Torrey Peters on Writing While the World Burns

In this episode of Sick Sad Lit, I sit down with Torrey Peters, acclaimed author of Detransition, Baby and Stag Dance, for a deeply honest conversation about the realities of the modern writing life.

Torrey opens up about the emotional labour of touring, the pressures of book marketing, and how societal change shapes creative expression. Together, we discuss desire, identity, and transformation—recurring themes in Torrey’s work—and explore what it means to create art that resists categorisation while inviting empathy and confrontation in equal measure.

From the burnout of promotion to the beauty of connection, Torrey reflects on the messy, necessary work of making meaning in a world that often wants neat narratives. It’s a conversation about honesty, risk, and the courage to keep writing, even when everything feels like it’s falling apart.

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Photo Credit: Hunter Abrams

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