Literature

Literature

episodes

Interviews with writer of creative fiction and non-fiction about their new books.

You Write Because You Want to Feel Free: Katie Kitamura and Alexander Manshel (SW)

April 25, 2024

You Write Because You Want to Feel Free

Katie Kitamura
Hosted by Novel Dialogue

Although Katie Kitamura feels free when she writes—free from the “soup of everyday life,” from the political realities that weigh upon her, and even a…

"Oxford American" Magazine: A Discussion with Danielle Amir Jackson

April 25, 2024

"Oxford American" Magazine

Danielle Amir Jackson
Hosted by Dan Hill

Danielle Amir Jackson is a Memphis-born writer and critic, and the editor-in-chief of the Oxford American. Her work has appeared in the New York Times…

Anthony Valerio, "Confessions of an Aspiring Pornographer" (Grailing Press, 2024)

April 25, 2024

Confessions of an Aspiring Pornographer

Anthony Valerio
Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Anthony Valerio's novel Confessions of an Aspiring Pornographer (Grailing Press, 2024) tells the story of Walter Michael Gregory. Call him Wally. Wa…

"Akmaral" (Regal House, 2024): A Discussion with Judith Lindbergh

April 24, 2024

"Akmaral" (Regal House, 2024)

Judith Lindbergh
Hosted by Maggie Freeman

Inspired by the legends of Amazon women warriors told by ancient Greek historian Herodotus and evidenced by recent archaeological discoveries in Centr…

Tarek El-Ariss, "Water on Fire: A Memoir of War" (Other Press, 2024)

April 24, 2024

Water on Fire

Tarek El-Ariss
Hosted by Tugrul Mende

In this evocative, insightful memoir, a leading voice in Middle Eastern Studies revisits his childhood in war-torn Lebanon and his family’s fascinatin…

Artem Chapeye, "The Ukraine" (Seven Stories Press, 2024)

April 24, 2024

The Ukraine

Artem Chapeye

A stunning debut collection of fiction and creative nonfiction-- irreverent and unglorified; loving and tender; uncomfortable and inconvenient--by a U…

Ruth Reichl, "The Paris Novel" (Random House, 2024)

April 19, 2024

The Paris Novel

Ruth Reichl
Hosted by C. P. Lesley

Stella St. Vincent, a thirty-something copy editor in 1980s New York, has survived a relationship with her mother, Celia, so complicated that even the…

The Things We Didn't Know: A Conversation with Elba Iris Pérez

April 18, 2024

The Things We Didn't Know

Elba Iris Pérez

Today’s book is: The Things We Didn’t Know (Gallery Books, 2024), by Dr. Elba Iris Pérez’s. A cross-cultural coming-of-age story, The Things We Didn’t…

Greg Sarris, "The Forgetters" (Heyday Books, 2024)

April 16, 2024

The Forgetters

Greg Sarris
Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

In Greg Sarris' book The Forgetters (Heyday Books, 2024), Answer Woman, a crow, cannot come up with a story until she is asked by Question Woman, her …

Ihsan Abdel Kouddous, "A Nose and Three Eyes" (Hoopoe, 2024)

April 14, 2024

A Nose and Three Eyes

Ihsan Abdel Kouddous
Hosted by Tugrul Mende

Written by iconic Egyptian novelist Ihsan Abdel Kouddous, this classic of love, desire, and family breakdown smashed through taboos when first publish…

On Monsters, Goddesses and Myths: A Discussion with Author Katherine Marsh

April 13, 2024

On Monsters, Goddesses and Myths: A Discussion with Author Katherine Marsh

Katherine Marsh
Hosted by Paul Starobin

“We’re not monsters, Mom. We’re goddesses—smart, fearless, and beautiful.” That’s the voice of Ava, the superpowered protagonist of Katherine Marsh’s …

Rachel Greenlaw, "Compass and Blade" (Inkyard Press, 2024)

April 12, 2024

Compass and Blade

Rachel Greenlaw
Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

Rachel Greenlaw's debut young adult romantasy, Compass and Blade (Inkyard Press, 2024) is filled with sirens and mysterious magic, swoony romance and …

Zhang Ling, "Aftershock" (Amazon Crossing, 2024)

April 12, 2024

Aftershock

Zhang Ling
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In the summer of 1976, an earthquake swallows up the city of Tangshan, China. Among the hundreds of thousands of people scrambling for survival is a m…

D. J. Green, "No More Empty Spaces" (She Writes Press, 2024)

April 9, 2024

No More Empty Spaces

D. J. Green
Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

No More Empty Spaces (She Writes Press, 2024) opens with Will Ross, an engineering geologist, who shares custody of his three children with his ex-wif…

Wole Talabi, "Convergence Problems" (Astra Publishing House, 2024)

April 7, 2024

Convergence Problems

Wole Talabi
Hosted by Rebekah Buchanan

In his new story collection Convergence Problems (DAW Books, 2024), Wole Talabi investigates the rapidly changing role of technology and belief in our…

"River Teeth" Magazine: A Discussion with Jill Christman and Mark Neely

April 4, 2024

"River Teeth" Magazine

Hosted by Dan Hill

Today’s spotlight is in part on the literary magazine River Teeth. I’m joined by the magazine’s senior editors, Jill Christman and Mark Ne…

Nell Freudenberger, "The Limits" (Knopf, 2024)

April 2, 2024

The Limits

Nell Freudenberger
Hosted by Chris Holmes

The most thrilling work yet from the best-selling, prize-winning author of The Newlyweds and Lost and Wanted, a stunning new novel set in French Polyn…

Deborah Kalb, "Off to Join the Circus" (Apprentice House, 2023)

April 2, 2024

Off to Join the Circus

Deborah Kalb
Hosted by G. P. Gottlieb

In Deborah Kalb’s debut adult novel Off to Join the Circus (Apprentice House Press 2023) it’s 2018, Howard Pinsky’s sister Adele, who ran away in 1954…

"Ploughshares" Magazine: A Discussion with Ladette Randolph

March 31, 2024

"Ploughshares" Magazine

Ladette Randolph
Hosted by Dan Hill

Ladette Randolph has served as editor-in-chief of Ploughshares literary journal since 2008, where she had acquired numerous notable essays and short …

Greg Wrenn, "Mothership: A Memoir of Wonder and Crisis" (Regalo Press, 2024)

March 27, 2024

Mothership

Greg Wrenn
Hosted by Claire Clark

A dazzling, evidence-based account of one man’s quest to heal from complex PTSD by turning to endangered coral reefs and psychedelic plants after trad…