An Antarctic Disaster in Quan Berry's 'The Unveiling'

Summary

All Of It – “An Antarctic Disaster in Quan Berry's 'The Unveiling'”

Podcast: All Of It
Host: Alison Stewart (WNYC)
Guest: Quan Berry, author, poet, and professor
Release Date: October 23, 2025
Episode Theme: A wide-ranging conversation with Quan Berry about her new literary horror novel, The Unveiling, set on an Antarctic luxury cruise gone disastrously wrong. The episode delves into themes of isolation, race, group dynamics in crisis, the craft of literary horror, and Berry's creative process.

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Alison Stewart sits down with Quan Berry to discuss her ambitious new novel, The Unveiling. The story follows Stryker, a Black film professional, who finds herself among a diverse group of wealthy tourists stranded on an Antarctic island after a cruise ship accident. The conversation explores how Berry uses the Antarctic setting as both a literal and metaphorical landscape, her handling of horror and humor, and deeper questions of identity, perception, and group survival.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Setting Antarctica as the Stage for Horror

• Pristine Isolation and Psychological Depth:
  “Antarctica is the only landmass that was ever actually discovered by man... there’s no civilization, whatever you bring, it's because you brought that with you. Your demons, your ghosts, your whatever you’re carrying inside yourself. So that's why I knew that would be the perfect backdrop for this book.” — Quan Berry [03:09]

• Personal Experience Influencing Fiction:
  Berry visited Antarctica herself in 2004, giving her unique insight into the setting’s alien qualities.

Main Character – Stryker

• "The Ass of the Earth":
  Stryker calls Antarctica “the ass of the Earth,” reflecting her sense of displacement and detachment. Her feelings about the trip are colored by her role as the only Black person and her work-first mentality.
  “So the fact that she describes it as the ass of the world sort of tells you a little bit about… the kind of mindset she’s taking into this place.” — Berry [04:00]

• Work-Life Balance and Identity:
  Stryker is described as a classic work-driven loner, someone who is always tasked with difficult jobs.
  “I would say no [to decent work-life balance]... there’s enough there that readers can sort of infer that, yes, that work is her life.” — Berry [04:55]

• Name Origin and Characterization:
  “Even the fact that she goes by Stryker, I think, also signifies that [she’s a bit of a loner].” — Berry [05:06]
  The name was “stolen” from a friend of a friend.

• Skill at Reading People and Double Consciousness:
  Drawing from W.E.B. Du Bois’s concept of “the veil,” Berry comments, “A lot of Black people, a lot of people of color, a lot of LGBTQ people… have had to learn how to read people and to know, can I be my true self around you or do I have to keep a little of me back? ...She definitely has that.” [05:50]

Group Dynamics and Literary Structure

• Absence of Chapters – Sense of Disorientation:
  "The book, interestingly, I think, doesn't have any chapter breaks... pacing was very important to me and I didn't want there to be chapter breaks because... once the accident starts, it's go, go, go. And then hopefully by the end, the question is... how much time has passed?" — Berry [07:12]

• Gilligan’s Island Structure and Archetypes:
  The early pages introduce characters via archetypes, akin to “Gilligan’s Island,” to establish initial perceptions and underlying tensions. [08:10]

• Redacted Pages – Psychological Blackouts:
  The novel contains pages with redacted text, visually representing memory blackouts or trauma. Berry intentionally leaves these moments ambiguous for readers' interpretation.
  “In some ways I'm very cagey about, like, actually, like, this is supposed to represent X, Y or Z, because I think there's all different kinds of ways in which people can make sense of it.” — Berry [09:52]

Exploring Group Survival and Social Dynamics

• Realistic Reactions to Disaster:
  “Surprisingly people don't react the way you think they would ... in these kinds of situations, especially when you realize they're going to be going on for a while ... wanted to show the full range of how people react … dark humor, textbook fear, resilience.” — Berry [10:10]

• Berry and Stewart Share Personal Coping Stories:
  Berry: “I was the one who powered us through... And then once on the plane, it was like, oh, okay.” [11:05]
  Stewart: “After 9/11...I cleaned the bathroom. I wasn't needed...and I remember afterward I was just shaking doing it. That was my response.” [11:27]

Diversity, Privilege, and Race

• Crafting Distinct Characters:
  The cast—a little girl with a pet rat, a Texas couple with a nonbinary teen, an out-of-touch wealthy couple—was designed to facilitate conflict, secrets, and shifting alliances. Berry chose 13 as the key group size for optimal narrative tension. [12:10]

• Preconceptions and Social Barriers:
  Stryker’s initial judgments about her privileged fellow passengers inform (and limit) her early interactions, but are challenged as events unfold. [13:08]

• Survival and Social Commentary:
  Berry’s original inspiration came in part from Lord of the Flies and the desire to update this story with modern social commentary, especially following the murder of George Floyd. “[It] could do a lot more work than just being entertaining. And so I really leaned into that fact.” — Berry [13:56]

Literary Influences and Genre Talk

• Cited Influences:
  Berry draws from Shirley Jackson’s Hangsaman, Stephen King’s The Shining, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and particularly Lord of the Flies as key touchstones. She’s drawn more to “interior, psychological kind of stuff” than direct violence or “stabby horror.” [14:33–15:36]

• Humor in Horror:
  The blend of humor and horror is crucial for Berry. “If it was all horror, we would have to look away...the humor helps temper the horror. It's like a green smoothie.” [16:00]

• Poetry and Prose:
  Berry’s background as a poet shapes her fiction, especially her attention to the “inner life” and language. Interestingly, her poetry tends to be dark, but prose has allowed her to express humor. [16:37]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Antarctic as a space for personal confrontation:
  “Whatever you bring, it’s because you brought it with you. Your demons, your ghosts, your whatever you’re carrying inside yourself.” — Quan Berry [03:09]

• On humor and horror:
  “If it was all horror, we’d have to look away… the humor tempers the horror. It’s like a green smoothie... as long as you also have an apple.” — Quan Berry [16:00]

• On memory blackout/redacted pages:
  “There’s so many interpretations out there that are really rich… aren’t necessarily what I envisioned, but aren’t necessarily that far off.” — Quan Berry [09:42]

• On survival reactions:
  “Surprisingly people don’t react the way you think they would… some react with humor, some actually are the more textbook, you know, scared… Others become much more resilient.” — Quan Berry [10:10]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Antarctica as a Literary Setting: [03:09]
• Stryker’s Mindset and Identity: [03:42–04:23]
• Double Consciousness and Reading Others: [05:50]
• Pacing/Lack of Chapters: [07:12]
• Gilligan’s Island Archetypes: [08:10]
• Redacted Pages/Blackouts: [09:12–09:52]
• Depicting Disaster Responses: [10:10]
• Group Size and Composition: [12:10]
• Diversity and Social Commentary: [13:08–13:56]
• Literary Influences: [14:17–15:36]
• Humor and Horror: [16:00]
• Poetry vs. Prose: [16:37]
• What to Look for in Final Chapters: [17:17]

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Final Thoughts

This conversation gives listeners a multidimensional sense of Berry’s inspirations and intentions, as well as an understanding of her techniques in blending horror, humor, psychological realism, and timely social themes. The Unveiling stands as both a tense survival narrative and a platform for nuanced cultural and personal interrogation.

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"Quan Berry’s new novel is titled The Unveiling. It's on shelves now. Thanks for being with us." — Alison Stewart [17:29]

Transcript

[A]

You are listening to all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. I am really glad that you're here. A couple of housekeeping notes. We have not one but two special events next week. Our October get lit with all of It Book club is Tuesday the 28th. We will be in conversation with SA Cosby, the author of King of Ashes. And we'll also hear a special performance from musical guest Ya that is happening at 6pm at the New York Public Library, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library Branch. Tickets are free, but they are almost gone. So grab yours now by heading to wnyc.org getlit Again, that is wnyc.org getlit and speaking of things that are nearly sold out, our latest Broadway on the Radio event. In exactly one week, Thursday the 30th, the cast and creative team from the Broadway musical Hadestown is going to join us live and in person in the WNYC Green space for a special performance at noon. Tickets aren't free, but they are a lot less than the price of a Broadway ticket. And I promise you there are only good seats at the Green space. So grab your spot now by going to wnyc.org events again. That's wnyc.org event events. I hope to see you in person next week. Now let's get this started with the unveiling in a chilling new novel. A black woman named Stryker is on an Antarctic luxury cruise for work, but she's forced to reflect on her past when things go wrong, leaving her and some others stranded on an island. It's titled the Unveiling set in the crystal waters off of what Stryker refers to as, quote, the ass of the Earth. The novel follows Stryker scouting locations for an Ernest Shackleton film, but she doesn't have too much interest in those who choose to be on the ship. An eccentric, wealthy older couple, a tech titan, a Texas couple with a book smart non binary teen. Never mind. The small girl keeps a pet rat. After the accident, the individuals are left to fend for themselves in hostile waters. Animals exhibiting unpredictable behaviors, no way to tell what time it is, little to no food, bodies piling up, and an eerie presence of something otherworldly. A New York Times review calls the unveiling an ambitious work of literary horror marked by bold storytelling moves. Joining us now to discuss is the book's author, poet and playwright Quan Berry. She's also Lorraine Hansberry, professor of English at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, which I'm going to go to. You told me to come in the Fall.

[B]

Yes, that's the time.

[A]

It's nice to talk to you again.

[B]

Fabulous. Thanks for having me.

[A]

All right. You've been to Antarctica?

[B]

I have, yes. I was there in 2004.

[A]

Okay, so what about Antarctica feels like the backdrop for a literary horror novel?

[B]

Ooh, so much to say. So Antarctica is the only landmass that was ever actually discovered by man. So when we talk about discovering other places, like America, you know, Columbus comes here, like, obviously there's people here. Right. The same is true for the Arctic. You know, when people went up there, there were obviously people there. So Antarctica is the only place that we've actually really discovered. Right. And so it means that because there's no cities, there's no civilization, whatever, go. It's because you brought that with you. Your demons, your ghosts, your whatever you're carrying inside yourself. So that's why I knew that would be the perfect backdrop for this book.

[A]

Now, Stryker often jokes, this is the, quote, ass of the Earth.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

How is that description helpful for us in understanding what she's feeling about this trip?

[B]

It's a work trip. So as you mentioned, she's down there scouting locations for a movie biopic about Shackleton.

[A]

Right.

[B]

It's Christmas. Like, she wants to be there, but she might be 40. Yes, exactly. All kinds of things. You know, her friends have told her, you're gonna be the only black person there. Is that gonna be okay? And she's like, the story of my life. So, yeah. So the fact that she, you know, most people going to Antarctica would be like, yes, trip of a lifetime. So the fact that she describes it as the ass of the world sort of tells you a little bit about, you know, the kind of mindset she's taking into this place.

[A]

Well, where is she in her relationship with her career? She's about to turn 40. She's on a location scout. What's going on?

[B]

Yeah, so she's kind of like the go to get it done person. You know, people are always turning to her. So, for example, it's mentioned that nobody else wants to go to an. Because it is Christmas. But for her, she says that that's like a feature and not a bug. Right. Because it means, you know, because the holidays for some people does stuff to them, it means family. It means, you know, togetherness. Right. And so the fact that she's willing to go and nobody else is, again, tells you something about her.

[D]

Does she have a decent work life balance?

[B]

I would say no. No. So, you know, the backstory of her in New York, we Don't really get into. Into it too much, but I think there's enough there that readers can sort of infer that, yes, that work is her life.

[D]

She's a little bit of a loner, would you say?

[B]

You know, even the fact that she goes by Stryker, I think, also so signifies that.

[D]

Where'd you come up with Stryker?

[B]

I'm definitely somebody who steals names from friends of friends of friends. And so in the book that I talked with you about a couple times when I was back here five years ago, there were two characters in it named Boy Corey and Girl Corey. And I had totally stolen that from. Again, friends of Friends, and same thing here. So Stryker, a friend of a friend, goes by Stryker. So I was like, that's the name.

[D]

Does Stryker know that he. She. They are in this book?

[B]

I'm not sure that she does. She's a woman, and that's why it struck me, I think. Yeah.

[A]

So Stryker, even though she's a loner.

[D]

She'S got a good sense of people.

[A]

You know, where does this ability to.

[D]

Have a good sense of people come from?

[B]

So, you know, the book is called the Veiling, and in the opening, there's an epigraph from W.E.B. du Bois, right, in which he talks about the veil and double consciousness. I think a lot of black people, a lot of people of color, a lot of LGBTQ people, right, because our lives have depended on it. We've had to learn how to read people and to know, like, can I be my true self around you, or do I have to keep a little of me back? Right. So she definitely has that. And again, it's the human thing where we meet people, we instantly think we know who they are. We size them up very quickly. So, again, it's compounded, I think, by the fact that she is, you know, a black woman.

[D]

Do you think that skill aids her in the moment that disaster strikes?

[B]

I think it doesn't. I think she thinks it does because she thinks she knows what's going down. But ultimately, she believes that she can't rely on these people because she's already made up stories about them in her head. And so, hopefully, as the book. Book progresses, she sees that maybe some of those stories she's made up aren't quite true and that maybe she can kind of depend on them in certain ways. Maybe. Or maybe not.

[D]

We're discussing the unveiling, a new literary horror novel about a group of tourists turned disaster survivors that are stranded in Antarctica. Its author is Quan Berry. Okay, things take a turn for the Worse early on in the book when they go for a little kayak ride and the guide is killed.

[B]

Yes, yes.

[D]

Tell us about your approach of pacing the novel because that happens pretty quickly. Yeah.

[B]

The book, interestingly, I think, doesn't have any chapter breaks, which people have asked me about.

[D]

Yeah, I noticed that.

[B]

You know, and so as you had mentioned in the opening, you know, the sense of time when you're in Antarctica, the sun doesn't move, you know, it's 24 hour sun. If you're out on the ice, it's very, there's no landmarks, you know, it's very hard to tell how much time has passed. And so, yeah, pacing was very important to me and I didn't want there to be chapter breaks because I, I'm not saying that the book feels claustrophobic, but once things start. So once the accident starts, it's go, go, go. And then hopefully by the end, the question is, you know, was this a minute, was this a day, was this a year? Like how long, how much time has passed? Right. So that's something I was thinking about.

[D]

Well, what details were you willing to give us prior to the incident?

[B]

What details were I willing?

[D]

Yeah, what did you want us to know before the incident?

[B]

So, you know, I chatted with somebody who sort of as shorthand mentioned, you know, the first 40 or 50 pages when we meet all these people, they kind of likened it to like Gilligan's island. You know, on Gilligan's island, because you have the archetypes, right? You have the.

[A]

You do.

[B]

That's so funny. You have the millionaire and his wife, you have the professor, you have the movie star. So those aren't the characters that we meet, but we have shorthand for them. So I really wanted to establish this idea of like who archetypally are these folks and again, what is her preconceptions of who they are?

[D]

But she goes back to her history, to her friend. We get a lot of throwbacks towards. What's the friend's name again? Riley. It goes back to Riley. Why do you bring it back to Riley?

[B]

Yeah, so because Riley is her sort of her conscious, you know, the person who thinks things through. So Riley is the one who's asked her like, are you really sure you want to be going to Antarctica? You know, there's a flashback to Riley and the girls night out where they're all talking about the things that scare them. And some of them are pretty like common things and some of them are a little bit more off the beaten path, you know, so, yeah. So Riley is the voice of reason.

[D]

There's an interesting structure in the book, and I understand it now. I didn't get it at first, but. But there are these pages, like several pages which are redacted. Just blank slate. Slates with a word here or there.

[B]

Yes.

[D]

First of all, how did you come to the structure? How did you come to that structure in the book which we ultimately come to realize are probably blackouts?

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Redaction. I like physically how it looks. I also. There's all kinds of ways. So in talking to readers, I'm hearing from lots of different people about how they interpret what those moments are.

[D]

It's interesting because at first you're like, wait a minute. Yeah, I'm not sure. Is this, like, is it. Is it a sci fi thing or is she doesn't remember what's happening? It's interesting. Yeah.

[B]

And so in talking to readers, because people have their own interpretations. Like, there's so many interpretations out there that are really rich and, like, aren't necessarily what I envisioned, but aren't necessarily that far off.

[D]

Right.

[B]

And so in some ways I'm very cagey about, like, actually, like, this is supposed to represent X, Y or Z, because I think there's all different kinds of ways in which people can make sense of it.

[A]

A lot of the survivors end up on a barren island. What did you want to explore about the mental states of these characters right after the accident?

[B]

Yeah, I think when accidents, like these kinds of things happen. And I'm trying to think, I've only maybe had one serious, serious thing happen to me, but it's the idea that surprisingly, people don't react the way you think they would. Right, right. So in movies, you know, obviously people are running around with their hair on fire, screaming. Right. But oftentimes that's, you know, in these kinds of situations, especially when you realize that they're going to be going on for a while, that there's no easy fix that's gonna happen in five minutes. You know, it's surprising the kinds of things that people. The ways in which people react to that. Some react with humor, like dark humor. Some actually are the more textbook, you know, scared in certain kinds of ways. Others become more. Much more resilient. So I wanted to show the full range of how people react in these kinds of situations.

[A]

Do you remember how you reacted in your situation?

[B]

So I was. I was with a friend. We were very lucky. Basically. We were abroad and we were robbed at gunpoint. But basically what ended up happening was I was the one who powered us through, like all this stuff because I lost my passport. Like all these things happened and it took like two days. And I powered us through it. And then when I finally, two days later got on the plane, that's when I started crying. Like I finally hit me. So for two days I was just like, go, go, go, go. And then once on the plane, it was like, oh, okay.

[D]

I can remember after 9 11, I wasn't needed in the studio at ABC Studios for four hours. And I cleaned the bathroom.

[B]

I was like, that was. I have to get this clean. I have to get it super clean.

[D]

I have to get everything really clean. And I remember afterward I was just shaking doing it. But that was what my response was.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

That was weird.

[B]

Yeah. Not textbook stuff.

[A]

We're discussing the unveiling a new literary horror novel about a group of tourists.

[D]

Turned disaster survivors that are stranded in Antarctica. I'm talking to author Quan Berry.

[A]

Okay, you pick up. You have some really weird people on this. You have the little girl who's like.

[D]

Really creepy, who's got a pet rat.

[A]

A Texas couple with a non Barry.

[D]

Teen, sort of an out of touch, rich older couple. When did you realize you would need like a host of characters?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

No. So in thinking about actual Antarctic explorers, you know, I know quite a bit about, again, the Shackleton expedition. I also know a bit about Robert Scott. And so Scott's final push he had, I think there were five of them total. So I knew, I think that. I think that there's actually like people who've done research about communities, you know, and how big a community can be. Like, for example, I think that isn't the general thought, like 150. You can only really know 150 people or something like that. Right. But then when you think about like really good friends or what size a group has to be in order for there to be conflict and also to be secrets, I think I knew then that roughly how big that group would be. And it turns out it's 13, at least in my world. And as you've mentioned, maybe that 13 does get winnowed and winnowed and winnowed. But again, like I said, you need to have enough people to have conflict and you need to have enough people to think, like, are they against me?

[D]

Well, the other thing is the people on the ship are really wealthy. That's part of the problem. How does their demeanor inform how Stryker chooses to interact with them?

[B]

Yeah, so she. Because again, she's been paid to come down here, right? So she hasn't paid for, you know, for taking this luxury trip. And so because of it though, she, she definitely comes into the situation already having preconceptions as to who these, like, oh, I know who these people are. I know the kind of person who comes down on this trip. Right. And so it does. And at the end of the day, it kind of winnows, like her experience of, you know, genuinely making connections with folks.

[D]

Race is a big part of this novel. Tell us what was intriguing about exploring race in an environment that is so far from normal.

[B]

So just to even back up a little bit, I was in Antarctica in 2004, and then around the 2000 teens, I began playing around with the idea of writing a survival book. That was one of my favorite books is Lord of the Flies, which I think that's a horror book and not a boy's adventure book. I'm like, that's.

[D]

Oh, I agree.

[B]

Yeah, it's horror, like through and through. And so I knew that I wanted to potentially write a modern day retelling of Lord of the Flies. And so I was playing around, just in my head playing around with it. And then honestly, 2020 happens in the murder of George Floyd. And I realized that the kind of story I wanted to tell could also have social overtones. It could do a lot more work than just being entertaining. And so I really leaned into that fact.

[A]

So in the back of the book you cite Shirley Jackson's Hangs Man. Excuse me, Stephen King's the Shining, as you said, Lord of the Flies. How have these authors and their work influenced your writing?

[B]

Yeah, so Stephen King aside, so again, the Shirley Jackson, there's Lord of the Flies, and then there's one other mention to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Yeah. So like I said, these are not people who necess. I guess Shirley Jackson is considered to be horror, but it's like psychological horror. Stephen King people, most people would just put in the sort of horror category. Right. But Lord of the Flies, like we were just talking about, isn't necessarily a book that's seen through that lens. Interestingly, though, Stephen King actually claims that he's a writer of suspense. He doesn't think of himself as a horror.

[A]

Oh, that's interesting.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

And so it's true that I read a lot of. I'd read a lot of him as a teenager somehow, which I don't know how I did it because I scare very easily. I still, I still am scared by. You know, as a kid growing up in the 80s, there were certain movie trailers that I Remember that were terrifying, like, for the one for like the Serpent and the Rainbow with Bill Pullman saying that he's not dead yet. Like, I remember being terrified. I have no idea how I read so much Stephen King, but these people were major influences on me because again, like, they're not. Stephen King may be a little bit aside, but they're not by and large, like stabby kind of horror. It's much more interior, psychological kind of stuff. And that's what I'm interested in.

[A]

So you like Jordan Peele? Yeah.

[B]

Although I have to admit I haven't seen which one is the US because the scissors. Like, the scissors. And I. I don't know how much those scissors are actually used, but in the trailer it was just the. The idea of scissors being used as a weapon. I'm like, ugh, I can't.

[A]

But there is. There is humor in your book as well. Like the way Jordan Peele does. How do humor and horror go hand in hand?

[B]

Yeah, interesting question. I think if it was all horror, we would have to look away. Like, you wouldn't be able, you know. So I think maybe you can think about it a little bit like a. This is an analogy I've used before for other things. But like a green smoothie, right. So you can have kale, you can have spinach. You know, as long as you also have an apple. Right. Or you have a little something. Sweet grapes. So I think that the humor helps. Again, temper, temper the horror.

[A]

No green smoothies. You are also a poet, which I think is interesting. Where do you find your poetic side coming out when you're writing a novel? Or does it just. Is it separate?

[B]

Yeah. You know, my first four books that I published were all poetry books. And then I started writing fiction. And I've told people like I had thought. Cause in real life, I think, like, I'm kind of a light person. I'm kind of semi funny or whatever. But my poetry is not in any way, shape or form funny. It's very hard. I'd never really written a funny poem. And so. So I assumed that I wasn't a funny writer. I just assumed that. But when I began working in other genres, I discovered like, wait a second. I actually. I am kind of a funny person and I can be a funny writer. So working in other genres really helped me bring that out.

[A]

So if somebody is going to read the unveiling, I told you, I'm about a hundred pages in.

[D]

I haven't gotten to.

[A]

I've gotten. Gotten to the completely good parts yet. What? What should I pay attention to in the last hundred pages?

[B]

Ooh, what should I pay attention to? Stryker's Inner. I mean, it's the inner life.

[A]

Inner life.

[B]

Yeah, it's the inner life.

[A]

Quan Berry's new novel is titled the Unveiling. It's on shelves now. Thanks for being with us.

[B]

Thank you for having me.

[C]

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