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We are delighted that Aaron John Curtis made time to chat with us about his new novel , which will publish on May 6. This debut novel has already received starred reviews from both and . Learn more about how the author’s own experiences impact the story and why he thinks libraries offer a guilt-free opportunity to read new books.

Ingram Library Services: Can you give us your elevator pitch for Old School Indian?

Aaron John Curtis: A Mohawk dude living in Miami gets diagnosed with a terminal illness, so he goes home to his Reservation on the border between New York and Canada for a healing.

ILS: What inspired this novel?

AJC: About 1.5 million people in the US have Rheumatoid Arthritis; it has identifying markers and a prescribed course of treatment. Six people have the autoimmune disorder I have, and the history on it is sparse, which means it took months to diagnose me and treatment was a lot of experimentation.

In the book, Abe complains that Johns Hopkins and the National Organization for Rare Disorders can’t even agree on a name for his condition, and this was also true of mine. All my fear and frustration came out in a short story I brought to my writers�� group, and they encouraged me to go full autofiction. While I expanded the story, an image came into my mind of an Elder winging a tomahawk like he was hitting a homerun. In writing towards that image, the narrative started to break away from my life story and my family’s stories and become its own thing, a mix of real life and fiction.

ILS: You’re a longtime bookseller and have been a judge for multiple book awards. What was unexpected about writing your own novel?

AJC: The length and back-and-forth of the editing process. For more than a year, post-sale of the manuscript, I had a new editing deadline coming up. As a bookseller, I’ve always wondered what the differences are from a bound manuscript to an ARC to a preview edition to the final book. Now I know.  

ILS: There’s a rich cast of characters in Old School Indian, not least among them Abe’s poetic alter ego, Dominick Deer Woods. How did you bring Dominick to life?

AJC: The early drafts were angry and hostile towards the reader. I imagined an audience who had never thought of Native issues, and in doing so had made my protagonist’s life harder. My own fear of dying didn’t help. I started playing with point of view, then Dominick stepped in as a liminal narrator between first person and third person. Dominick was like, “How about we express these things in a way that’s not bumming everyone out?��

ILS: What’s the best book you’ve read recently?

AJC: Danzy Senna’s . Publishing, Hollywood, financial struggles, the artistic process, motherhood, marriage �� there are so many layers, and she makes it all seem effortless. As a bonus, it’s funny. Jane is a messy protagonist, and her decisions are confounding, but damn if she doesn’t make those pages fly.

ILS: What’s next?

AJC: I have a few projects I’m excited about, but I’m afraid discussing the work will make it something I talk about instead of something I do. For now, I’m going to be present and grateful during my book tour, try to channel my inner extrovert, and enjoy the ride.

ILS: Can you share a favorite memory of, or experience with, a library?

AJC: Whenever I move, the first thing I do is get a library card. I always promise myself I’m going to stop buying new books and focus on reading the books I already have, but authors keep putting out great work and foiling my plans. Libraries are a loophole in the system �� I can read as many as I want without feeling guilty for my overflowing shelves.

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