We’re back with another Q&A with a Boise-based writer I met at the recent Book Faire. I think (like me) you’re going to appreciate these thoughtful answers.
Before we get into things, why don’t you give the reader a brief introduction to you and your work.
My name is Matt Edwards, and I’m a local high school English teacher and author. I write poetry and prose, mostly, and am now starting to figure out how to blend the two. My first two novels, Ways and Truths and Lives (Atmosphere Press, 2021) and Icarus Never Flew ‘Round Here (Atmosphere Press, 2022) are available at most places where books are sold. Please follow me on Instagram (@matt_edwards_author), Twitter/X (@satyrpants), or check out my website https://www.mattedwardsauthor.com.
The “mostly” there intrigues me. Are you trying anything out other than the blending of the two? (I’m not sure what else there might be, but I have to ask)
I think the “mostly” just refers to my inability to define what the attempted blend is. I took a prose poetry class for my master’s last summer that opened up some fun doors. I, and I assume most others, flip a little switch in my brain when deciding to write a story versus a poem. The prose poetry stuff, once I got situated with yet another definition, allowed me to ignore that switch. Just write without worrying whether it’s closer to prose or poetry. So, in my mind, not being able to name it is a good thing.
Are you a native Idahoan? What is it about Idaho that keeps you here?
I’ve lived in Boise all my life. I grew up on the south side of town, by the airport. I’ve now lived on the west side of town for most of my adult life. I find it funny how North End culture is still a bit foreign to me, despite my 41 years of living in this city.
My wife is from Florida, so I did bring in one transplant. But I think she’s been a good addition. Check out her art traffic box on the corner of Cole and Ustick. [I will be checking it out next time I’m in the area] Back to the question, though, we stay in Boise because we love running and all the opportunities we have here on the Greenbelt and in the foothills. Beyond that, we love the fact that it’s a safe place to raise our son, although the local politics sometimes scare us.
Are you tied into some sort of local author/bookish group/culture? If so, tell us about it and how it helps you as an author. If you’re not, is there a reason for it?
I have met lots of local authors since publishing Ways and Truths and Lives, but I have not joined a formal workshop group or anything like that. There’s no particular reason, aside from being busy teaching, parenting, and working on my MFA in creative writing.
The whole “I have a life” reason is a pretty solid one.
What kind of events in the area do you attend—either to sell/promote your books or to network with authors? Are there any outside of this area that you hit regularly and wish we had something like it here?
I mostly do book signings at local bookstores, including Rediscovered Books, Kuna’s Book Habit, Half Price Books, and Barnes and Noble. Whenever I’m in McCall, I try to do an event at The Barn Owl Books and Gifts as well. Aside from that, I’ve participated in Storyfort that last two years, and I’ve attended events like Author Palooza in Middleton and the Boise Book Faire at the main branch of the Boise Public Library. The only author event I’ve attended outside the Treasure Valley was in Moscow. The Palouse Writers Guild puts on an event up there every June with Book People of Moscow.
I love and miss Book People.
So…Storyfort, I’ve been curious about it. What’s it like? What kind of attendance does it get? What kind of…actually. I know so little about it—just say whatever comes to mind about it.
Storyfort is an odd and ever-changing entity. The first time I got in I was psyched. I was finishing a road trip to the Oregon Coast and blazing down Highway 20 to get home in time. I literally got back into Boise an hour before my reading. It was cool. I was excited. But then maybe 15 people were at Guru Donuts, which is a cool venue, and all my anticipation and effort seemed a little wasted. I was comforted to see other events with much “bigger” authors also attended by small audiences, but it still was a little deflating.
Last year I had a reading with two other writers, Tomas Baiza, who is a Boise resident, and James Palazzolo, who is from Arizona. We were at the history museum in the big event hall they have. A cool space for sure, but a little big for our audience. I think we had more people in there than what it looked like. We also followed Ani DeFranco, so the room cleared out pretty bad after her.
As far as what type of audience it is, I’d say there aren’t any book equivalents of all the music junkies that attend the rest of the festival. No one is coming downtown for Storyfort, so you end up with a lot of fellow writers, friends and families, and a few curious strangers.
I’ve sold two books in two years at my events. Luckily, last year they had a signing on Saturday morning at Rediscovered Books that was well attended enough to sell a few more. All in all, Storyfort is a great idea, but I don’t think it’s changed the trajectory for any writer yet. But that’s not the fault of the festival or the organizers. It’s simply a reflection of our culture and their dwindling interest in authors and their silly books.
What’s the breakdown of your audience—do you have a strong local base, or are your readers from other parts of the world?
I can’t claim to fully know or understand my audience, but for smalltime local authors, your audience always starts with your friends and family. In that way, it reminds me of selling pies during the Christmas season as a kid to help fund my soccer team’s next out-of-town tournament. You have to work for every ounce of publicity you get, and then still, most people aren’t really moved by the news of “yet another author.” So, it’s a tough racket, for sure.
Beyond people close to me, the folks I’ve sold to at events have really been quite varied. I’ve had a 13-year-old (son of someone in my running group) say it was the best thing he’d read in a long time, I’ve had plenty of great conversations and sells with retirees, and I’ve had a bit of everything in between.
Do you have ideas about expanding that audience? Or are you just going to keep plugging away doing what you’ve been doing?
I don’t know if there is a lot else to do. You have to keep putting yourself out there, going to events, signing at bookstores, etc. It’s kind of like dating in that way. People aren’t going to find out about you unless go out and make yourself available. Beyond that, you have to keep submitting to contests/publications to gain more respect and the eyes of different audiences. The masses don’t tend to react to publications, but it helps give you more street-cred and maybe some more opportunities for future publications.
Do you think there are particular challenges or advantages to being a writer in the Treasure Valley? (possibly both)
This is a great question, particularly because I think most are truly ignorant of aspects of the literary culture in Boise. On the surface, Boise, especially as you get closer to downtown and the North End, appears to be a relatively artsy community. There are enough well-to-do people with the time and energy to commit to doing things like buying paintings and reading great books. Just check out a first Thursday sometime and you’ll feel this communal interest in beautiful things. Add to that the fact that we now call a Pulitzer Prize winner one of our own, we have solid literary establishments like The Cabin, and cherished local bookstores like Rediscovered Books, and the foundation for a strong literary community is there.
Then you start trying to sell your own books. And that’s when you realize how small the literary community is, and by that, I mean supporters, compared to the amount of truly talented writers in the area. There are simply not that many institutions and opportunities out there for emerging authors. And by that, I mean authors good enough to get published but not quite “good enough” for you to have heard of them. It’s very similar the music industry’s problem of there being way more talented bands out there than there are spaces available in the market.
On top of that, even if you are inclined to support local authors, you might not find out who they are unless you really, really assert yourself, and most simply don’t have that kind of energy for it. For example, there are lots of great writers working at Boise State, but most university writing happens within the university culture of getting published in literary journals, a place where average people rarely embark.
I could go on and on, but there are still writers in our area who are very established, compared to me, and have been living in Boise for decades, and yet I am just now finding out about them. And I consider myself someone who’s trying to be plugged in. It’s just much harder than people think.
This is a better articulation of what I’ve been going through lately than I’m capable of. I’m working on it—and trying to network outside of my circles, but it’s hard. Any tips for me/others as we look for local authors? What’s worked for you? (assuming you’re not just stumbling along blindly like most of us)
As a writer, you just have to get comfortable with pestering people. You have to realize that lots of people don’t return emails and ignore stuff like that. Most of the time, if I keep trying to contact people, I eventually get a decent response. The trick is staying patient and polite in all your follow-up emails.
If you’re looking for more people like me, keep attending all the events you see advertised like the Boise Book Faire. I’ve met a lot of the same people at those types of events, but there’s always a few new ones. Also, check out the newsletters and social media accounts for Rediscovered Books and our Barnes and Noble. They have instore signings all the time. That’s an easy place to find out who local authors, of varying abilities and tastes, are.
Do you bring Idaho (or some sort of Idaho-sensibility, assuming one exists) to your work? Whether or not anyone else sees it, can you look at some aspect of your writing and think “That’s Idaho” or “I would do ____ differently if I was a Kentuckian or from Illinois?”
One of the things I try to “sell” about my work is the fact that I am Boise born and raised. No offense to many of our great local authors, but most of them were born and raised somewhere else, particularly the Midwest, and moved here later on.
My first novel, Ways and Truths and Lives, is, I think, Boise through and through. First, it takes place in a fictionalized Boise. I changed the names of everything because the main character is not really living in reality, blinded by the lingering effects of a myopic worldview, but any longtime Boise resident will pretty much decode all the places described, or so I have been told by my readers. On top of the simple aspect of setting, the themes and dilemmas faced by James should resonate with anyone who was raised in a religious household, left said religion, but have realized that certain elements of that worldview are harder to shake than one would assume. Sometimes it takes a decade or two to see it clearly. Most adults in Boise seem to fit this profile.
My second novel, Icarus Never Flew ‘Round Here, is very regionally specific as well. It takes place in the Oregon High Desert on a stretch of Highway 20 between Burns and Bend, Oregon. It’s not really supposed to pay homage to the people who live there, exactly, of which there are few, but it is supposed to honor the hard working, rural people of the Idaho, Oregon, and the West in general, who often get overlooked in literature. When they are included in literature they are often used as a prop or something kitschy. My main character Dale may not end up being all that flattering, but his weaknesses are not born out some country bumpkin ignorance. He’s supposed to represent us all.
One final question, is there a book (or two…or 18, if you get really carried away), that embodies Idaho/the Idaho spirit to you to recommend to my readers?
I have yet to come across that book, but I will surely tell you when I find it. Although, I hope mine become answers to that question for others.
That got an audible chuckle from me—one of the better answers to this question that I’ve received (even if it doesn’t add to my TBR stack).
Thanks for your time and participation! Hope you enjoyed it!
Okay, folks, go check out his website and see if anything sparks your interest–and maybe you’ll find your literary embodiment of Idaho while you’re at it.
