Each semester, the Writing University hosts the 5Q Interview series with authors from the University of Iowa Press. We sit down with UI Press authors to ask about their work, their process, their reading lists and events. Today we are speaking with Darrell Kinsey, the author of Natch (University of Iowa Press, 2025), which has been longlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize!
Darrell Kinsey has published short fiction in NOON and he won a Pushcart Prize for Fiction XLV. He lives in Watkinsville, Georgia.
1. Can you tell us a little bit about your new book Natch?
Natch is the story of a young man from the foothills of north Georgia who begins working for himself, climbing and cutting down trees. He is free to work as he pleases, and he believes he is fine with his life as it is, living alone in an old hunting cabin at the end of a dirt lane, exploring his vices and living like a wild man. Then he meets Asha, a clerk at the convenience store. The novel covers the brief and tragic episode of their relationship, their hardscrabble existence and their attempt to start a family.
2. What was the inspiration for this work?
Our house in Watkinsville is surrounded by hardwoods which sometimes need attention. I was inspired by the kind of characters who would show up to do the work. Like a lot of servicemen who come to the house, these fellows would end up standing around in the driveway getting distracted and telling stories. I wanted Natch to feel like one of those driveway stories. A story that came out of nowhere when the topic veered away from the trees. The voice of these characters was an important inspiration. The rhythm and the cadence.
3. Do you have any plans for readings or events for this book, either in person or virtual?
There are no formal public events on the calendar, but friends are planning to gather this weekend to celebrate the release of the book.
4. What are you reading right now? Any books from other university or independent presses?
I'm an unusual reader. I read the same books or passages from certain books over and over again as inspiration for my current project, to keep my thoughts within a particular mood or atmosphere or style. While I was working on Natch, that inspiration came from works by Hemingway and Cormac McCarthy. Right now I'm caught up in novels by Michael Ondaatje. Faulkner is always sprinkled in as well. The more impressed I am by a book, the less likely I am to finish it. I have to put it down and get to work on my own stories.
5. What is your writing routine? Do you have a daily routine?
My process is a slow one. I write for an hour first thing in the morning in an official way. Then a lot of the work happens while walking or running or at other odd times. Certain passages or paragraphs will arrive in my mind and I have to stop what I'm doing and capture them.
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Thanks Darrell!
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BUY THE BOOK: Natch