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
Elisabeth Rhoads, "Haggard House" (Bodger Books, 2025)
It’s the 19th century, and a village in northern Michigan is the setting for Adam Bolton’s strange, decrepit house, called Haggard House by the community. He’s…
- New Books in Literature
Charles Akl, "Red Like Orange" (Hoopoe, 2026)
A Conversation with author Charles Akl about his debut novel Red Like Orange (Hoopoe, 2026) An offbeat tale of creativity, friendship, and finding your voice…
- New Books in Literature
A Conversation with LeUyen Pham illustrator of "As I Dream of You" (First Second, 2026)
As I Dream of You (First Second, 2026) illustrated by LeUyen Pham and written by Jennifer Lee. Falling in love is supposed to hurt. That’s what Franny and Sam…
- New Books in Literature
Mark Kitto, "China Running Dog" (Plum Rain Press, 2025)
In his novel China Running Dog (Plum Rain Press, 2025), a young man in his early twenties lives in Shanghai in the year 2000, in a greed-crazed free-for-all…
- New Books in Literature
Mohamed Alyahyai, "The War" (Dararab for Publishing and Translation, 2026)
A psychological Arabic novel in English translation, The War by Mohamed Alyahyai follows a man who begins to question whether he is truly the one who returned…
- New Books in Literature
Julie Buntin, "Famous Men" (Random House, 2026)
Will Miles is trapped. Trapped in tiny Greening, Michigan, where a toxic high school rumor has turned her into a social exile. Trapped in the predictable…
- New Books in Literature
Marie Léticée, "Camille's Lakou" (Vanderbilt UP, 2025)
Camille’s Lakou (Vanderbilt UP, 2025), a novel by Guadeloupean writer and educator Marie Léticée, tells the story of Camille, a young Caribbean girl living…
- New Books in Literature
Christy Wilhelmi, "Bolting to Seed: A Garden Variety Novel" (Gardenerd Press, 2026)
Lizzie Raju is back in Christy Wilhelmi's sequel Bolting to Seed (Garden Nerd Press, 2026) and she has "Six Reasons Not to Have Kids." Finding a corpse in her…
- New Books in Literature
April Howells, "The Unforgettable Mailman" (Alcove Press, 2026)
In the midst of texting and cell phones, online websites and GPS, it can be difficult to remember an era when almost all communication took place by landline…
- New Books in Literature
John Burt, "A Moment's Surrender" (Press Americana, 2026)
It’s 1980, a decade after he dropped out of grad school, and Paul Bishop is a lowly writing instructor at a college in Nevada. His former best friend, Tom…
- New Books in Literature
Molly Fader, "Lady X: A Novel" (Random House, 2026)
In Molly Fader's latest novel, Lady X: A Novel (Random House, 2026), the search for a notorious vigilante exposes the secrets between three generations of…
- New Books in Literature
Juliet McShannon “Rescue” (Spring, 2026)
Juliet McShannon speaks to Emily Everett about her story “Rescue,” which appears in The Common’s spring issue. The story follows a woman on her search for a…
- New Books in Literature
Andrew Martin, "Down Time" (FSG, 2026)
Andrew Martin is the author of the novel Early Work, a New York Times Notable book of 2018, and the story collection Cool for America, longlisted for the 2020…
- New Books in Literature
Judith Starkston, "Achilles's Wife: A Novel of Greek Myth Retelling" (Bronze Age Books, 2026)
In an ancient kingdom, a princess takes inspiration from a visiting young woman to challenge her father's views and reach for leadership-and then discovers her…
- New Books in Literature
Annakeara Stinson, "Nerve Damage: A Novel" (Knopf, 2026)
Annakeara Stinson's Nerve Damage: A Novel (Knopf, 2026) is a riotous revenge novel about a woman’s quest to escape her stalker ex-boyfriend—by stalking him…
- New Books in Literature
Matthew Del Papa and Andy Taylor, "Supercanucks: An Anthology of Canadian Small-Town Superheroes" (Latitude 46, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Matthew D. Del Papa, one of the editors of SuperCanucks: An Anthology of Canadian Small-Town Superheroes…
- New Books in Literature
L. L. Madrid, "My Lips, Her Voice" (Creature Publishing, 2025)
L.L. Madrid's My Lips, Her Voice (Creature Publishing, 2025) takes place in Copper City, a town who's bloody history is steeped in ghost stories and whispers…
- New Books in Literature
Ysabelle Cheung, "Patchwork Dolls" (Blair, 2026)
In this debut story collection Patchwork Dolls (Blair, 2026), Ysabelle Cheung weaves an eerie fabulism with tales that cross continents, technology, and time…
- New Books in Literature
David Ly, "Not All Dragons" (Poplar Press, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with David Ly about his novel, Not All Dragons (Wolsak & Wynn, 2026).What is it that you are, Rhys? In a land…
- New Books in Literature
Kevin Reilly, "Gregory Ghosts: Haunting Irishness" (Peter Lang, 2026)
Kevin P. Reilly is President Emeritus and Regent Professor with the University of Wisconsin System, having served as President from 2004-13. Kevin grew up in…
- New Books in Literature
“O Albany”: Novelist William Kennedy on His Great Cycle of the City
Monday, June 22—William Kennedy is to Albany what Joyce is to Dublin and Faulkner to Mississippi, a fictional alchemist who transforms his native place into…
- New Books in Literature
Emily De Angelis, "The Stones of Burren Bay" (Latitude 46 Publishing, 2024)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with YA author Emily De Angelis about her acclaimed novel, The Stones of Burren Bay (Latitude 46 Publishing…
- New Books in Literature
Naomi Hirahara, "Crown City (A Japantown Mystery)" (Soho Crime, 2026)
In Crown City (A Japantown Mystery)" (Soho Crime, 2026), Ryunosuke “Ryui Wada is orphaned at 18, with no family or path left in Japan. He’s lucky when…
- New Books in Literature
Jason Weiss, "Other Lives Our Own" (Spuyten Duyvil Publishing, 2025)
In Other Lives Our Own (Spuyten Duyvil, 2025) Jason Weiss reflects on travel, language, memory, identity, and the stories we inherit and create. This…
- New Books in Literature
Loretta Chefchaouni, "The Lustrous Dark" (Peachtree Teen, 2026)
Loretta Chefchaouni's debut The Lustrous Dark (Peachtree Teen, 2026) follows protagonist Shay.Orphaned as a baby, Shay has spent her life training as the…
- New Books in Literature
Wendy J Fox, "The Last Supper" (Sante Fe Writer's Project, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Wendy J. Fox about her novel, The Last Supper, published by Sante Fe Writer's Project, 2026. As…
- New Books in Literature
Shana Galen, "A Shop Girl's Guide to Wooing a Lord" (Berkley, 2026)
Romance novels—especially historical romance novels—thrive on heroes and heroines who don’t match in terms of social class. There must be conflict, after all…
- New Books in Literature
Kimberly McCreight, "Someone Else's Husband" (Knopf, 2026)
New York Times bestselling author Kimberly McCreight delivers a tour de force of character-driven suspense with her latest novel, Someone Else's Husband…
- New Books in Literature
Justin C. Key, "The Hospital at the End of the World: A Novel" (Harper, 2026)
From author Justin C. Key comes The Hospital at the End of the World: A Novel (Harper, 2026), set in a near future where artificial intelligence runs the…
- New Books in Literature
Ro Skelton, “Naow’s Boutique” (Spring, 2025)
Ro Skelton speaks to Emily Everett about her essay “Naow’s Boutique,” which appears in The Common’s Spring issue. The essay explores Ro’s time living and…
- New Books in Literature
Deb Olin Unferth, "Earth 7: A Novel" (Graywolf Press 2026)
Well, that’s about it for the story of planet Earth, poor Earth, reduced to not much more than a piece of burnt coal. But, as Deb Olin Unferth shows in her…
- New Books in Literature
Deb Olin Unferth, "Earth 7" (Graywolf Press 2026)
With thanks to “forever” plastics, the earth has reverted to sand and dust. Dylan has been raised by her scientist mother, in a pod under the sea, and longs to…
- New Books in Literature
Kyra Davis Lurie, "The Great Mann" (Crown, 2025)
In 1945, Charlie Trammell steps off a cross-country train into the vibrant tapestry of Los Angeles. Lured by his cousin Marguerite’s invitation to the esteemed…
- New Books in Literature
Terese Mason Pierre, "As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories" (Spiderline, 2025)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with editor, poet, and author, Terese Mason Pierre about As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative…
- New Books in Literature
Amrita Chowdhury and Ujaan Ghosh trans., "Baidehisha Bilasa: The Amorous Plays of Sita’s Husband" (Wide Open Window Books, 2025)
Amrita Chowdhury and Ujaan Ghosh bring into English for the first time a long-inaccessible masterpiece of South Asian literature Baidehisha Bilasa: The…
- New Books in Literature
Terao Tetsuya and translated by Kevin Wang, "Spent Bullets" (HarperVia, 2025)
With Taiwan Travelogue winning the 2026 International Booker Prize, Taiwanese literature in translation has achieved new heights of visibility in the…
- New Books in Literature
Martha Conway, "We Meet Apart" (Regal House Publishing, 2026)
It’s 1940 and Gaby’s parents and sister succumb to Typhus after staying in France to care for Gaby and Sabine’s dying grandmother. The war is in full swing and…
- New Books in Literature
Mackenzi Lee, "Masters of the Universe: Teela: Daughter of Eternos" (Mattel, 2026)
Mackenzi Lee's Masters of the Universe: Teela: Daughter of Eternos (Mattel, 2026) is a young adult tie-in for the Masters of the Universe (2026) film. A FALLEN…
- New Books in Literature
chaun webster, "Without Terminus: untraining an archive" (Greywolf, 2026)
In his first work of nonfiction, poet chaun webster blends memoir, archival research, visual poetics, and cultural criticism to trace the ways structural…
- New Books in Literature
Elina Penner, 'Nightberries" (CMU Press, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Elina Penner about her translated novel, Nightberries (CMU Press, 2026, translated by Bradley Schmidt)…
- New Books in Literature
An Interview with Senior Literary Agent Stephen Fraser
Stephen Fraser is senior literary agent with The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency, after having worked as an editor for over 25 years before becoming an…
- New Books in Literature
An Interview with Senior Literary Agent Stephen Fraser
Stephen Fraser is senior literary agent with The Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency, after having worked as an editor for over 25 years before becoming an…
- New Books in Literature
Elizabeth Bradfield's Books in Dark Times (JP)
For the RtB Books in Dark Times series back in 2021, John spoke with Elizabeth Bradfield, editor of Broadsided Press, poet, professor of creative writing at…
- New Books in Literature
Paige Lewis, "Canon" (Viking, 2026)
In Canon (Viking, 2026), two unlikely heroes embark on quests to win God’s favor in this outrageously entertaining, profoundly heartfelt novel that announces…
- New Books in Literature
Mike Papantonio, "A Death in Arcadia" (Arcade Publishing, 2026)
In Mike Papantonio's A Death in Arcadia (Arcade Publishing, 2026) Nicholas “Deke”Deketomis Returns to Face His Darkest Case Yet—And His Own Haunted Past When…
- New Books in Literature
K'wan, "House of the Rising Sun" (Akashic Books, 2026)
When Artie Howell moves with his wife back to her sleepy hometown, he must protect their son Nicky from the skeletons coming out of the closets from both of…
- New Books in Literature
Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, "A Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams" (William Morrow, 2026)
So close to the semiquincentennial, it’s great to see a novel focused on the life of Abigail Adams, a woman appreciated even in her own time—especially by her…
- New Books in Literature
Caroline Bicks, "Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King" (Hogarth, 2026)
My guest is Caroline Bicks, whose new book Monsters in the Archives: My Year of Fear with Stephen King (Hogarth, 2026) became a bestseller shortly after…
- New Books in Literature
J.J. Dupuis, "Roanoke Ridge: A Creature X Mystery" (Dundurn Press, 2020)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with J.J. Dupuis about Roanoke Ridge—the first book in his Creature X series published with Dundurn Press…
- New Books in Literature
Maria Ingrande Mora, "A Wild Radiance" (Peachtree Teen, 2026)
Maria Ingrande Mora's latest fantasy romance A Wild Radiance (Peachtree Teen, 2026) brings readers to the magical industrial revolution. Josephine Haven is…
- New Books in Literature
Sarah Stone, "Marriage to the Sea: Linked Novellas" (Four Way Books, 2026)
Six years ago, Katya Zamarin’s mother was murdered by a stranger who also maimed her Aunt Julia. More recently, her father died of a heart attack. He visits…
- New Books in Literature
Shannon Chakraborty, "The Tapestry of Fate" (Harper Voyager, 2026)
Shannon Chakraborty’s novel The Tapestry of Fate, the second installment in the The Adventures of Amina-al Sarafi, encounters the titular Amina at a time of…
- New Books in Literature
Wesley Brown, "Looking for Frank Wills" (McSweenys, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with Wesley Brown about how novella, Looking for Frank Wills (McSweenys, 2026). It's 1972. Tricky Dick is in…
- New Books in Literature
Elana K. Arnold, "Holloway" (Clarion Books, 2026)
In her latest young adult novel, Holloway (Clarion Books, 2026), award-winning author Elana K. Arnold returns with a boldly visionary, deeply felt story that…
- New Books in Literature
A. J. Bermudez, “The Sixteenth Brother” The Common Magazine (Fall, 2025)
A. J. Bermudez speaks to Emily Everett about her story “The Sixteenth Brother,” which appears in The Common’s fall issue. With a fable-like feel, the story…
- New Books in Literature
JoAnn McCaig, "Beneficiary" (U Calgary Press, 2026)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery speaks with JoAnn McCaig about her new novel, Beneficiary (U Calgary Press, 2026). A novel about what it means to face…
- New Books in Literature
Peter Darbyshire, "The Wonder Lands War" (Wolsak & Wynn, 2025)
In this NBN episode, host Hollay Ghadery interviews Peter Darbyshire about the fourth book in his Cross series, The Wonder Lands War (Wolsak & Wynn, 2025). The…
- New Books in Literature
Sara Maurer, "A Good Animal" (St. Martin's Press, 2026)
Sara Maurer's debut, A Good Animal (St. Martin's Press, 2026). Staying is his dream. Leaving is hers. One secret threatens them both. In the farm country…
- New Books in Literature
James Cahill, "The Violet Hour" (Pegasus Books, 2026)
A wealthy, old art collector always wants more, a successful gallery owner finds herself alone, and a famous painter at the top of his game might have been…
- New Books in Literature
Ray Welling, "Byline for the Dead: A Novel of Labor, Conspiracy, a Bloody Uprising and Two Ambitious Journalists" (Sager Group, 2025)
Byline for the Dead: A Novel of Labor, Conspiracy, a Bloody Uprising and Two Ambitious Journalists (Sager Group, 2025) is a historical mystery-thriller that…