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This Month (And Every Month), Black Sci-Fi Writers Look To The Future

8:12pm February 27, 2015

by Alaya Dawn Johnson

For years, black authors stood out in science fiction and fantasy because there were so few. Now, says Alaya Dawn Johnson, though there are still obstacles, black authors are making themselves heard.

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Remembering Bertrice Small, One Of The Original 'Avon Ladies'

8:09pm February 26, 2015

by Bobbi Dumas

Small, who died this week at 77, was one of a group of authors who helped transform romance in the 1970s from a relatively tame, demure genre to the bold, bawdy books that sell by the millions today.

After 'Fifty Shades,' Could This Be The Next Big Online Hit?

11:49am February 23, 2015

by Petra Mayer

After is an epic, erotic fan fiction loosely based on the British boy band One Direction. It's being republished by Simon & Schuster, which is hoping the story's online fans will buy it in book form.

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'First Edition' Of The 'Iliad'? Sure, Right Next To That 'FIrst Edition' Bible

12:36pm February 22, 2015

An online used bookstore reports that demand for a "first edition" of Homer's Iliad has soared, thanks to a new thriller starring Jennifer Lopez.

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Matt Sumell's fiction has appeared in Electric Literature, The Paris Review and McSweeney's, among other outlets.

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Through 10 Years Of Mining His Grief, A Novelist Makes 'Nice'

9:20am February 21, 2015

by Tom Vitale

Matt Sumell wrote Making Nice in part as a response to his mother's death from cancer. "I was using the good luck of bad luck," he says. "You use what hurts."

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Beloved Japanese Author Answers Questions At 'Mr. Murakami's Place'

8:16pm February 19, 2015

by Maggie Penman

Haruki Murakami is a best-selling author and perennial Nobel Prize contender, but rarely gives interviews. For a limited time, a website is giving fans a chance to engage with the reclusive writer.

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In Scott McCloud's The Sculptor, a young artist discovers that having the ability to sculpt anything doesn't mean he has the vision or the drive to turn that ability into success.

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In These New Comics, Getting Your Wish Isn't Always Great

1:26pm February 19, 2015

by Tasha Robinson

Mainstream superhero comics have a streak of teenage wish-fulfillment: Great power and great responsibility. But a new wave of comics is exploring how complicated it can be when wishes are granted.

Kidnappings Inspire Photojournalist Lynsey Addario's Memoir

7:56am February 19, 2015

American photojournalist Lynsey Addario, who has survived kidnappings in Iraq and Libya, talks to Renee Montagne about her new book, It's What I Do: A Photographer's Life of Love and War.

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Exclusive First Read: Anna Lyndsey's 'Girl In The Dark'

3:03pm February 17, 2015

by NPR Staff

Anna Lyndsey — a pseudonym — was an ordinary civil servant when she developed a rare disorder: A severe sensitivity to light. She deftly chronicles her shadowy new normal in Girl in the Dark.

Stokely Carmichael, shown here in 1967. Historian Peniel Joseph argues Carmichael's writings on slavery and capitalism deserve more attention.

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How Black Lives Have Always Mattered: A Reading List

7:03am February 15, 2015

by Peniel E. Joseph

For Black History Month, historian Peniel E. Joseph recommends books that take an unsparing look at slavery and American capitalism, with a focus on the often overlooked work of Stokely Carmichael.