Ben Tanzer's Site

"The Shitbird finds all the joy in making wrong decisions, over and over and over again." - Aaron Burch, author of Tacoma

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 16:25:16 -0700

This is so happening and all reviews, interviews, and hype is welcome. If you're interested in any of that (or anything else), including an ARC, please let me know and we'll get on it post-haste. Further, you can learn more about Shirtbird here and Spencer here. All this and some cover copy for Shitbird may be found below. Enjoy.

"The Shitbird is the story of Colin McAllister, a seaman in the US Coast Guard, and a poor fit for the role at best. He’s an outsider, a stoner with a bad attitude and a smart mouth, a combo that often puts him on the wrong side of an ass-kicking. He only joined up because he was fresh out of options when he was expelled after a college party turned into a case of suspected arson. And when he finds the dead body of well-liked shipmate Fred Sobel on the far side of a minuscule Caribbean Island during a routine afternoon of R&R, his life immediately takes a turn for the worse. His shipmates—most of them, anyway—jump to the conclusion that he must be responsible. They want to take justice into their own hands and throw McAllister overboard in the dead of night, but the intervention of Fred’s closest friend—the popular Wade Lucas—keeps them at bay. Until, that is, McAllister's nemesis Dennis Hebert starts planting doubt in Lucas's mind. As Lucas’s allegiance wavers and tensions with the rest of the crew escalate, McAllister quickly finds himself in a very dark place. Once sure of his own innocence, now he's not so certain. If he's not careful, he'll end up just like Fred—and maybe bring the whole crew down with him."

This Podcast (& Book) Will Change Your Life, Episode Three Hundred and Eighty-Six - Honor The Fractures, starring the Sara Lippmann (& Hidden River too).

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 15:52:32 -0700

This episode of This Podcast Will Change Your Life stars Sara Lippmann (Hidden River, Lech, Jerks & many, many other fine works). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Lippmann's home office in the Borough of Kings in June 2026. You can listen to this episode here, or below, either is totally cool with me.

As needed please feel free to wholly enjoy both Sarah's last appearances on This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Episode Three Hundred - Absolutely Literal from December 2022.

This Podcast Will Change Your Life stars David Masciotra (Exurbia Now, I Am Somebody: Why Jesse Jackson Matters, Barack Obama: Invisible Man & many, many other fine works). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Masciotra's home office in The Hoosier State in June 2026. You can listen to this episode here, or below, either is totally cool with me.

As needed please feel free to wholly enjoy both David's last appearances on This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Episode Two Hundred and Thirty-Nine - Dissident from January 2021.

here. Cool? Yes, again, we agree.

This Podcast (& Book) Will Change Your Life, Episode Three Hundred and Eighty-Four - Bothered, starring the Bobby Miller (& Situation Nowhere too).

Sun, 31 May 2026 10:15:28 -0700

This episode of This Podcast Will Change Your Life stars Bobby Miller (Situation Nowhere, The Cleanse, Critters Attack!). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Miller's home office in The City of Dreams in May 2026. You can listen to this episode here, or below, either is totally cool with me.

As motivated you can also check out my This Book Will Change Your Life - Situation Nowhere by the Bobby Miller post at the Substack.

This episode of This Podcast Will Change Your Life stars Blake Kimzey (Writing Workshops). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Kimzey's home office in the Big D in May 2026. You can listen to this episode here, or below, either is totally cool with me.

Also, as really motivated, most definitely check-out our previous episode: This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Episode Three Hundred and Eighty-Two - Roadmapping A Thing, starring the Keidra Chaney & Liz Mason.

That time I was Rough Draft with Keidra & Liz Episode 15: God Damn Gem.

Wed, 20 May 2026 21:49:07 -0700

And quite thrilled to be Rough Draft with Keidra & Liz Episode 15: God Dam Gem I was, which you can listen to here, should that be your jam. I might also note, I was equally thrilled that Keidra and Liz could join me to talk Rough Draft with Keidra & Liz, and so much more for This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Episode Three Hundred and Eighty-Two, Roadmapping A Thing, which you can so check out here, should that also be your jam. Though also, should you be here, it probably is.

This Book Will Change Your Life - My Trade Is Mystery: Seven Meditations from a Life in Writing by the Carl Phillips.

Sun, 10 May 2026 22:33:37 -0700

I'm a student again, I read My Trade Is Mystery: Seven Meditations from a Life in Writing by the Carl Phillips this term, and I have some thoughts. You can read these thoughts at the Substack here. You can also read some excerpt below. Will My Trade Is Mystery change your life as it has mine? Totally.

To start, I should note that I am now a very part-time student in Roosevelt University’s MFA in Creative Writing program. I’ve also just finished my second semester, and at this pace I may never finish. That said, I’m having a lot of fun and I’m reading numerous pieces of writing I may have never encountered otherwise. This includes My Trade Is Mystery: Seven Meditations from a Life in Writing by the Carl Phillips, which I’m sure I should have heard of, and hadn’t. It truly bowled me over, in part because Phillips is such a fine craftsperson and in part because he has so much to say about so many things I want to say—and he does so in a manner and eloquence I aspire to. I read My Trade Is Mystery for a Poetry Forms workshop I took this term, which was...Read More

This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Episode Three Hundred and Eighty-Two - Roadmapping A Thing, starring the Keidra Chaney & Liz Mason.

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:16:42 -0700

This episode of This Podcast Will Change Your Life stars Liz Mason and Keidra Chaney (Rough Draft with Keidra and Liz Podcast & so much more). It was recorded over the Zoom between the This Podcast Will Change Your Life home studio in Chicago, IL and Mason and Chaney's home offices in greater Chicagoland in April 2026. You can listen to this episode here, or below, either is totally cool with me.

As needed please feel free to wholly enjoy both Liz and Keidra's last appearances on This Podcast Will Change Your Life, Episode One Hundred and TenRead More

This Podcast (& Book) Will Change Your Life, Episode Three Hundred and Eighty-One - It's Time For Another Book, starring the G. Riley Mills (& Synergy And Sparks too).

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 14:18:01 -0700

This episode of This Podcast Will Change Your Life stars G. Riley Mills (Synergy And Sparks, The Bullseye Principle, The Pin Drop Principle). It was recorded in-person at Pinnacle Performance Company's podcast studio in Chicago, IL in April 2026. You can listen to this episode here, or below, either is totally cool with me.

As motivated you can also check out my This Book Will Change Your Life - Synergy And Sparks by the G. Riley Mills post at the...Read More