Brandon Taylor Wrote ‘Real Life’ And ‘Filthy Animals’ For His Queer, Black Friends

Author Brandon Taylor used to spend most of his hours studying nematodes under a microscope as a grad student. He wrote his first novel over a period of five weeks, mostly while in a lab. That book, Real Life, was released in 2020 to much critical acclaim. He published his second book this year, a short story collection called Filthy Animals.

Taylor talks to Sam about his focus on the tensions of everyday relationships, writing from a Black and queer perspective and his intended audience of just a couple close friends.

This conversation is part of a collaboration between NPR and the Library of Congress National Book Festival. For more information about the festival, visit loc.gov/bookfest.

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