Writing a funny novel might be the hardest trick in fiction, but these writers make it look easy. Join Katie Yee and Benedict Nguyễn for a discussion about writing novels that tackle painful and complicated topics—and are hilarious. In Maggie; or A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar, Yee spins gold from heartbreak when a Chinese American woman’s husband leaves her for a white woman named Maggie. In Hot Girls with Balls, Nguyễn serves up a hilarious setup—two trans women, star-crossed lovers, playing on competing sides of a professional men’s indoor volleyball league.
Moderated by writer and arts administrator Jared Jackson, this discussion will explore the craft of writing comedy that stings and how humor can illuminate betrayal, grief, and the messiness of life.
