Daniel Lowe teaches writing at the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and received his MFA in fiction writing from the University of Pittsburgh. His debut novel, All That’s Left to Tell, “celebrates not just the power of storytelling but the deeply human need for it in even the most dire situations” (Stewart O’Nan).
Don’t miss out: Lowe will be at White Whale Bookstore on February 17th, in conversation with Stewart O’Nan!
From the Publisher: “Every night, Marc Laurent, an American taken hostage in Pakistan, is bound and blindfolded. And every night, a woman he knows only as Josephine visits his cell. At first, her questions are mercenary: is there anyone back home who will pay the ransom? But when Marc can offer no name, she asks him a question about his daughter that is even more terrifying than his captivity. And so begins a strange yet increasingly comforting ritual, in which Josephine and Marc tell each other stories. As these stories build upon one another, a father and daughter start to find their way toward understanding each other again…”
What comes to mind when you think of Pittsburgh?
I am a transplant from rural Michigan, but I’ve lived here now for thirty-five years. When I arrived for graduate school in 1981, the coke ovens would pump their exhaust into the close August evenings, and now, with the ovens in the city long ago closed, on the rare occasion when I catch that distant, pungent odor, possibly downwind from the Clairton Works, I’m filled with a nostalgia for the time when Pittsburgh was, for me, a big city filled with promise and possibility.
What books are on your nightstand?
Currently, Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies, Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography (Born to Run), and The Everything Labrador Retriever by Kim Campbell Thornton (puppy on the way).
Is there a book you’d like to see made into a film?
You mean other than mine? David Mitchell’s Slade House would be fun to watch, as would John Banville’s The Infinities.
Who would you most want to share a plate of pierogis with?
After my wife, and any of my children, probably James Joyce, not because I enjoy reading him more than a number of other writers, but because of how much I’d have the opportunity to learn. (I’d treat to a shot and a beer, too.)
Ed. note: Speaking of Joyce, when you’re done reading our excerpt of All That’s Left to Tell, check out Littsburgh’s Bloomsday reading list!
A Thrilling Lost Chapter of Mob Rule From the Publisher: "Western Pennsylvania’s New Kensington was in the grips of Mafia Read more
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From the Publisher: "J.New Books proudly presents How to Live Like Li Po in Pittsburgh, the first-ever essay collection by acclaimed Read more
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Brockport, PA — The WCoNA Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia® (here and after WCoNA) is pleased to announce its longlist Read more
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One of our favorite local authors, Joshua David Bellin (author, most recently, of MYRIAD) just let us know that he's Read more
A lyrical and heartfelt tribute from a parent to their “everything,” their child. From the Publisher: "Following a parent and Read more
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love, Pittsburgh is hosting a “Pittsburgh Dog & Frog” coloring contest! Kids, color a page from the children’s book, “Pittsburgh Read more
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From Parsec (Pittsburgh's premier Science Fiction & Fantasy Organization): "The theme of Parsec Ink’s 2025 Triangulation anthology is Dark Hearts. Read more
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New York Times-bestselling author Patrick Radden Keefe will be featured at The Peters Township Library Foundation’s seventh annual Novel November Read more
"One doctor. One patient. One terrible lie." From the Publisher: "I used to have it all. My ex-boyfriend and I Read more
"Life on the streets is hard but it's deadly when a young woman battles addiction." From the Publisher: "Where is Read more
One impulsive decision changes the lives of two lifelong friends forever in a powerful novel of suspense by the USA Today bestselling Read more
