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“A Stranger Steps into the House”: On Ashley Nelson Levy’s “Immediate Family”
Ryan Smernoff explores the boundaries of familial love in “Immediate Family,” a debut novel by Ashley Nelson Levy....
Ryan Smernoff
Ryan Smernoff is an instructor in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, where he teaches courses in Editing and Publishing. He has worked in the editorial departments at Henry Holt and Company, the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and W. W. Norton. He has also developed and copyedited books for Simon and Schuster, Pantheon, Vintage/Anchor, Picador, St. Martin's Griffin, Callisto Media, Indelible Editions, Abrams, Weldon Owen, Mountaineers Books, and Andrews McMeel Publishing. He holds an MA in English Literature from California State University, Long Beach, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University.
Articles
The Brockmeier Variations: A Parade of Spectral Phenomena in “The Ghost Variations”
Ryan Smernoff takes in "The Ghost Variations," a new short story collection by Kevin Brockmeier....
Only the Fools: The Fable of Identity and Convention in Catherine Lacey’s “Pew”
A review of “Pew,” the latest novel from Catherine Lacey....
Kicking Down Doors: On Timothy J. Hillegonds’s “The Distance Between”
Ryan Smernoff reviews Timothy J. Hillegonds’s debut memoir, “The Distance Between.”...
Voices Against the Wall: The Hilarious Terror of Karen Russell’s “Orange World and Other Stories”
Ryan Smernoff appreciates the many gems of Karen Russell’s “Orange World and Other Stories.”...
Home Is Where the Heart Breaks: Abbigail N. Rosewood’s “If I Had Two Lives”
One of the grand illusions of great writing is the appearance of effortlessness, a quality that Abbigail Rosewood often achieves in "If I Had Two Lives."...
Pamphlets for Sale: How Sam Lipsyte’s “Hark” Will Save Us All
Ryan Smernoff listens in on Sam Lipsyte’s new satirical novel “Hark,” “a work of profane enchantment that comes with a full set of teeth.”...
Fraught with Peril: On Lucia Berlin’s “Evening in Paradise” and “Welcome Home”
Ryan Smernoff greets the publication of “Evening in Paradise: More Stories” and “Welcome Home” by Lucia Berlin....
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