Andrea Caswell holds an MFA in fiction and nonfiction from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She’s a senior fiction editor at Cleaver Magazine and is on the faculty of the Cleaver Workshops. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Tampa Review, The Coachella Review, River TeethThe Normal SchoolColumbia Journal, and others. She’s an alum of the Sewanee Writers’ Conference and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Originally from Los Angeles, Andrea now lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.andreacaswell.com.

 

 

 


A CRAFT CHAT WITH RICHIE ZABOROWSKE

Andrea Caswell A CRAFT CHAT WITH RICHIE ZABOROWSKE Estimated reading time: 10 minutes Andrea Caswell: “Stay on the Line” begins in media res, in a hospital during a medical emergency. What made you decide to start there? With short stories, it can be hard to know where to jump in sometimes. Richie Zaborowske: I love short stories. I love how every word counts and is working toward a common goal. I love how, in a matter of minutes, I can have a complete literary experience. With this in mind, when I’m constructing a story, I’m always considering if what ...

A CRAFT CHAT WITH HANNAH SMART by Andrea Caswell

Andrea Caswell
A CRAFT CHAT WITH HANNAH SMART Estimated reading time: 5 minutes Andrea: “The Detriment of Doubt” (Issue 44) is such a clever and creative piece. How did the idea for a 911-type call that’s not exactly a 911 call originate?  Hannah: I developed the concept for this story first. I knew I wanted to write a piece that questioned the nature of truth, and I knew that in order to do that, I’d need a scenario with lots of built-in assumptions about truthfulness. My fiancé and I were throwing around ideas, and one of his suggestions was a 911 ...

A CONVERSATION WITH DANUTA HINC, Author of WHEN WE WERE TWINS by Andrea Caswell

A Conversation with Danuta Hinc, author of When We Were Twins
Plamen Press, 232 Pages
Interview by Andrea Caswell Danuta Hinc’s novel, When We Were Twins (Plamen Press, 2023), follows a group of characters caught in cycles of violence and war. The book imagines the evolution of an intelligent young man into a radicalized terrorist, challenging us to see into his heart and humanity. In this interview with senior fiction editor Andrea Caswell, Hinc discusses the importance of creating connections across cultures, and explains how writing historical fiction forced her to question her own assumptions about human history and the consequences of ...

A CRAFT CHAT WITH MONIQUE D. CLARK by Andrea Caswell

Andrea Caswell
A Craft Chat With Monique D. Clark
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Andrea: Congratulations on “The Love,” (Issue 44) which feels like a perfect short story. It’s got it all: deep love, disenchantment, humor, food, family secrets, and a profound moment of truth, encapsulated within 1500 words. What’s your “recipe” for creating a powerful short story? Monique: Thank you so much! It was an honor to have “The Love” published in Cleaver Magazine. This is a great question, and in theory feels like an easy one to answer. However, it truly isn’t. My best answer is: Know at least ...

A CRAFT CHAT WITH SUE MELL, by Andrea Caswell

Andrea Caswell
A CRAFT CHAT WITH SUE MELL Estimated reading time: 4 minutes In her flash CNF piece Transported (Issue 44), Sue Mell takes readers on a joy ride through a coming-of-age friendship. Mell shares insights about writing the story with senior fiction editor Andrea Caswell.

Andrea: In “Transported,” you’ve packed just about all we need to know into three short paragraphs. It feels like magic! Did this piece begin as something longer, or did you plan to write with great compression from the outset? Sue: What a great compliment—thanks so much! I’d tried using this material as the basis for ...

CRAFT CHAT: Andrea Caswell speaks with Brendan Stephens on “Hell’s Mountain”

Andrea Caswell Speaks with Brendan Stephens
TITLES, FIRST SENTENCES, AND HOW "HELL'S MOUNTAIN" CHANGED Estimated reading time: 5 minutes In the story “Hell’s Mountain” by Brendan Stephens (Issue 42), readers are invited into the Underworld with a narrator who must scale a looming mountain to discover what awaits at the summit. Senior fiction editor Andrea Caswell asked the writer and Cleaver contributor to share his insights on titles and first sentences, and to describe how “Hell’s Mountain” changed during revision. Andrea Caswell: Could you tell us “the story” of that first sentence? Long ago, after I died, I found myself alone ...

RIFFS ON REVISION by Andrea Caswell

Andrea Caswell
RIFFS ON REVISION Estimated reading time: 2 minutes Most of the work of writing is rewriting. No one wants to hear this! We thrive on that rush of creativity and sense of possibility inherent in a first draft. After our initial inspiration and abandon on the page, revision can feel like a fall back down to earth. I have to revise this? What a mess! The good news is, revision is some of the most “creative” writing you will ever do. Here are some tips for enjoying the process.

5 TIPS FOR REVISING by Andrea Caswell

Andrea Caswell
5 TIPS FOR REVISING Estimated reading time: 2 minutes Revision is an important but often-dreaded stage of the writing process. Having to revise can feel like facing a harsh reality after the freedom of free-writes, and of first drafts bursting with inspiration. But if you flip the lens and adjust your POV, you can see revision as an opportunity to engage with your work more deeply and creatively, as you practice critical writing and editing skills.  Here are my five favorite suggestions for a more positive revision process:
  1. Start from the beginning, but don’t get stuck there. It ...

MAKING EACH STORY ITS OWN: A Craft Conversation with Tony Taddei, author of THE SONS OF THE SANTORELLI, speaking with fiction editor Andrea Caswell

MAKING EACH STORY ITS OWN a Craft Conversation with Tony Taddei author of  THE SONS OF THE SANTORELLI speaking with fiction editor Andrea Caswell Tony Taddei’s debut story collection, The Sons of the Santorelli, is a fast read: the prose is smart and snappy, the characters are funny and flawed, and we can’t look away from the situations Taddei has put them in, situations he believes “best evoke their mortality and individual points of view.” I recently had the opportunity to speak with the author about his book and the craft of short fiction. The discussion included reflections on writing ...

THE WRITE TIME for practice and inspiration, taught by Andrea Caswell, Sunday, May 22 , 2022

THE WRITE TIME for practice and inspiration Taught by Cleaver Editor Andrea Caswell 11:00 a.m.—1:00 p.m. ET Sunday, May 22, 2022 $60  THE WRITE TIME is a generative writing session for writers of all levels and genres. Immerse yourself in this two-hour writing retreat, where we’ll read and discuss short prose, experiment with optional prompts during in-class writing time, and nurture a writing practice rooted in curiosity and creativity. Whether you want to begin new work or simply play in your notebook, you’ll enrich your practice with other writers in a motivational and supportive setting. What you’ll get from this ...

WEEKEND WRITING with Andrea Caswell | Ongoing Sunday Morning Series

WEEKEND WRITING for practice and inspiration open to all levels and genres|Taught by Cleaver Editor Andrea Caswell Three-week sessions, Sundays 10:30 am - 12:00 pm ET Session 1: September 12, 19, 26 Session 2: October 3, 17, 24 Session 3: November 7, 14, 21 Session 4: December 5, 12, 19 Cost: $100 per session Class limit: 12 This class can be repeated monthly (re-registration required). Questions: [email protected] WEEKEND WRITING is a generative writing session for writers of all levels and genres. Enjoy this 90-minute writing retreat as we read and discuss short prose, experiment with optional prompts during in-class writing ...

SHORT STORY CLINIC

SHORT STORY CLINIC with Andrea Caswell Here is your opportunity for one-on-one editorial feedback on a work-in-progress. Edgar Allan Poe defined short stories as prose “no longer than can be read in a single sitting.” Despite their compressed space, short stories require character development, conflict, careful pacing, and a narrative arc. Whether you have a story near completion to submit to journals or programs, or have written a draft and don’t know what to do next, an experienced editor will offer the guidance and encouragement necessary to realize your best work. Fiction writer and editor Andrea Caswell will read your ...

AN INTERVIEW WITH MIKE AVERY, AUTHOR OF THE COOPERATING WITNESS, by Andrea Caswell

An Interview with Mike Avery, author of THE COOPERATING WITNESS (Literary Wanderlust Press), by Andrea Caswell In Mike Avery’s debut novel, an ambitious law student is determined to find the truth to save an innocent man accused of murder. But the truth is never black-and-white, and the secrets she discovers hit close to home. The Cooperating Witness is a compelling legal thriller in which the moral ambiguities of justice are on trial. Mike Avery mines his fifty-year career as an attorney and law professor to craft a suspenseful story of murder, the mob, and a young woman’s determined idealism. In ...

AN INTERVIEW WITH CLAIRE OLESON, AUTHOR OF THINGS FROM THE CREEK BED WE COULD HAVE BEEN, by Andrea Caswell

An Interview with Claire Oleson, author of THINGS FROM THE CREEK BED WE COULD HAVE BEEN (Newfound Press, 64 pages), by Andrea Caswell Claire Oleson’s chapbook, Things From the Creek Bed We Could Have Been, is the winner of the Newfound 2019 Prose Prize, awarded annually to a chapbook-length work of exceptional fiction or nonfiction that explores how place shapes identity, imagination, and understanding. In the following interview, she discusses the work, and how making art can reshape our understanding of what we see in the world. Andrea Caswell: The stories in this collection are language-driven, intensely intimate, and saturated ...