The Bleeding Margin Podcast: Interview with author Lacey Dunham

In this episode of The Bleeding Margin Podcast recorded at the 2025 Miami Book Fair, Vivian and John Mark sit down with DC author Lacey Dunham to talk about her debut Gothic novel, The Belles. We get into her journey from early childhood teacher and bookseller to novelist, the failed “serious” book that came before this one, and how she finally leaned into ghosts, dark academia, and Southern Gothic to write the story she actually wanted to tell. Lacey digs into outsiderhood, class, toxic white femininity, and the difference between belonging and conformity at a 1950s women’s college, and we explore how the hauntings in The Belles work on both supernatural and deeply human levels.

Learn more about the author at her website.