Interview with Daniel Miller

(a public domain demon chosen by Daniel to disturb his Midwestern ancestors)

Hopefully you already know Daniel Miller, but if not, he will soon be your friend. His stories have appeared in Pleiades, Conjunctions, Puerto del Sol, HAD, and other fine establishments, he’s an editor at hex literary, and he’s always out there encouraging other writers. He agreed to answer some questions, and his answers amused and surprised me. Onward!

Can you tell us a bit about your Midwestern upbringing? How do you think it has left its mark on your writing and reading? 

I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and then moved to Columbia, Missouri, when I was 17 and have lived here since. Defining “Midwest” is so tough and everyone seems to have different definitions and lists different states, but I’m incredibly interested in places that feel haunted and forgotten and like they are driven by a collective communal pathos. I think the Coen’s Fargo film and T.V. series evoke a sense of biblical retribution, usually on the scale of a smaller Midwest town, really well, and that’s very inspiring to me. Also, I love dead malls and abandoned motels and that every Midwest town has at least one shitty old bar with at least one crusty old guy who will tell you the wildest story you’ve ever heard. 

Who are your top 5 dead writers?

Kurt Vonnegut, Toni Morrison, James Joyce, Italo Calvino, Flannery O’Connor

What are some of the stories you’ve written that you’re most proud of, and why? Can you link us?

I think I’m proud of most of my stories, and especially any story that has ever made it through the slush pile, but I rarely (never?) feel that my stories are perfectly finished. I’m incredibly proud of "Four Marriages," which I co-wrote with Joe Aguilar and we published in Conjunctions (which was and is my dream mag). I’m also quite proud of my recent story “UFO Catcher,” which was published in Pleiades Spring ‘24 issue!

You’re an Editor at hex, which releases weekly short fiction that falls into a rare and welcome weird/literary/horror niche. How did y’all arrive at a vision for this journal? 

There used to be an incredible journal called Unstuck that only published 3 issues and it felt perfectly tuned to my literary interests. I’ve always been interested in the ways that literary writing and speculative or genre writing can work together, and Unstuck did it REALLY well, publishing a lot of my favorites – Matt Bell, Aimee Bender, Matthew Derby, Lincoln Michel. I wanted to channel that.

After grad school, I felt disillusioned and burnt out and didn’t write anything for 5-6 years, but decided to try starting an online lit mag to see if I could find the spark of passion again. I texted Joe (Aguilar) and Kate (McIntyre), who have been dear friends for a long long time, and coincidentally, they were in the early stages of putting together a speculative journal for the university they teach at. The three of us share a love for the strange, sharp writing, experimentation, oulipo, etc…so it felt kismet. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Joe and Kate are two of my best friends. They are brilliant and have such great eyes and ears for fantastic, interesting writing.

You teach lit to college students – what are some of your favorite stories to teach them? 

Ahh! There are so many! Matt Bell’s “An Index of How Our Family Was Killed,” Rick Moody’s “Boys,” Flannery’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and Mike Meginnis’ “Navigators.” I like teaching stories that will surprise and excite the students in ways they don’t normally expect from literature, and especially like to show them what current literature can look like.

You seem to have a particularly strong sense of the importance of community. You’re very encouraging and loyal to other writers, and you celebrate other writers through hex and other outlets. How do you think you developed this ability, or does it come naturally?

I went to grad school for writing and left feeling very jaded. It felt both helpful and too restrictive, and I didn’t care much for the intense sense of competition. I’m much more interested in creating than I am in success, so any new writing or art that’s being made and put out into the world, to me, is reason for celebration. I’m also VERY interested in being a cheerleader for writers we publish in hex, even long after they publish with us. Mostly I find great joy in celebrating the art of writing, and it feels less ego-driven to channel that towards others than towards my own writing.

Any plans for future projects?

I really want to write a long project, a novel or novella, but I feel like I need to rewire my brain to do so. I’m finalizing edits on the first chapter of a crime novel I started in grad school and it feels exciting again, but I also want to write a continuation of a weird homunculus horror story into a full novella. I have a running iPhone note with like 47 ideas in an unorganized list and a brain that does not stop spinning so I always have ideas, but we’ll see which of those ideas have legs! 

What’s a question you’d like to be asked?

I don’t know! I don’t feel that I’m interesting! How about: “What is your favorite cryptid?” And my answer would be the Fresno Nightcrawler; or, “Which depiction of Judith beheading Holofernes is your favorite?” And my answer would be Caravaggio’s.

Three cheers for Daniel!