Poured Over (Barnes & Noble)
Amal El-Mohtar on SEASONS OF GLASS AND IRON
Why It Matters
The conversation highlights how modern digital communities and gaming can enrich literary creation, offering writers fresh collaborative tools and perspectives. For readers and aspiring authors, Amal’s insights into balancing short‑form and long‑form storytelling—and navigating a book launch amid a busy, unconventional schedule—illustrate the evolving landscape of publishing in the internet age.
Key Takeaways
- •Amal releases Seasons of Glass and Iron during cruise
- •Role‑playing games directly shape her character development and storytelling
- •She uses layered metaphors to differentiate short stories, novellas, novels
- •ADHD leads her to embrace improvisation over strict organization
- •Collection showcases 15 years of internet‑inspired, women‑centered speculative fiction
Pulse Analysis
Amal El‑Mohtar’s new short‑story collection, Seasons of Glass and Iron, arrives on March 24, 2024 amid a whirlwind promotional schedule. While the book drops, she will be sailing on a Joko cruise, turning the launch into a literal sea‑bound debut. The author also recently wrapped an eight‑hour‑a‑day D&D actual‑play podcast recording, a side project that highlights her love for collaborative storytelling. This blend of literary release and immersive gaming underscores how modern authors are leveraging diverse platforms to reach readers, making the upcoming collection a focal point for both fans of speculative fiction and tabletop enthusiasts.
El‑Mohtar explains that role‑playing games act as a creative wellspring, allowing her to inhabit characters such as a bard who sings and writes songs during sessions. She notes a conscious ‘gear shift’ when moving from improvisational D&D brain to the more structured prose required for short stories. Her writing process for flash pieces runs from initial concept to a 5,000‑7,000‑word draft, while novellas like The River Has Roots hover around 20,000 words, and novels are imagined as layered mille‑feu structures. Open about her late ADHD diagnosis, she embraces a flexible workflow, favoring spontaneity over strict organization.
The anthology serves as a fifteen‑year snapshot of internet‑driven speculative fiction, each story anchored to the online communities that shaped her early career. By curating favorites and arranging them around a thematic spine, El‑Mohtar highlights recurring motifs—particularly conversations between women—that have defined her oeuvre. Readers, especially young queer and female writers, are discovering these pieces outside traditional venues like the Nebula or Hugo circles, finding relevance in their timeless emotional core. This unexpected resonance demonstrates how a personal collection can bridge generational gaps, offering both a historical record of evolving web culture and a fresh source of inspiration for contemporary speculative storytellers.
Episode Description
Seasons of Glass and Iron by Amal El-Mohtar features her award-winning folktales that invite readers into fantastic new worlds. Amal joins us to talk about Dungeons & Dragons, creating characters, long form vs short form writing, the life of the internet, creativity, birds and more with cohost Isabelle McConville.
This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Isabelle McConville and mixed by Harry Liang.
New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.
Featured Books (Episode):
Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories by Amal El-Mohtar
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Travel Light by Naomi Mitchison
There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm
Jade City by Fonda Lee
The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
Metal from Heaven by August Clarke
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