When James McBride, a National Book Award winner for his fiction, decided to write an entire book about James Brown, he wanted to push beyond the hype and racism he says haunts Brown's legacy.
It's difficult to name a play in which Shakespeare doesn't cook up a bit of conflict around the table. The juiciest plot twists often happened when characters gathered for a meal.
DiCamillo says Raymie Nightingale, the 10-year-old protagonist at the heart of her latest novel, is a lot like she was as a child: "Very introverted, watching, worrying, wondering, but also hopeful."
Returning to a book you've read before can feel like getting a drink with an old friend. But even though the book's the same, you yourself may have changed — and that's what makes rereading so rich.
Andrés Reséndez' new book is a careful and scholarly examination of the enslavement of indigenous people in the Americas. It lays bare a shameful chapter of history, with a clear line to the present.
Thomas Jefferson is one of America's founders and, even after centuries, a mystery. Annette Gordon-Reed talks about the book she co-wrote with Peter Onuf, Most Blessed of the Patriarchs.
Tyler Fournier has Asperger's. His dad, Ron Fournier, columnist for The Atlantic and National Journal, tells NPR's Scott Simon about what he's learned from his son and his new book, "Love That Boy."
Monday, the Pulitzer Prize winners will be announced, and this year will mark the Pultizers' centennial. Scott Simon talks with Roy Harris, who's written a book about the awards, "Pulitzer's Gold."
To mark the 100th anniversary of the Pulitzer Prizes, Scott Simon will speak with past Pulitzer winners over the next few months. Simon previews this week's conversation with Annette Gordon-Reed.