An Interview with Brian Castleberry
Brian Castleberry, associate professor of English and creative writing, recently published his second novel. Sophia Kaisermann ’27 sits down with Castleberry to learn more.
Frequent visitors of St. George Tucker Hall will be familiar with the first-floor shelves displaying faculty-published works. This semester, a new release joined the line-up: The Californians, a novel by Brian Castleberry, associate professor of English and creative writing.
Castleberry first became interested in writing while playing in his high school band. His passion did not lie in playing the bass, but rather in songwriting. “That didn’t really go anywhere,” said Castleberry. “But it definitely got me interested in writing, and especially poetry.”
He began performing beat poetry in coffee shops after graduating from high school. His passion for poetry led him to explore mid-century authors like Kurt Vonnegut, until he decided to pursue prose and study creative writing.
“I did that for a while and really thought that I was gonna be a poet. And then the call of storytelling, you know, I kept coming back to it. And I was like, no, I really want to be a novelist one day,” said Castleberry.
Once at school, Castleberry studied under Toni Graham, a demanding creative writing professor who continually challenged him and saw his potential. “She really changed my life. She made me into a writer,” he said.
After graduating from college, Castleberry pursued graduate study in creative writing, and his thesis was the first iteration of his debut novel, Nine Shiny Objects. He was fascinated by the 1950s. “I just thought it was such a weird time,” said Castleberry.
The story had the same premise as the now published work: A group of people decide to create a utopian society after they hear about a sighting of flying saucers across the sky. A decade after the first inception, however, Castleberry returned to the story, expanding its scale. “I wanted to create this set of characters that were all ... interconnected with this dream of what America could become.” The result? A novel in nine chapters, each following the intertwined lives of nine characters over the later decades of the 20th century.
The Californians, which was published in March 2025, follows a similar structure, this time rotating between three main characters. In this novel, Castleberry draws inspiration from his favorite authors, like Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, and Thomas Mann, who wrote comprehensive sagas with substantial page counts. These wordy epics, however, are often not as popular among modern readers.
“A way around that and a way to create that epic scope is ... if I let these characters kind of build a structure ... have them have their stories. For the reader, that connection between the characters gives it that giant, epic feel. Then I can do both,” said Castleberry. “I can do something that reads in that more kind of contemporary way, but that builds a world that is that big ... that can be about historical change.”
This style also has the benefit of mirroring life in the digital age. “It’s hard to think about the world around us in a way that’s not interconnected.” Even with a familiar narrative structure, writing his second novel had its own set of challenges.
“What people don’t tell you is that the second book is an incredible amount of pressure because all of a sudden you feel like you have something to prove,” Castleberry said. “... You don’t really have to prove anything, but you tell yourself that.”
Once over the initial expectations, he gave himself the freedom to write a story on a larger scale. “I always have fun writing, but I really kind of let myself loose to a certain point and said ‘discover whatever you can,’” he said.
A larger scale also led to a larger page count, with the first drafts being 650 pages, which he, together with the editing team at Mariner Books, was able to cut down to its now 380-page total. Despite the length, Castleberry’s editor, Katherine Nintzel, encouraged him to explore the possibilities and write the story he wanted.
“She really cheerleaded me to keep discovering more of the story and go with it,” he said. “That’s the person who is your champion and is the one who you most have to trust.” This support from the team at Mariner is vital, giving Castleberry the freedom to write stories that he feels passionate about.
“I don’t feel like I want to do anything that isn’t swinging for the fences ... I don’t want to do anything that is not trying to do the biggest thing that I can do, the most significant thing that I can do with my life and my work,” he said. He made a conscious decision to make the subject of his writing America, and although The Californians spans the 20th century, the book provides commentary on the country today.
With the book edited and ready to be published, Castleberry was excited to attend book events for the first time. Since Nine Shiny Objects was released in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, all events were online. This time around, he would meet readers in person, including at a reading of The Californians at the Ampersand International Arts Festival at the College of William and Mary.
Now that The Californians can be found at bookstores all over the world, Castleberry has moved on to new stories. One of these is a big project about his home state of Oklahoma, with his signature expansive time scope and large cast of characters. Another is a smaller piece with only one main character, he is hoping to “keep it simple.” In the meantime, he is looking forward to reading new books and for the next Mission: Impossible movie.