Author Interviews

Shiny wine and water glasses and cutlery are on the wooden table. Fabric napkins on the plates are folded into triangles. Table is covered with tablecloth.

Books
Arts

At your service: A restaurant maître d' tells all in 'Your Table Is Ready'

1:50pm December 06, 2022

by Dave Davies

Michael Cecchi-Azzolina has worked in several high-end New York City restaurants — adrenaline-fueled workplaces where booze and drugs are plentiful and the health inspector will ruin your day.

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Will It Be Okay? written by Crescent Dragonwagon and illustrated by Jessica Love

Books
Arts

Kids want to know: 'Will It Be Okay?' — this book answers that question

7:48am December 04, 2022

by Samantha Balaban

Crescent Dragonwagon was in her 20s when she wrote a story told entirely in dialogue between a mother and her child. Now, she's updating her 1977 text with new illustrations by Jessica Love.

Books

Mac Barnett and Marla Frazee on their children's book 'The Great Zapfino'

7:49am December 03, 2022

An acrobat loses his nerve and gets a regular job, but a moment comes when he must perform. Mac Barnett and illustrator Marla Frazee talk about their children's book "The Great Zapfino."

Books

Lily Brooks-Dalton on her new novel 'The Light Pirate'

7:49am December 03, 2022

by Sarah McCammon

Intense storms ravage Florida. Heat makes it deadly during the day, but a few people stay. NPR's Sarah McCammon talks with Lily Brooks-Dalton about her new novel, "The Light Pirate."

Journalist Maria Ressa explains 'How to Stand Up to a Dictator'

1:45pm November 30, 2022

by Dave Davies

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist faced criminal charges in the Philippines after her news site's reporting angered government officials. How to Stand Up to a Dictator is her new memoir.

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Books

Author Jas Hammonds on their new book, 'We Deserve Monuments'

6:35pm November 29, 2022

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with author Jas Hammonds about their new book, "We Deserve Monuments."

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Ukrainian flags fly in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 19, marking the graves of soldiers killed in action following the Russian invasion earlier this year.

A journalist's plea to the West: 'Pay attention to Ukraine and its fate'

1:36pm November 29, 2022

by Terry Gross

Invasion author Luke Harding began reporting from Ukraine in December 2021 and was in Kyiv the night before the Russian invasion began. "There is no mood inside Ukrainian society to yield," he says.

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Books

Comedian Rob Delaney finds his way through grief after his 2-year-old son died

5:03am November 29, 2022

Actor and writer Rob Delaney speaks with NPR's Rachel Martin about his latest memoir: A Heart That Works. It's about the death of his young son Henry, who had brain cancer.

Books

Encore: Drummer Terri Lyne Carrington on her book, 'New Standards'

6:30pm November 28, 2022

NPR's Juana Summers talks with drummer Terri Lyne Carrington, who compiled a book of lead sheets by women composers after she couldn't find one herself. Her book is called "New Standards."

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Books

'Winterland' explores the cost of perfection through the story of Soviet gymnasts

8:14am November 27, 2022

by David Folkenflik

What is the cost of perfection? NPR's David Folkenflik talks with Rae Meadows about her new novel, "Winterland." It tells the story of Soviet gymnasts and the system that made and often broke them.