By Elizabeth Howard

Episode Summary

In this episode, Elizabeth Howard speaks with Bsrat Mezghebe about her debut novel, I Hope You Find What You’re Looking For (Liveright/W.W. Norton, 2026). The novel explores family, identity, history, and the complex meanings of home through the stories of Eritrean immigrants living in Washington, D.C. Mezghebe discusses her writing craft, the authors who shaped her work, and how she developed her characters within the broader historical context of Eritrea.

Episode Notes

The music used in the episode’s intro is a classic Eritrean song called “Milenu” by Tewolde Reda. In I Hope You Find What You’re Looking For,  Zewdi mentions this singer during a flashback to her first love.

Bsrat Mezghebe received an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. Her writing has appeared in Guernica, The Paris Review, and the anthology Well–Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves. She lives in the Washington, D.C., area.

Glory Edim is the founder of The Well-Read Black Girl, a podcast and digital literacy platform that celebrates the uniqueness of Black literature and sisterhood. She edited the Well-Read Black Girl anthology, which was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and named a best book of the year by Library Journal. Her latest book, On Girlhood, is a collection of groundbreaking short stories that explore the thin line between Black girlhood and womanhood. The winner of the Innovator’s Award from the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes, Edim worked as a cultural practitioner for over ten years; she serves on the board of Baldwin for the Arts. She resides in Washington D.C., with her son, Zikomo.

Center for Fiction

Our mission is to support readers and writers of all ages and backgrounds, and to build community through fiction. From our vibrant home in Downtown Brooklyn, we offer a wide range of programming for local and national audiences. Through our Events, Reading Groups, Library, and Bookstore, we inspire readers to explore classic and contemporary literature. In our Workshops and Writers Studio, emerging and established writers hone their craft and develop new work. Our Fellowships and Awards champion fresh talent and celebrate excellence in fiction. Through our KidsRead programs with New York City public schools, we foster a lifelong love of books among our youngest readers.

The Short Fuse Podcast  is hosted by Elizabeth Howard. She talks with artists, writers, musicians, and others whose art reveals our communities through their lens and stirs us to seek change through their art, music, ideas, and performances. James Baldwin reminds us that “artists are here to disturb the peace.”  Her articles related to communication and marketing have appeared in European Communications, Investor Relations, Law Firm Marketing & Profit Report, Communication World, The Strategist, and the New York Law Journal, among others.  Her books include Queen Anne’s Lace and Wild Blackberry Pie, (Thornwillow Press, 2011), A Day with Bonefish Joe (David Godine, 2015), and Ned O’Gorman:  A Glance Back (Easton Studio Press, 2016). @elizh24 on Instagram

Gerald Kent is the producer and editor of the Short Fuse. Based in Cape Town, South Africa. He is a talented musician and audio engineer who has been releasing his own music independently since 2021. Alongside his artistry, he’s built up experience working with multiple clients in the podcasting space, from editing to full-scale production.

Hannah Brueske manages social media and marketing for the Short Fuse. She is a senior journalism student at Emerson College, with a special interest in feature stories, arts reporting, and documentary filmmaking. She is active in campus publications as a reporter for The Berkeley Beacon, Emerson’s only independent student newspaper, and the editor-in-chief of The Independent, an arts magazine that covers independent art.

Evelyn Rosenthal copy edits the Short Fuse. She is a singer specializing in jazz and Brazilian music, a freelance editor, and the former editor in chief and head of publications at the Harvard Art Museums. She writes about music for the Arts Fuse and copy edits the magazine.

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