Shows / New Books in Literature
New Books in Literature
This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: newbooksnetwork.com Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/…
Episodes
- New Books in Literature
Eileen Myles, "Pathetic Literature" (Grove Press, 2022)
“Literature is pathetic.” So claims Eileen Myles in their provocative and robust introduction to Pathetic Literature (Grove Press, 2022), a breathtaking…
- New Books in Literature
B. Pladek, "Dry Land" (U Wisconsin Press, 2023)
Today I talked to Ben Pladek about his novel Dry Land (University of Wisconsin Press, 2023). Rand Brandt, a forester in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, discovers…
- New Books in Literature
Viet Thanh Nguyen, "A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial" (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2023)
With insight, humor, formal invention, and lyricism, in A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial (Atlantic Monthly Press, 2023), Viet Thanh Nguyen…
- New Books in Literature
Hilary Leichter, "Terrace Story" (Ecco, 2023)
Annie, Edward, and their young daughter, Rose, live in a cramped apartment. One night, without warning, they find a beautiful terrace hidden in their closet…
- New Books in Literature
Jake Lancaster, “Grace’s Folly," The Common Magazine (2023)
Jake Lancaster speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his story “Grace’s Folly,” which appears in The Common’s most recent issue. Jake talks about…
- New Books in Literature
Jessica Hendry Nelson, "Joy Rides Through the Tunnel of Grief" (U Georgia Press, 2023)
Jessica Hendry Nelson, Joy Rides through the Tunnel of Grief (University of Georgia Press, 2023) is a compelling memoir in essays. When Nelson's father died…
- New Books in Literature
Chelsea T. Hicks, "A Calm and Normal Heart: Stories" (The Unnamed Press, 2022)
Today’s book is A Calm and Normal Heart: Stories (The Unnamed Press, 2022) by Chelsea T. Hicks. The heroes of A Calm and Normal Heart are modern-day…
- New Books in Literature
Christian Kiefer, "The Heart of It All" (Melville House, 2023)
In The Heart of It All (Melville House, 2023), Christian Kiefer imagines a group of factory workers and their families living in a once vibrant Ohio town…
- New Books in Literature
Jane Hirshfield, "The Asking: New and Selected Poems" (Knopf, 2023)
When poet Jane Hirshfield first arrived at Tassajara Monastery nearly fifty years ago, a Zen teacher told her that it was a good idea to have a question to…
- New Books in Literature
Hannah Kaner, "Godkiller" (Harper Voyager, 2023)
Hannah Kaner’s debut novel Godkiller (Harper Voyager, 2023) takes place in Middren, a country where gods have been banned as the result of a brutal civil war…
- New Books in Literature
Alyssa Noelle Coelho, "The Alchemy of the Beast" (Saved by Story, 2023)
"I wept as time stopped, and I wept as time refused to cease." Grieving her faith, her love, and her identity, twenty-one-year-old Scarlett V. Leonelli is…
- New Books in Literature
John Fulton, "The Flounder: Stories" (Blackwater Press, 2023)
The riddles of desire, youth, old age, poverty, and wealth are laid bare in this radiant collection from a master of the form. From inner-city pawnshops to…
- New Books in Literature
Amy Berkowitz, "Gravitas" (Éditions du Noroît/Total Joy, 2023)
Frank, conversational, and darkly funny, Gravitas examines the tendency of MFA programs to teach women that their lives aren’t worth writing about. These poems…
- New Books in Literature
Dong Li, "The Orange Tree" (U Chicago Press, 2023)
Dong Li’s The Orange Tree (U Chicago Press, 2023) is a collection of narrative poems that braids forgotten legends, personal sorrows, and political upheavals…
- New Books in Literature
A Better Way to Buy Books
Bookshop.org is an online book retailer that donates more than 80% of its profits to independent bookstores. Launched in 2020, Bookshop.org has already raised…
- New Books in Literature
Patrick E. Horrigan, "American Scholar" (Lethe Press, 2023)
Patrick Horrigan’s novel, American Scholar (Lethe Press 2023) centers on James (Jimmy) Fitzgerald, who teaches American Literature at a prestigious university…
- New Books in Literature
Em X. Liu, "The Death I Gave Him" (Solaris, 2023)
Em X. Liu’s The Death I Gave Him (Solaris, 2023) brings a science fiction twist to Shakespeare’s beloved Hamlet. Working at Elsinore Labs, Hayden Lichfield and…
- New Books in Literature
Anise Vance, "Hush Harbor" (Hanover Square Press, 2023)
In his debut novel, Hush Harbor (Hannover Square Press, 2023), Anise Vance takes readers inside a race revolution as a resistance group takes America's racial…
- New Books in Literature
Kathleen M. Osberger, "I Surrender: A Memoir of Chile's Dictatorship, 1975" (Oribis Books, 2023)
Today I talked to Kathleen Osberger about her book I Surrender: A Memoir of Chile's Dictatorship, 1975 (Oribis Books, 2023). In 1975, Kathleen Osberger, who’d…
- New Books in Literature
Kristal Brent Zook, "The Girl in the Yellow Poncho: A Memoir" (Duke UP, 2023)
At five years old, Kristal Brent Zook sat on the steps of a Venice Beach, California, motel trying to make sense of her white father’s abandonment, which left…
- New Books in Literature
Salar Abdoh, "Out of Mesopotamia" (Akashic Books, 2020)
Saleh, the narrator of Out of Mesopotamia (Akashic Books, 2020), is a middle-aged Iranian journalist who moonlights as a writer for one of Iran's most popular…
- New Books in Literature
Andrew Varga, "The Last Saxon King: A Jump in Time Novel (Book One)" (Imbrifex Books, 2023)
Daniel Renfrew is a typical American sixteen-year-old. His main gripe when the story opens is that his dad insists on home schooling even though Daniel would…
- New Books in Literature
Katherine Heiny, "Games and Rituals: Stories" (Knopf, 2023)
Today I talked to Katherine Heiny about Games and Rituals: Stories (Knopf, 2023). The games and rituals performed by Heiny's characters range from mischievous…
- New Books in Literature
Jerome Charyn, "Ravage & Son" (Bellevue Literary Press, 2023)
Ravage & Son (Bellevue Literary Press, 2023) by Jerome Charyn is a novel set in the Lower East Side of New York City in the early years of the twentieth…
- New Books in Literature
Nishanth Injam, "The Best Possible Experience: Stories" (Pantheon, 2023)
The characters in Nishanth Injam’s The Best Possible Experience (Pantheon, 2023), his debut short story collection, are like many in India or in Indian…
- New Books in Literature
Aparna Verma, "The Phoenix King" (Orbit, 2023)
Aparna Verma’s debut novel The Phoenix King (Orbit, 2023) takes place in the desert kingdom of Ravence as war brews on its borders and the king is set to step…
- New Books in Literature
CK Westbrook, "The Judgment" (4 Horsemen Publications, 2023)
Today I talked to CK Westbrook about The Judgment (4 Horsemen Publications, 2023), book 3 of "The Impact Series." Kate thought the world was finally safe from…
- New Books in Literature
Ala Fox, "Ramadan in Saint-Denis" (The Common Magazine, Issue 25)
Ala Fox speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her essay “Ramadan in Saint-Denis,” which appears in The Common’s most recent issue. Ala talks about…
- New Books in Literature
Garth Nix, "Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Stories of the Witch Knight and the Puppet Sorcerer" (Harper Voyager, 2023)
Garth Nix’s new collection Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz: Stories of the Witch Knight and the Pupper Sorcerer (Harper Voyager, 2023) gathers together stories…
- New Books in Literature
Marty Wingate, "The Orphans of Mersea House" (Crooked Lane Books, 2022)
Today I talked to Marty Wingate about her novel The Orphans of Mersea House (Alcove Press 2022). Olive Kersey is both penniless and alone at 37 – her brother…
- New Books in Literature
Nazli Koca, "The Applicant" (Grove Press, 2023)
It's 2017 and Leyla, a Turkish twenty-something living in Berlin is scrubbing toilets at an Alice in Wonderland-themed hostel after failing her thesis, losing…
- New Books in Literature
B. D'Amato, "Triskele: A Novel" (Atmosphere Press, 2023)
In the unconscious, coincidence does not exist. A bizarre tragedy drives ten-year-old Paul from his dysfunctional home, leaving his younger sister, Bethany…
- New Books in Literature
Olesya Salnikova Gilmore, "The Witch and the Tsar" (Ace Books, 2022)
Any novel set in Russia during the reign of Ivan the Terrible (1533–1584) is an instant draw for me; that is, after all, the setting for most of my own…
- New Books in Literature
Samuel R. Delany, Neveryon and Beyond
John Plotz talked with Samuel Delany, living legend of science fiction and fantasy back in 2019. You probably know him best for breakthrough novels like…
- New Books in Literature
Molly Peacock, "A Friend Sails in on a Poem: Essays on Friendship, Freedom and Poetic Form" (Palimpsest Press, 2022)
For the last forty-five years, the distinguished poets Molly Peacock and Phillis Levin have read and discussed nearly every poem they’ve written-an…
- New Books in Literature
M. A. Carrick, "Labyrinth's Heart" (Orbit, 2023)
M. A. Carrick’s newest novel Labyrinth’s Heart (Orbit, 2023) is the culmination of their Rook and Rose trilogy, which chronicles the life of the thief Arenza…
- New Books in Literature
Michelle Brafman, "Swimming with Ghosts" (Keylight Books, 2023)
Today I talked to Michelle Brafman about her novel Swimming with Ghosts (Keylight Books, 2023). Until her unemployed husband Charlie volunteers to step in as…
- New Books in Literature
Joshua Cohen’s "The Netanyahus" (JP, Eugene Sheppard)
n this episode (originally aired by our partner Novel Dialogue) John and his Brandeis colleague Eugene Sheppard speak with Joshua Cohen about The Netanyahus…
- New Books in Literature
Nick Harkaway, "Titanium Noir" (Knopf, 2023)
According to Merriam-Webster, noir is “crime fiction featuring hard-boiled, cynical characters and bleak, sleazy settings.” The Cambridge Dictionary says noir…
- New Books in Literature
T. Kingfisher, "Thornhedge" (Tor, 2023)
T. Kingfisher’s newest novel Thornhedge (Tor, 2023) is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty that follows Toadling, the person in charge of keeping the fair maiden…
- New Books in Literature
Elizabeth Graver, "Kantika: A Novel" (Metropolitan Books, 2023)
Today I talked to Elizabeth Graver about her new novel Kantika (Metropolitan Books, 2023). Rebecca Cohen and her family live in Istanbul, until they lose all…
- New Books in Literature
Linda Nemec Foster, "Bone Country: Prose Poems" (Cornerstone Press, 2023)
Linda Nemec Foster has published twelve collections of poetry including Amber Necklace from Gdansk (finalist for the Ohio Book Award in Poetry), Talking…
- New Books in Literature
Arin Greenwood, "Your Robot Dog Will Die" (Soho, 2019)
Today I talked to Arin Greenwood about her new book Your Robot Dog Will Die (Soho, 2019). When a global genetic experiment goes awry and canines stop wagging…
- New Books in Literature
Cecilia Gentili, "Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn't My Rapist" (Littlepuss Press, 2022)
Today I interview Cecilia Gentili about her new book, Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist (LittlePuss Press, 2022). In this poignant…
- New Books in Literature
Kate Doyle, "I Meant It Once" (Algonquin Books, 2023)
With this sharp and witty debut collection, author Kate Doyle captures precisely that time of life when so many young women are caught in between, pre-occupied…
- New Books in Literature
Leanne Kale Sparks, "Every Missing Girl" (Crooked Lane Books, 2023)
Today I talked to Leanne Kale Sparks about her new book Every Missing Girl (Crooked Lane Books, 2023). The stunning landscape of Colorado's Rocky Mountains are…
- New Books in Literature
Amy Grace Loyd, "The Pain of Pleasure" (Roundabout Press, 2023)
In Amy Grace Loyd’s new novel, The Pain of Pleasure (Roundabout Press 2023), nearly everyone suffers some kind of intense pain. Some find their way to the…
- New Books in Literature
Alejandro Varela, "The Town of Babylon" (Astra, 2022)
Writing Latinos, from Public Books, features interviews with Latino (a/x/e) authors discussing their books and how their writing contributes to the…
- New Books in Literature
Matt Donovan, "Guy with a Gun" The Common Magazine (Fall, 2023)
Matt Donovan speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about his prose poem “Guy with a Gun,” which appeared in The Common’s fall issue. Matt talks about the…
- New Books in Literature
Tenzin Dickie, "The Penguin Book of Modern Tibetan Essays" (Vintage Books, 2023)
When Tenzin Dickie was growing up in exile in India, she didn’t have access to works by Tibetan writers. Now, as an editor and translator, she is working to…
- New Books in Literature
CK Westbrook, "The Collision" (4 Horsemen Publications, 2022)
Today I talked to CK Westbrook about The Collision (4 Horsemen Publications, 2022), volume 2 of the "The Impact Trilogy." As the world continues to reel from…
- New Books in Literature
Jeri Westerson, "The Isolated Séance" (Severn House, 2023)
Today I talked to Jeri Westerson about her book The Isolated Séance (Severn House, 2023). It’s 1895, and Tim Badger, who is quite familiar with the inside of a…
- New Books in Literature
Steve Fox, "Sometimes Creek" (Cornerstone Press, 2023)
Steve Fox is the winner of the Rick Bass Montana Prize for Fiction, The Great Midwest Writing Contest, the Jade Ring Award, and a Midwestern Gothic Summer…
- New Books in Literature
Jennifer Savran Kelly, "Endpapers" (Algonquin Books, 2023)
Today I talked to Jennifer Savran Kelly her new book Endpapers (Algonquin Books, 2023). Dawn Levit has reached a crossroads in life. What seemed like a stable…
- New Books in Literature
Rachel Mennies, "The Naomi Letters" (BOA Editions, 2021)
Rachel Mennies embraces the public/private duality of writing letters in her latest collection of poems. Told through a time-honored epistolary narrative, The…
- New Books in Literature
Hannah Pittard, "We Are Too Many: A Memoir [Kind of]" (Henry Holt, 2023)
What happens when you come of age in mid-life? Why is so challenging to figure out your own past? Can you find the permission to be weird? (And can you be…
- New Books in Literature
Oksana Lutsysyna, "Ivan and Phoebe" (Deep Vellum, 2023)
Ivan and Phoebe (Deep Vellum, 2023) spotlights the uproarious generation that led the Ukrainian independence movement of 1990; from subjugation to revolution…
- New Books in Literature
Ruth Madievsky, "All-Night Pharmacy" (Catapult, 2023)
On the night of her high school graduation, a young woman follows her older sister Debbie to Salvation, a Los Angeles bar patronized by energy healers…
- New Books in Literature
Elle Marr, "The Family Bones" (Thomas & Mercer, 2023)
Today I talked to Elle Marr about her new book The Family Bones (Thomas & Mercer, 2023) Psychology student Olivia Eriksen's family is notorious among…
- New Books in Literature
Karen Lord, "The Blue, Beautiful World" (Del Rey, 2023)
In science fiction, aliens who come to Earth are usually scary and menacing, aspiring to destroy, conquer, or even eat mankind. But the aliens in Karen Lord’s…