News
Victoria Lancelotta Discusses 'Ways To Disappear'
May 5, 2024
How did you develop your characters in Ways To Disappear?
Within the context of scene, always. Every story, for me, begins with a snapshot—a public park at summer dusk, a hotel room with the shades drawn at noon, snow falling on a suburban street—something specific and immediate. Then I ask, who’s in that scene? What does she smell, what can she hear? At that point I’m just looking for the empirical, using the physical and sensory to figure out where she is in that moment, in that world. Is she alone, or does she wish she were, and if she’s not alone, who’s with her? So she’s born directly of and from and into that initial scene.
And more at Kirkus Reviews.
Symphony Space
March 28, 2024
Our greatest actors transport us through the magic of fiction, one short story at a time. Sometimes funny. Always moving. Selected Shorts connects you to the world with a rich diversity of voices from literature, film, theater, and comedy. Hosted by Meg Wolitzer.
SAVE THE DATE WITH BELLETRIST BOOK CLUB
HOST: MEG WOLITZER
“The Anniversary Trip,” by Victoria Lancelotta, performed by Judy Greer
“Please Invite Me To Your Party,” by Samantha Irby, performed by Richa Moorjani
“Bridal Body,” by Jen Spyra, performed Erinn Hayes
Author Playlists
December 11, 2023
Cold weather makes staying home and reading much more realistic. That is why we have are eight books from indie publishers that you should read!
"Victoria Lancelotta’s playlist for her story collection “Ways to Disappear”
“When I sat down at my desk I played music until the music was weather; until the weather wrote itself onto the page. This is what the writing felt like.”
8 Indie Books To Read This Winter
By Kzinga Jimenez
Cold weather makes staying home and reading much more realistic. That is why we have are eight books from indie publishers that you should read!
WAYS TO DISAPPEAR By Victoria Lancelotta
Anguish, self-realization, solace and deep shadow work are all befitting themes to describe WAYS TO DISAPPEAR. This is not an easy collection of stories to sift through by any stretch – in fact, they may be best consumed privately, in the comfort of your own home as opposed to a public coffee shop or another area with distractions.
With the differing short stories dealing with deeply personal and oftentimes what can seem to be soul-sucking real-life experiences that tug at every heartstring, Victoria Lancelotta’s novel will leave quite the impact long after you’ve finished reading.
Selected Shorts on Tour
This year, the tradition of Selected Shorts at the Getty Center is amplified by the vibrant literature-lovers of Belletrist, an online reading community. Two Saturday performances feature a selection of classical and contemporary short stories, performed by stars of film, TV and stage. Tales by narrative masters and bold new voices are co-curated by Selected Shorts and Belletrist founders Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss.
Don’t miss this singular collaboration between the longtime public radio show and the engaged, voracious community behind the Belletrist Book Club.
This year's performances feature stories by authors Deirdre Coyle, Samantha Irby, Tania James, Tim Jones-Yelvington, Victoria Lancelotta, Honor Levy, Ian McEwan, Jen Spyra, Charles Watts, and Alexander Weinstein.
The 3:00 p.m. matinee performance of Selected Shorts will feature different actors and readings from the 6:00 p.m. evening performance. Tickets for both can be purchased using the "Get Tickets" button above.
Tickets $20 per performance.
Books featured in the readings will be available for sale courtesy of Skylight Books.
3:00 PM Cast
Hosted by Karah Preiss, Belletrist co-founder and Sam Fragoso, from the Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso podcast
Judy Greer
Tony Hale
Annie Hamilton
Richa Moorjani
Constance Zimmer
6:00 PM Cast
Hosted by Karah Preiss and Emma Roberts, Belletrist co-founders
Laura Harrier
Will Harrison
Erinn Hayes
Ryan O’Connell
Randall Park
Emma Roberts
The 15 Must Read Small Press Books
Exciting new releases from independent publishing houses that you should be reading.
Sep 26, 2023
As we move into the fall reading season, deeply imagined short stories and inventive linked essays are having a moment alongside novels. What’s thrilling about the books coming out from small presses is the breadth of range—there are intentional and accidental murders, family drama and polycules, medical calamity, geopolitics, and a whole lot of finding one’s way through it all. It’s a marvelous time to be a reader.
Ways to Disappear by Victoria Lancelotta (Fiction Collective 2)
Ways to Disappear is the rare short story collection that reads with the same weight of a novel while concurrently leaning into the short form. The characters are illuminated and linked through careful description, and tethered together with a desire for connection and for solace. A woman tells her mother-in-law she is leaving his son, and finds unexpected support; a teenage couple is committed to their young love until the hardness of the world undoes them; a sister waits for her brother to die. Each story revolves around a critical moment, which adds up to a compelling collection—Lancelotta has her finger on the pulse of how life consumes us, from moments large to small. A compulsively readable and emotionally affecting book.