Author Interviews

Books

Nigella Lawson On How To Find Peace While Cooking

5:12pm September 10, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with cookbook writer Nigella Lawson about her latest book Cook, Eat, Repeat and how to stop viewing cooking as tedious and, instead, find peace in the kitchen.

Books

Some Novels And Short Stories That Have Been Inspired By The 9/11 Attacks

6:11am September 09, 2021

NPR's Rachel Martin talks with author Marlon James about how novelists have approached writing about the Sept. 11 attacks. He also has some reading recommendations.

Books

Pakistani Novelist Mohsin Hamid Explains What 9/11 Meant For Pakistan

5:19am September 09, 2021

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Pakistani novelist Mohsin Hamid about the sprawling and tragic effects of the war in Afghanistan. Hamid's novels include: The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Exit West.

The state of Alabama has a new poet laureate: Ashley M. Jones is the first Black poet to claim the title, and at 31, also the youngest.

Books
Arts

Alabama's First Black Poet Laureate Takes A Personal Approach To 'Reparations'

6:56am September 08, 2021

by Jeevika Verma

Ashley M. Jones is Alabama's youngest and first Black poet laureate. Her new book Reparations Now! discusses America's history of Black oppression, and asks for more than monetary repairs.

Joy Harjo's memoir is Poet Warrior. She plays saxophone and recites poetry on her new album, I Pray for My Enemies.

Books
Arts

'Poet Warrior' Joy Harjo Wants Native Peoples To Be Seen As Human

4:43pm September 07, 2021

by Terry Gross

The nation's first Native American poet laureate has a new memoir in which she tells her own story — as well as the story of her sixth-generation grandfather, who was forced from his ancestral land.

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Hilma Wolitzer On Writing The Short Story That Helped Her Process Her Husband's Death

4:35pm September 07, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Hilma Wolitzer about her collection of short stories, Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket, which illuminates the complexity of motherhood and marriage.

Books
Arts

How A Cotton Sack, Passed Down Over Generations, Tells A Larger Story About Slavery

1:42pm September 07, 2021

by Arun Venugopal

In her new book, All That She Carried, historian Tiya Miles tells the story of an enslaved woman who, upon hearing her child was to be sold off, hastily packed her a bag with a few personal items.

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Books

As The TV Industry Praised Michaela Coel, She Says She Felt Like A Misfit

6:14am September 07, 2021

by Sam Sanders

Michaela Coel has earned acclaim for her show: I May Destroy You, which explored sexual assault and consent. Her book, Misfits: A Personal Manifesto, details her experiences in TV.

Books

'Red Roulette' Reveals The Inside Of China's Wealth-Making Machine

5:46am September 06, 2021

In his new book Red Roulette: An Insider's Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption, and Vengeance in Today's China, Desmond Shum writes about the disappearance of his ex-wife in China.

Books

In 'Loteria,' Life And Death Battle For A Girl's Fate

9:11am September 05, 2021

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with Karla Valenti about her middle-grade novel, Loteria. Life and Death meet to play a game, choosing a girl who'll either live or die depending on who wins.