of Reality, was published in April 2008 as part of the 33⅓ series. Unlike other entries in the series, which are non-fiction books that focus on an album's production or legacy, Darnielle's book on Master of Reality was instead a fictional narrative in the form of a novella, centering around a young man held in a psychiatric facility in the mid-1980s who is attempting to retrieve his confiscated Walkman and tape of the album. Darnielle's first novel, titled Wolf in White Van, was published on September 16, 2014, and was nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction two days later. His second novel, Universal Harvester, was published on February 7, 2017. Darnielle's third novel, Devil House, was published on January 25, 2022. One year later, it was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel. From 2004 to 2011 Darnielle created and wrote the webzine Last Plane To Jakarta, citing other projects as the reason for its abandonment. He writes the "South Pole Dispatch" feature in Decibel Magazine every month. Darnielle also guest edited the poetry section of The Mays, an anthology of the best creative work coming out of Oxford and Cambridge. Darnielle wrote the introduction to the June 2016 book The Empty Bottle Chicago: 21+ Years of Music / Friendly / Dancing, about the eponymous nightclub. Podcasting In 2012, Darnielle guest starred in John Hodgman's podcast Judge John Hodgman serving as an expert witness and musical guest. Since 2017 he has co-hosted the podcast "I Only Listen to the Mountain Goats" with Joseph Fink. Each episode of the podcast explores one Mountain Goats song in great detail. In August 2022 Darnielle appeared as a guest on Margaret Killjoy's podcast "Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff". Darnielle appeared on the episodes "The Diggers, the Levelers, the Ranters and John Darnielle" part one and two. Acting In January 2023, Darnielle made his acting debut in "Rest in Metal", the fourth episode of Rian Johnson's television series Poker Face. He portrayed Al, a member of a one-hit-wonder metal band called Doxxxology. Personal life Darnielle has lived in Grinnell, Iowa; Colo, Iowa; Ames, Iowa; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; and Milpitas, California. He currently resides in Durham, North Carolina with his wife Lalitree Darnielle, a botanist and photographer (who was featured playing the banjo in the band's 1998 EP New Asian Cinema), and sons Roman and Moses. Darnielle prays regularly and identifies