998. Amber Sparks

Otherppl with Brad Listi

Brad Listi

Arts, Books, Society & Culture

4.8 • 555 Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2025

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Amber Sparks is the author of the debut novel Happy People Don't Live Here, available from Liveright Publishing. Sparks is the author of the short story collections And I Do Not Forgive You and The Unfinished World. Her writing has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Slate, and elsewhere. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, daughter, and cats. *** ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Otherppl with Brad Listi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is a weekly podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, etc. Get ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠How to Write a Novel,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ the debut audio course from DeepDive. 50+ hours of never-before-heard insight, inspiration, and instruction from dozens of today's most celebrated contemporary authors. Subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Brad's email newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support the show on Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Merch⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bluesky⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠proud affiliate partner of Bookshop⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Okay, everybody. Welcome to the program. This is the other people show, a weekly podcast featuring in-depth conversations with today's leading writers.
0:17.8	It is a books and culture show. I'm Brad Listy and I'm in Los Angeles. Thank you for
0:22.5	tuning in. I appreciate it. Hope you're good out there wherever you happen to be. Don't forget
0:28.5	to hit the subscribe button wherever you listen and you can follow me on Instagram and Blue
0:34.5	Sky. I've got a great show for you today. My guest is Amber Sparks,
0:40.4	author of the debut novel called Happy People Don't Live Here. It is available from Live Right
0:47.1	Press. Happy People Don't Live Here is a mother-daughter story. It is a ghost story. It is a love story.
0:53.7	There are comedic elements. It is a ghost story. It is a love story. There are comedic elements. It is this
0:57.7	wonderful, like, hybrid work of fiction. It's doing a lot of different things, and it is, like, a
1:05.5	delightful combination of the quirky and the eerie. I had a great time talking with Amber, who returns to the program for a second time.
1:15.3	She first appeared more than 13 years ago, all the way back in episode 108.
1:21.1	And now here she is.
1:23.1	Back on the show celebrating the publication of her debut novel. Again, it is called Happy People Don't Live Here.
1:31.5	You will hear Amber Sparks and I in conversation in just a bit.
1:36.9	Today's episode of The Other People Show is brought to you by Echo Books, publisher of a different kind of tension, new and selected stories by Jonathan
1:47.5	Lethem. A different kind of tension is the official October pick of the Other People
1:51.7	Book Club. It is a definitive collection from a master of the form. It fluidly moves between
1:58.9	realism and the surreal, the absurd and the mundane. It features
2:03.3	talking animals, couples in trouble, technologies gone haywire. You guys all know Jonathan
2:10.7	Leatham, right? He's going to be a guest on this program in the weeks ahead. So stay tuned for that.
2:16.3	If you would like to join my book club, the Other People
2:19.2	Book Club, you can do so at other pPL.com. Get a new book delivered to your door every 30 days.
	...

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