An interview with Mark Binelli

Where are you from?
St. Clair Shores, Michigan

Who are your favorite writers?
Nabokov, Pynchon, Flann O'Brien, AJ Liebling, David Foster Wallace, Geoff Dyer, Janet Malcolm, Nicholson Baker, Tom Stoppard.

Which book/books have had the biggest influence on your writing?
White Noise, Don DeLillo; Up in the Old Hotel, Joseph Mitchell; Family, Ian Frazier; The White Album, Joan Didion; 60 Stories, Donald Barthelme.

What is your favorite quote?
"But just wait until now become then. You'll see how happy we were."—Susan Sontag.

What is the question most commonly asked by your readers? What is the answer?
"Detroit - I've always been so fascinated by that city! Should I visit?" If I like the person, the answer is: "Yes."

What inspired you to write your first book?
Watching Abbott and Costello movies with my dad on Sunday mornings instead of going to church, and the vague memory of Sacco and Vanzetti as the only Italians (other than Columbus and occasionally Mussolini) mentioned in U.S. History classes.

Where do you write?
In bed, if it's before noon; in cafés anytime after.

Unless otherwise stated, this interview was conducted at the time the book was first published, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher. This interview may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.