Agata Antonow's fascinating tale of a woman realizing she is becoming a mythical creature is a modern take on the process of aging, and how society looks at women as their bodies change. "Into Stone" broke our hearts and left us wanting more. Read on to learn a little more about the woman behind this piece.
What inspires you to create?
I love the experience of discovery that comes with creating. Whenever I embark on a new project, I get to explore new territory, including new places, ideas, and characters.
What other creative endeavors do you pursue?
I really enjoy cooking, especially trying new dishes and new-to-me cuisines.
What place does weirdness have in your life?
I love weirdness! I enjoy learning about unusual ideas, people, and places. Generally, I’m pretty suspicious when things are too “normal.” That’s when things get a little soulless and dull for me.
What do you do to recharge your creative battery?
I usually go hiking. I live in Canada, in a town known for its steel mills, but one secret of this place is that there are a lot of hiking trails and green spaces. There are probably about eight trails within walking distance, and they take me through small wooded areas and ravines and by lakes and rivers. I see all kinds of wildlife, including deer, chipmunks, swans, egrets, foxes, beavers, and more, so a hike always fills me with wonder and inspires new ideas and imagery.
What is your favorite banned book?
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. I was surprised people objected to this book—the language just lights up each page.
What is the most recent record/album you bought or listened to?
Tom Wilson’s Tehohahake—For Exhibit and Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’s Australian Carnage. I love music with a good story and Nick Cave and Tim Wilson are two artists who never disappoint.
Have you ever found story inspiration from a dream?
I have sometimes woken up with a fragment of a sentence or a feeling I wanted to capture in words, but so far I haven’t gotten a full idea from a dream. Who knows what the future holds, though.
How do you get through a creative block?
I usually move away from words. I will look at images (art books are great for this) or I will go hiking or start baking. I’ll take a series of photos outside or listen to music. There’s something about stepping away and engaging with another activity that allows my mind to relax enough to move to the next step of a writing project. It’s almost as if writer’s block (for me, anyway) is a type of fear or tension.
What will your biography be titled?
This is a tough one. I’m not really sure, but maybe something like: Hopefully, Hermit.
Is a hot dog a sandwich?
Absolutely not. A hot dog is a hot dog—a completely separate category. Not all animals with tails are cats and not all food products with bread are sandwiches!
Advice on creating that you’ve learned by trial and error?
Mindset is important. Getting to the point where I can’t wait to sit down and write and the point where I already have at least a few words to set down makes writing go much more smoothly.
What’s your favorite cryptid?
Bigfoot. He’s a classic.
What do you think of garden gnomes?
I like them, but only if they’re cheeky or creepy.
Name a book that made you cry (or feel like crying).
The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Also: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.
There’s “good” weird and there’s also "not-so-good" weird. What’s “good” weird to you?
Good weird is good-natured and makes you think by playfully thumbing its nose at what’s normal. It might make you feel a little uncomfortable because it goes against convention, but it never makes you feel bad. Good weird is Aubrey Plaza, David Lynch films, stories that go against the grain, laughing at nothing with people you love.
Agata Antonow is a writer living and working in Canada. Her work has been featured in the Mile End Poets' Festival, Our Times, The Gravity of the Thing, Defenestration, and the FOLD (Festival of Literary Diversity) program, among other places. She has placed first in the 2021 Douglas Kyle Memorial Prize and the 2023 Alfred G. Bailey Prize from the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick.
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