Author Interviews

Books

Omotara James releases her debut poetry collection: 'Song of My Softening'

11:00am February 21, 2024

by Devan Schwartz

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to poet and author Omotara James about her collection which explores self-love in a Black, fat body. She is a two-time Pushcart Prize nominee and a Lambda literary fellow.

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Writer Phillip B. Williams brought the power of conjuring into his debut novel 'Ours'

6:00pm February 20, 2024

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with writer Phillip B. Williams about his debut novel, Ours, a sprawling American epic that centers on a woman who frees enslaved people and builds a hidden town for them.

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Books

Award-winning Arab American journalist writes about her search for belonging

7:08am February 20, 2024

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with Emmy Award winning journalist Hala Gorani about her memoir, But You Don't Look Arab, and what it's like to cover the world as a Syrian-American journalist.

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Books
Arts

'Oscar Wars' spotlights bias, blind spots and backstage battles in the Academy

2:01pm February 19, 2024

by Terry Gross

From relentless campaigning to snubs and speeches, the Academy Awards have often reflected a cultural conflict zone. Michael Schulman discusses the controversies. Originally broadcast Feb. 22, 2023.

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Books

Lucy Sante on her memoir 'I Heard Her Call My Name'

8:04am February 18, 2024

by Don Gonyea

NPR's Don Gonyea talks with writer Lucy Sante about her memoir, "I Heard Her Call My Name," which recounts her gender transition at age 66.

Books

Brontez Purnell plays on the idea of memoir in 'Ten Bridges I've Burnt'

5:55pm February 17, 2024

NPR's Camila Domonoske speaks with Brontez Purnell about his new book, Ten Bridges I've Burnt: A Memoir in Verse.

Books

Filmmaker Ed Zwick on his memoir 'Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions'

8:03am February 17, 2024

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon talk with writer-director Ed Zwick about his memoir, "Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood."

Books

'Thank You Please Come Again' is an ode to the food of Southern gas stations

7:52am February 11, 2024

by Debbie Elliott

NPR's Debbie Elliott talks with photographer Kate Medley about her book, "Thank You Please Come Again," on eateries in Southern gas stations. She also speaks with Otha Campbell who helps run one.

Books

New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin's new book collects his reporting on the media

7:58am February 10, 2024

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon asks writer Calvin Trillin about his new collection of reporting on reporters. It's called "The Lede: Dispatches from a Life in the Press."

Books

Yangsze Choo on her new novel 'The Fox Wife'

7:58am February 10, 2024

by Scott Simon

A fox's spirit, able to take the form of a woman, hunts for the man who killed her daughter in Yangsze Choo's new novel. Choo talks with NPR's Scott Simon about "The Fox Wife."