Author Interviews

British author Bernardine Evaristo poses with her book Girl, Woman, Other. She would later win the 2019 Booker Prize for Fiction, an honor she shared with Margaret Atwood.

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Arts

The Booker Prize Is Shared By The 12 Black Brits In 'Girl, Woman, Other'

8:12am November 09, 2019

by Scott Simon

Bernardine Evaristo's new award-winning novel follows a dozen different characters, aged 19-93. "I wanted to put as many black British women into it as possible," the author says.

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Arts

How The Fugitive Slave Act Paved The Way For The Civil War

1:56pm November 08, 2019

by Terry Gross

Author Andrew Delbanco says Northerners began to realize slavery wasn't just a Southern issue after the passage of the 1850 law. His book is The War Before The War. Originally broadcast Nov. 6, 2018.

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Saeed Jones has served as BuzzFeed's LGBT editor and culture editor, and is the author of Prelude to Bruise.

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'We're All Struggling': Writer Saeed Jones Reflects On Identity And Acceptance

12:54pm November 07, 2019

by Terry Gross

"It was perilous to be a black gay boy in America," Jones says of the fear and isolation he experienced growing up in Texas in the 1990s. His new memoir is How We Fight for Our Lives.

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Detail of cover of Mobituaries by Mo Rocca

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In 'Mobituaries,' Mo Rocca Gives People The Second Send-Offs They Deserved

6:13pm November 06, 2019

by David Greene

The humorist has expanded his podcast series into a book of essays on the historical figures (and objects, like station wagons, and empires, like Prussia) that didn't get enough love the first time.

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Ringo Starr is the photographer and the photographed in his latest book, Another Day In The Life.

Ringo Starr Gives Us Another Peek Behind The Curtain With 'Another Day In The Life'

6:27am November 06, 2019

His latest book contains over 500 photographs, a combination of images shot by Ringo himself and bits pulled from The Beatles' archives.

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Cover detail of Volume Control, by David Owen.

From Lawn Mowers To Rock Concerts, Our 'Deafening World' Is Hurting Our Ears

4:44pm November 05, 2019

by Dave Davies

Volume Control author David Owen says our ears largely evolved in a far quieter time than the one we currently live in. He warns that the ambient noises that surround us pose a threat to our hearing.

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Allison Moorer's music has been nominated for an Oscar, a Grammy and an Academy of Country Music Award.

Years After Her Parents' Murder-Suicide, Musician Allison Moorer Finds Healing

4:27pm November 04, 2019

by Terry Gross

More than three decades after the death of her parents, Moorer has a new memoir and companion album, both called Blood, about her abusive father and the emotional scars of being orphaned at 14.

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Books

'Felon' Author Says, 'Everybody Has To Tell Their Kids Something'

5:41pm November 03, 2019

by Leila Fadel

Lawyer-poet Reginald Dwayne Betts for years hid the fact that he had served time in prison. Now, this time in his life is at the center of his new collection of poems.

In the Dream House: A Memoir, by Carmen Maria Machado

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In The 'Dream House,' Carmen Maria Machado Recounts Nightmares

3:39pm November 03, 2019

by Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Carmen Maria Machado's new memoir is a haunting account of an abusive relationship with a former girlfriend. One of the hardest things in the book, she says, was acknowledging the damage it did.

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Books

Book: 'Faith In American Public Life'

5:12pm November 02, 2019

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with author Melissa Rogers, who served as Special Assistant to President Obama and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.