Rattawut Lapcharoensap, Craft of Fiction: Native Speakers: Voice and “Authenticity” in Fiction

What do we talk about when we talk about “voice” in fiction? What do we mean when we describe a fictional voice as “authentic”? This talk by Rattawut Lapcharoensap will be long on such questions, and short on any answers. But ideally the questions asked and the fictional voices examined will prove energizing for those who worry about getting clear and resonant “voices” onto the page.

Rattawut Lapcharoensap received his BA from Cornell University. MFA, University of Michigan. Fiction writer. Author of Sightseeing, a collection of short stories, which received the Asian American Literary Award and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. His work has appeared in Granta, One Story, The Guardian, Zoetrope, Best New American Voices, and Best American Non-Required Reading, among others. He is a recipient of a Whiting Writer’s Award, a DAAD Artist-in-Berlin fellowship, a National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honor, and an Abraham Woursell Prize through the University of Vienna; he was named by Granta magazine to its list of “Best of Young American Novelists.”