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Nancy Foley on her debut novel, 'I Am Agatha'

Stella Lee

Nancy Foley’s debut novel, I Am Agatha, was loosely inspired by the life of painter Agnes Martin and the time she spent living and working in New Mexico. This time and place is where Foley’s book begins, in the 1970s when our main character, Agatha, is at a crossroads of sorts - working through the logistics of where she thinks her lover, who is dealing with dementia, should spend the last phase of her life. Agatha has a one-of-a-kind voice—often prickly, and so self-assured that she simply ignores the wishes of those around her.

I Am Agatha was published by Avid Reader Press.

Plus, book critic, Suzanne Perez, looks at a debut novel that reveals itself little by little through a collection of narrators, and keeps you turning the pages.

Good People by Patmeena Sabit was published by Crown.

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Editors: Lu Anne Stephens & Haley Crowson
Producer: Haley Crowson
Theme Music: Torin Andersen
Host: Beth Golay

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Beth Golay is KMUW's Director of Marketing and Digital Content. She is the host of the KMUW podcast Marginalia, co-host with Suzanne Perez of the Books & Whatnot podcast, creator of the podcast You're Saying It Wrong, creator of KMUW's daily news podcast Wichita's Early Edition, and NPR StoryLab Workshop team member on the award-winning podcast My Fellow Kansans.