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March 17th, 2025

Dividing Worlds and Staying Present: Marissa Stapley | Episode 54

  1. Dividing Worlds and Staying Present: Marissa Stapley | Episode 54 Brent van Staalduinen 35:19

Marissa Stapley is a bestselling novelist and fabulous human, and the author of the newly released The Lightning Bottles. She is the only Canadian writer ever to have been chosen for the prestigious Reese’s Book Club, a massive nod to her craft and storyweaving, and she has gotten the chance to work with some big, big names as a result. Still, life is life, and rejection finds even those who earn successes and accolades: for Marissa, Family and staying present are the keys to keeping a successful life on the ground.

Rejected Central is a human podcast hosted by bestselling novelist Brent van Staalduinen and educator and life-embracer Dave Parkinson. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, follow us online and social media, and let us know what you think. Thanks for listening!

Brent van Staalduinen Rejected Central Podcast

I am the award-winning and bestselling author of the novels UNTHINKABLE, NOTHING BUT LIFE, BOY, and SAINTS, UNEXPECTED, as well as the story collection CUT ROAD. My stories appear in literary journals on both sides of the Atlantic, and have won the Bristol Short Story Prize, The Fiddlehead Best Fiction Award, the Lush Triumphant Literary Award, and numerous other accolades. A recovering army medic, tree planter, radio announcer, and high school English teacher, I now spend my time podcasting, writing, teaching, and figuring out what it means to be a family man.