New Books in Literature

Interviews with Writers about their New Books

Arts
1551
E.J. Swift, “Paris Adrift” (Solaris, 2018)
Paris has a way of resisting history, absorbing change gradually instead of being transformed by it. The same can be said of Hallie, the protagonist of E.J. Swift’s Paris Adrift (Solaris, 2018), who is compelled by the threat of a future apocalypse to ...
29 min
1552
Koritha Mitchell, ed., “Iola Leroy Or, Shadows ...
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s nineteenth-century novel Iola Leroy has not always been considered a core text in the canon of African American literature. Indeed, throughout much of the twentieth century, her work was dismissed as derivate and was eras...
43 min
1553
Patrice Sarath, “The Sisters Mederos” (Angry Ro...
There is something almost sweetly Victorian about the new fantasy novel, The Sisters Mederos (Angry Robot, 2018), by Patrice Sarath, which concerns two young sisters enduring misfortune. The opening chapters reminded me of the childhood classic,
26 min
1554
Adrienne Sharp, “The Magnificent Esme Wells” (H...
At six, Esme Wells has never attended school, but she has already learned how to take care of her father: accompany him to the racetrack, load up on hot dogs when asked, and keep an eye open for stray tickets that may turn out to be winning bets.
42 min
1555
Mur Lafferty, “Six Wakes” (Orbit, 2017)
Rob Wolf interviews Mur Lafferty about Six Wakes (Orbit, 2017), her novel about murdered clones that received nods for this year’s Philip K. Dick and Nebula awards—and, after the interview was recorded, the Hugo Award as well.
28 min
1556
John Richard Bell, “The Circumstantial Enemy” (...
We all imagine that, when put to the test, we will end up on the right side of history, however we define it. Nowhere is that statement more true than in reference to World War II. But sometimes people end up on the wrong side for reasons outside their...
45 min
1557
Tim Pratt, “The Wrong Stars” (Angry Robot, 2017)
Rob Wolf interviews Tim Pratt about his Philip K. Dick Award-nominated space opera The Wrong Stars. Pratt is the author of over 20 novels, picking up a Hugo Award and nominations for the Nebula and many other awards over a productive and varied career....
34 min
1558
Claudia H. Long, “Chains of Silver” (Five Direc...
From the fifteenth through the early eighteenth centuries, the Catholic authorities in Spain and its colonies, including Mexico, took a hard line against the Jewish community. Those who would not convert were banished or killed; officially the communit...
42 min
1559
Ryan Wieser, “The Glass Blade” (Kensington, 2018)
Lean, mean, and a fighting machine. That could describe lovely Jessop, psychologically and physically scarred at the hands of a former Infinity Hunter with the catchy name of Falco Bane. Jessop plots her way into joining the all-male fraternity of the ...
12 min
1560
Henry Jay Przybylo, “Counting Backwards: A Doct...
For many of the 40 million Americans who undergo anesthesia each year, it is the source of great fear and fascination. From the famous first demonstration of anesthesia in the Ether Dome at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1846 to today’s routine proc...
59 min
1561
Jo Woolf, “The Great Horizon: 50 Tales of Explo...
Hello from Gabrielle at the NBN Fantasy and Adventure channel. This podcast will be about adventure, and what could be more adventurous than traveling to a far-away place thats hard to get to, and even more of a challenge to get around in.
52 min
1562
Meg Elison, “The Book of Etta” (47North, 2017)
Born into a world where men vastly outnumber women, Etta is expected to choose between two roles: mother or midwife. And yet the protagonist of Meg Elison‘s eponymous second novel chooses a third: raider, a job that allows her to roam a sparsely popula...
28 min
1563
Thomas Mira y Lopez, “The Book of Resting Place...
We’ve all participated in the rituals of the dead at some time or another in our lives, going to funerals and wakes, visiting loved ones in cemeteries. Some of us may even have a plan for when we pass away, ourselves.
52 min
1564
Interview with Australian Poets Leni Shilton an...
In this special episode of New Books in Australian and New Zealand Studies, we are joined by two fantastic Australian poets. In her new poetic narrative, Walking with Camels: The Story of Bertha Strehlow (UWA Publishing, 2018),
16 min
1565
Robert J. Sawyer, “Quantum Night” (Ace, 2016)
In this episode, Rob Wolf interviews Robert J. Sawyer, the author of 23 novels, about his most recent book, Quantum Night (Ace, 2016). Sawyer is considered, as he puts it, “an optimistic and upbeat science fiction writer.
33 min
1566
Carla M. Wilson, “Curious Impossibilities: Ten ...
In Impossible Conversations: Imaginary Interviews with World-Famous Artists (Black Scat Books, 2015), Carla M. Wilson imagined discussions with (you guessed it) world-famous artists. In this book—Curious Impossibilities: Ten Cinematic Riffs (Black Scat...
56 min
1567
Gwen C. Katz, “Among the Red Stars” (Harper Tee...
Valentina (Valka) Koroleva and her cousin Iskra share a dream: to fly in defense of their Soviet motherland against the Nazi forces that have launched a surprise invasion in violation of Hitler’s nonaggression pact with Stalin.
47 min
1568
Omar El Akkad, “American War” (Knopf, 2017)
Set 50-plus years in the future, Omar El Akkad‘s debut novel American War (Knopf, 2017) has been widely praised, becoming one of those rare books with science fiction themes to make numerous mainstream publications’ Best Books of the Year lists.
37 min
1569
Jason Arnopp, “The Last Days of Jack Sparks” (O...
A modern morality tale lurks under this fast-paced horror novel. Jason Arnopp‘s The Last Days of Jack Sparks (Orbit, 2016) consists of the diary of a fictional character, Jack Sparks, along with a collection of interviews about him.
24 min
1570
Linda Grover, “Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojib...
Onigamiising is the Ojibwemowin word for Duluth and the surrounding area. In this book of fifty warm, wise and witty essays, Linda LeGarde Grover tells the story of the four seasons of life, from Ziigwan (Spring) to Biboon (Winter),
43 min
1571
David Walton, “The Genius Plague” (Pyr, 2017)
Everyone knows that wild mushrooms can be dangerous, but David Walton in his new novel The Genius Plague (Pyr, 2017) raises the dangers to a new plane. While victims of an unusual fungal infection enjoy skyrocketing I.Q.s,
35 min
1572
Angela Davis-Gardner, “Butterfly’s Child” (Rand...
Today I talked with Angela Davis-Gardner, an award-winning North Carolina-based novelist writing about Japan. Her book Butterfly’s Child (Random House, 2011) depicts the journey of a Japanese American boy Benji,
43 min
1573
Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, “Last Christmas ...
When we first meet Thomas Harding in 1968, he is facing what he believes will be his last Christmas and mourning the loss of an unnamed woman who clearly meant a great deal to him. He carries with him bundles of letters,
49 min
1574
Becky Chambers, “A Closed and Common Orbit” (Ha...
Rob Wolf interviews Becky Chambers, author of the Wayfarer series. The first book, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Harper Voyager, 2016), was originally self-published then quickly picked up by a traditional publisher,
35 min
1575
Octavia Randolph, “Silver Hammer, Golden Cross”...
Silver Hammer, Golden Cross (Pyewacket Press, 2017) is sixth in the series of the Circle of Ceridwen series. It begins by exploring the friendship of two young heirs, Ceric, of Saxon descent and Hrald, of Danish descent.
25 min