [00:05:57] Leigh Thank you for having me. [00:05:59] Kendra Well, I feel like the big question of the time is, how are you doing? How are you holding up with everything going on? [00:06:09] Leigh I've developed something—which you can't see me right now—but I'm doing the COVID shrug, which is maybe the 2020 shrug like, I . I am doing better than many people. And so I don't feel comfortable complaining. I have a job, a job that allows me . that always had me working from home. I don't have kids. But I won't lie. It has been a tough season or two. And it's definitely gotten to me. It's definitely harder to be creative during this time. There are some health issues in my life and in my family's life, so I can't say that I'm the most chipper I have ever been. [00:06:49] Kendra We were just talking about—before we start recording—that quarantine has kind of inspired you to perhaps have a new fur child in your life. [00:07:01] Leigh I mean, I am. I am. I have dog fever. Like, if somebody wanted to assassinate me, the perfect decoy would be a dog. And I wouldn't care. I'd die happy because I'd be petting a dog. And luckily, my partner is as obsessed with dogs as I am. But our apartment—we moved to this apartment to be closer to my mom, who's coming up on eighty—and they do not allow pets. So we've been looking for a house. But this is absolutely the wrong time to be looking for a house. So we're sort of caught in this no pet zone that I don't care for at all. [00:07:41] Kendra It's one hundred percent understandable. [00:07:42] Leigh I know. And honestly, I kind of feel like we've paid our rent through the whole quarantine. How about you? [00:07:49] Joce Oh my gosh. The whole thing is so hard. [00:07:52] Leigh We haven't seen our landlord in I don't know how long. Like, we don't even know if there's someone there. I could be sending checks into the ether. So I have . at this point, I'm like, really? Who's going to know if we have a pet? But, yeah, it's. Look, I think a lot of people are feeling this way, which is that sort of the things we didn't even know were pleasures have become pleasures. And I have felt this shift in me where early on I was following all these social media accounts that were showing me road trips and vacations, and I loved it. I was like, ah, it's like a window into the world. And now I'm just full of spite when I see those things. So there's definitely been a change in my mood over the course of quarentine. [00:08:39] Kendra Yeah, it's definitely been a journey. I actually just moved during quarantine, and that was very exciting. [00:08:48] Leigh Wow. [00:08:49] Kendra Yes. So deeply relate. I'm very excited to talk to you today because you have a lot going on with your books right now. Your first adult novel, NINTH HOUSE, is out now in paperback. Three cheers for that. [00:09:07] Leigh Whoo! [00:09:07] Kendra I listened to this book last year during spooky season.