Monster Portraits at Bustle and Women on Writing

Naomi Kimbell interviewed Sofia Samatar about Monster Portraits for Women on Writing here, asking such great questions as “I have a history of fearing monsters, and I read Monster Portraits with that in mind. I read it emotionally, rather than intellectually, and allowed myself to experience it as a fairy tale, each monster evoking the same question: is this real? Like my experience of fairy tales when I was young, I wanted it to be true, and simultaneously, I was afraid it was. I know you’ve talked about Monster Portraits and speculative memoir in interviews. Could you speak to fact vs. fiction in this story, and how it works as speculative memoir?”

And Bustle included “The Huntress” from Monster Portraits in their round-up of “11 Short Stories You Can Read in Under 10 Minutes, But Will Stay with You Forever.” Charlotte Ahlin writes: “It’s the portrait of a monster, yes, but it’s also a dream-like portrait of a what it’s like to live as a foreigner in a strange, new city (while also being stalked by a terrible and unseen monster).” It’s an honor to see Del & Sofia Samatar’s work included in such wonderful company as Lydia Davis, Jamaica Kincaid, Dorothy Parker, and more.