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Author Jess Bowers on Horse Show: Spectacle, History, and Writing Short Stories
Episode 218
Sunday, 5 April, 2026
Host Edith interviews author and college professor Jess Bowers about her debut short story collection, Horse Show, named one of Electric Literature’s most exciting debut collections of 2024. Bowers, a lifelong equestrian and haflinger owner, explains that each story features a horse (or horse-adjacent animal/object) and a “show,” using entertainment and spectacle to examine human mistreatment and misunderstanding of horses and other sentient beings. She discusses research methods shaped by her PhD in English, including archives, photographs, and repeated film viewing, and shares a disturbing unused anecdote about Eben Byers giving radioactive water to racehorses. Bowers reflects on favorite stories, the appeal and demands of short fiction, challenges of dialogue, harmful breeding trends, and her next animal-focused collection, including a new story, “Canis X Machina.”00:00 Welcome and Introductions00:29 Horse Woman Origins02:06 Vienna Horse Culture05:14 Inside Horse Show07:37 Write What You Know12:36 Research Rabbit Holes16:17 Darkest Unused Fact19:39 Most Touching Stories22:23 Breeding for Vanity26:50 Spanish Riding School29:51 Why Short Stories Work31:28 Why Short Stories Win33:12 Reading Short Stories Differently35:50 Writing Short Stories Takes Patience40:18 Ideas Over Plot42:12 Visual Thinking and Photos46:22 Dialogue and Script Curiosity50:29 Horses and Forgotten History53:29 Advice for Aspiring Writers55:46 New Work and Animal Collection58:36 Final Thoughts and FarewellIf you like what we do, you might consider buying us a coffee. You can do so here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/booklovercom or here: https://ko-fi.com/bookcompanion Follow us: Web: https://book-lovers-companion.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/book_companion Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ez.fiction.7/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/book_companion/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6vyAyrh3zzsxNeexfyU0uA Feedback is always welcome: bookcompanioncontact@gmail.com Music: English Country Garden by Aaron Kenny Video Link: https://youtu.be/mDcADD4oS5E
