Q&A with David Fitzpatrick

David Fitzpatrick’s first book, “Sharp: My Story of Madness, Cutting and How I Reclaimed My Life,” chronicles his 20-year struggle with mental illness. His works have been published by The Huffington Post, The New Haven Review, Barely South Review, and Fiction Weekly. David was born in Dearborn, Mich., grew up in Connecticut, graduated from Skidmore College, and earned his M.F.A. degree from Fairfield University in 2011.

What are the best books you’ve read recently?
My favorite recent book is one I finished recently – short stories by Nick Knittel called “Good Things.”

What was your favorite book as a child?
My favorite books are a tie between “Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel” by Virginia Lee Burton and “I Am the Cheese” by Robert Cormier and “Jesus’ Son” by Denis Johnson and Updike’s “Rabbit, Run.”

Why do you enjoy attending book festivals, either as a presenter or audience member?
I’ve only been to one writing festival as a fan a year and a half ago in West Hartford, Connecticut and found it mediocre and not well organized. (It was their first one, so they get some slack!)

Have you been to the D.C. area before? If so, what is your favorite thing about it?
My father’s brother and sister live in Virginia Beach and Vienna, Virginia, so we’re usually up here to see them. My favorite spot is the National Gallery.

What is the most difficult, or challenging, aspect of being a writer?
I find the hardest thing for me to do is start a lengthy project, a novel or a longer nonfiction piece after completing a book. It takes me a pretty good amount of time before I can fully commit to it, embrace it.