Book News & Features

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Punk Icon Patti Smith Releases Second Memoir, 'M Train'

6:23pm October 15, 2015

by Neda Ulaby

Singer Patti Smith's latest book is a poetic, free-flowing memoir. In 2010, her memoir Just Kids — about her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe — won a National Book Award.

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Join The 'Morning Edition' Book Club As We Read 'Fates And Furies'

2:56pm October 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

Author and screenwriter Richard Russo has selected our third book — a new novel by Lauren Groff. Fates and Furies chronicles a marriage over 24 years. Russo calls it "an incredibly ambitious work."

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National Book Awards Winnow Field Of Finalists

9:24am October 14, 2015

The shortlist for the awards went public Wednesday, halving the number of nominees to 20 finalists. David Greene talks to NPR editor Barrie Hardymon and contributor Glen Weldon about their favorites.

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Finalists Unveiled For This Year's National Book Awards

8:23am October 14, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

Lauren Groff, Terrance Hayes, Sally Mann and Ta-Nehisi Coates are among the 20 writers still in the running for the prestigious literary prize. Soon, that number will be whittled to just four winners.

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Marlon James Wins Man Booker Prize

6:07pm October 13, 2015

by Petra Mayer

James is the first Jamaican author to win the prestigious literary award, for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. It's based on a real 1976 assassination attempt on reggae star Bob Marley.

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Exhibition Delves Below Deceptively Simple Surface Of Hemingway's Prose

4:04pm October 12, 2015

by Tom Vitale

A collection of first drafts, letters, outtakes and photos on display in New York City illuminate the inner workings of Ernest Hemingway's meticulous writing process — failures, flaws and all.

Belarusian journalist Svetlana Alexievich, during the ceremony for the German Book Trade Peace Prize, which she won in 2013.

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Belarusian Journalist Svetlana Alexievich Wins Literature Nobel

10:42am October 08, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

The investigative journalist is known for her in-depth exposes of the former Soviet Union, letting eyewitness accounts shed an unsettling light on tragedies.

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Belarusian Journalist Wins Literature Nobel

9:18am October 08, 2015

by Lynn Neary

Journalist Svetlana Alexievich is known for her in-depth exposes of the former Soviet Union, letting eyewitness accounts shed an unsettling light on tragedies such as Chernobyl nuclear meltdown.

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Nobel Prize In Literature Is Out Of Reach For Most Authors

8:15am October 08, 2015

by Lynn Neary

The Nobel Prize for literature is revealed Thursday. While it would be nice to win, most writers realize they don't stand a chance. (This piece initially aired Oct. 10, 2013 on Morning Edition.)

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The first draft of Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie.

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In Trove Of Kids' Book Treasures, A Glimpse Of The Work Behind The Magic

3:06pm October 05, 2015

by Alexandra Starr

Once a doctor's hobby, the Kerlan Collection is now one of the world's great collections of children's literature. Over 100,000 books offer visitors a chance to see the writer's process — for free.

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