David Gutowski

Today is @largeheartedboy's 21st birthday. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the site's success. Writers, musicians, booksellers, friends, readers, and publishers have all been essential parts of the books + music equation (that equals love) largeheartedboy.substack.com/p/happy-21st-b…

"...the issue is maybe that I love music so much that sometimes I can’t cope with it. I am, like a lot of elder millennials, arrested in the '90s indie scene I first fell in love with." Luke Kennard shared a playlist for his novel Black Bag largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/19/luk…

"...the book’s method is musical:  questions of tone, rhythm, pitch, and volume drive the unnamed first-person narrator’s torrential, obsessive voice." @CampMarmalade shared a playlist for My Lover, the Rabbi at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/18/way… @FSGOriginals

"OK, I can’t I say I recommend this as traditional playlist in the style of old mix tapes where you listen to ‘em all the way through— unless you’re down with some serious genre hopping!" Casey Scieszka shared a playlist for her debut novel The Fountain largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/17/cas…

"I had far more training as a violinist than as a writer, and the curious forms of my fiction and the rhythm of my sentences are best understood as coming from a musicality expressed through words." Angela Woodward shared a playlist for Afterlife largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/15/ang…

"The stories are filled with nostalgia for a simpler time, so this playlist reflects a ‘90s and Aughts sensibility." Kim Samek shared a playlist for her story collection I Am the Ghost Here at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/13/kim…

"Writing fiction has been surprisingly transformative to my relationship with music...because I use playlists to work through questions of character and theme...." Avery Curran shared a playlist for her debut novel Spoiled Milk at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/12/ave…

"So, if you’re heart-broken, filled with rage over your disappointing ex and his bad behavior, here’s a playlist to see you through." @lisaunger shared a playlist for her novel Served Him Right at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/11/lis…

"Music is such a time capsule for me, and this playlist reminds me of the person I was in 2001, as well as the people I wrote about in my forthcoming book." Jung Yun shared a playlist for her novel All the World Can Hold at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/10/jun…

"Writing is a lonely practice. When no one is around to pump you up in the process, music will always be there. When no one else understands, music finds a way." Jan Saenz shared a playlist for her debut novel 200 Monas at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/09/jan…

"While those years can sometimes feel like a blur, when I stop and slow down, these are the songs I can still sometimes hear." Timothy J. Hillegonds shared a playlist for his memoir And You Will Call It Fate at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/05/tim…

"...Swan Lake, the full discography of Beach House, and the In the Mood for Love soundtrack have long been go-tos for me while writing, as music just generally swollen with drama and emotion." Kim Fu shared a playlist for The Valley of Vengeful Ghosts largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/04/kim…

"The novel was inspired by my own working-class upbringing in Glasgow, and reflects my love of punk rock." Frances Crawford shared a playlist for her debut novel A Bad, Bad Place at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/03/fra…

"I did most of the writing of Mass Mothering in silence, as it’s hard for me to write with music on without getting swept up and unduly influenced by it." Sarah Bruni shared a playlist for her novel Mass Mothering at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/03/01/sar… @HenryHolt

"Writing the Dollartorium was an exercise in anger which I hoped to temper with satire, absurdity and a sense of hope at the beginning and end." Ron Pullins shared a playlist for his novel Dollartorium at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/02/26/ron… @UnsolicitedP

"During the year it took me to compose Mule Boy, I found myself going back to songs of longing, told like stories, and sung as though these might be the last songs a songwriter sings." Andrew Krivak shared a playlist for his novel Mule Boy largeheartedboy.com/2026/02/26/and…

"'Every teacher’s story about a former student is unreliable by design, because the student is not there to interrupt." @BPlatzer shared a playlist for his novel The Optimists at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/02/23/bri… @littlebrown

"Neon Steel is a speculative collection of fiction set in Pittsburgh...I wanted this playlist to reflect the flavor of the post-industrial city and project a certain energy, futurism, and joy." Jennifer Maritza McCauley shared a playlist for Neon Steel largeheartedboy.com/2026/02/23/jen…

"I have to confess that I am not a music person. Paradoxically, I am very much a mix CD person." Lillian Li shared a playlist for her novel Bad Asians at Largehearted Boy largeheartedboy.com/2026/02/20/lil… @HenryHolt

"Cleaner is told in one paragraph with no chapter breaks: this song is how I wanted and how I imagine the reader’s experience to be. Pure uncut momentum and insanity." Jess Shannon shared a playlist for her novel Cleaner largeheartedboy.com/2026/02/19/jes…

"When you get to interview two dozen incredible women filmmakers, you get to watch at least 5 times that many incredible movies that offer up music , scoring a few memorable moments." @Weegee shared a playlist for Break the Frame at @largeheartedboy largeheartedboy.com/2026/02/19/kev…