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
Michelle Kuo, “Reading with Patrick: A Teacher, A Student, and a Life-Changing Friendship” (Random House, 2017)
It takes courage to walk into a classroom when students don’t look like you. It takes courage to return every day to teach a class when students devalue…
- New Books in Literature
Dinty W. Moore, “The Story Cure: A Book Doctor’s Pain-Free Guide to Finishing your Novel or Memoir” (Ten Speed Press, 2016)
If you’ve ever wondered how your favorite writers go about crafting their written works, or if you’ve ever been interested in writing a book yourself, chances…
- New Books in Literature
Stephen Baxter, “The Massacre of Mankind,” (Crown, 2017)
In this episode, Rob Wolf speaks with Stephen Baxter, author of The Massacre of Mankind (Crown, 2017), the alliteratively titled sequel to H. G. Wells‘…
- New Books in Literature
Barbary Ridley, “When It’s Over” (She Writes Press, 2017)
For some reason, books occasionally arrive in pairs—meaning that out of nowhere a topic that has received little attention convinces two or more writers that…
- New Books in Literature
Judithe Little, “Wickwythe Hall” (Black Opal Books, 2017)
For some reason, books occasionally arrive in pairs—meaning that out of nowhere a topic that has received little attention convinces two or more writers that…
- New Books in Literature
Julie E. Czerneda, Ed., “Nebula Awards Showcase 2017,” (Pyr, 2017)
Since their establishment, the Nebula Awards have proven a trusty guide to what the next generation will consider a classic. Take for example, the inaugural…
- New Books in Literature
Claude Lalumiere, “Venera Dreams: A Weird Entertainment” (Guernica Editions, 2017)
Pungently sensual, Claude Lalumiere‘s Venera Dreams: A Weird Entertainment (Guernica Editions, 2017), is a carnal carnival ride, circling around the central…
- New Books in Literature
Charlene Ball, “Dark Lady: A Novel of Emilia Bassano Lanyer” (She Writes Press, 2017)
Emilia Bassano loves many things: music, poetry, Latin, herbs. Born to a family of Italian musicians living in sixteenth-century London, Emilia benefits from…
- New Books in Literature
PJ Manney, “(ID)entity,” (47North, 2017)
Artificial intelligence has long been a favorite feature of science fiction. Every robot or talking computer or starship operating system has contributed to…
- New Books in Literature
Deborah Parker and Mark L. Parker, “Sucking Up: A Brief Consideration of Sycophancy” (U. of Virginia Press, 2017)
Ever since Donald Trump was elected President, he’s created a non-stop torrent of news, so much so that members of the media regularly claim that he’s…
- New Books in Literature
Megan Haskell, “Sanyare: The Rebel Apprentice, Vol. 3” (Trabuco Ridge Press, 2017)
Rie is a more than a hundred years old, and sometimes she feels like it, even if she looks like any other human girl. After uncovering a plot to create war…
- New Books in Literature
Malka Older, “Null States,” (Tor, 2017)
Malka Older‘s Centenal Cycle is set in the latter half of the 21st century and yet, like all good science fiction, it speaks to the current moment. Null States…
- New Books in Literature
Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess, “The Painted Queen” (William Morrow, 2017)
Even a novelist with thirty-five books under her belt would find it difficult to finish someone else’s series, set in a relatively unfamiliar part of the world…
- New Books in Literature
Ben H. Winters, “Underground Airlines” (Mulholland Books, 2016)
Underground Airlines (Mulholland Books, 2016) is a ground-breaking novel, a wickedly imaginative thriller, and a story of an America that is more like our own…
- New Books in Literature
Beverly Jenkins, “Chasing Down a Dream: A Blessings Novel” (William Morrow Paperbacks, 2017)
The Blessings Series continue with a heartwarming novel, Chasing Down a Dream (William Morrow Paperbacks, 2017), about what makes a family when trials test…
- New Books in Literature
Mykola Soroka, “Faces of Displacement: The Writings of Volodymyr Vynnychenko” (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2012)
Mykola Soroka’s Faces of Displacement: The Writings of Volodymyr Vynnychenko (McGill-Queens University Press, 2012) is a compelling investigation of the oeuvre…
- New Books in Literature
Claudia Casper, “The Mercy Journals,” (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2016)
The Mercy Journals (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2016) is the third novel by Claudia Casper and her first work of science fiction. Set in 2047, it tells the story of…
- New Books in Literature
Linnea Hartsuyker, “The Half-Drowned King” (Harper, 2017)
Ragnvald Eysteinsson is returning from years raiding in Ireland under the leadership of Solvi and focused on winning a contest with his fellow sailors when…
- New Books in Literature
Michael Allan, “In the Shadow of World Literature: Sites of Reading in Colonial Egypt” (Princeton UP, 2016)
Michael Allan‘s In the Shadow of World Literature: Sites of Reading in Colonial Egypt (Princeton University Press, 2016) challenges traditional perceptions of…
- New Books in Literature
James Morrow, “The Asylum of Dr. Caligari” (Tachyon Publications, 2017)
The Asylum of Dr. Caligari (Tachyon Publications, 2017) is a deft little novel, is a perfect fit for people who are not just interested in fantasy, but also…
- New Books in Literature
Fiona Helmsley, “Girls Gone Old” (We Heard You Like Books, 2017)
Fiona Helmsley‘s Girls Gone Old (We Heard You Like Books, 2017) is wildly honest, intense in its personal and cultural inquiry, and often brilliantly…
- New Books in Literature
Jacob Emery, “Alternative Kinships: Economy and Family in Russian Modernism” (Northern Illinois U. Press, 2017)
In Alternative Kinships: Economy and Family in Russian Modernism (Northern Illinois University Press, 2017), Jacob Emery presents literary texts as…
- New Books in Literature
Beatriz Williams, “Cocoa Beach” (HarperCollins, 2017)
The State of Florida might have been designed for Prohibition. Its long coastline, its proximity to the Caribbean sources of rum, and (in 1922) its vast…
- New Books in Literature
Linda Nagata, “The Last Good Man” (Mythic Island Press, 2017)
In The Last Good Man (Mythic Island Press, 2017), Linda Nagata uses a brisk and bracing writing style to immerse us into the lives of private military…
- New Books in Literature
Sarah Ladipo Manyika, “Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun” (Cassava Republic Press, 2016)
Sarah Ladipo Manyika’s second novel, Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun (Cassava Republic Press, 2016), is an excellent addition to the larger, and…
- New Books in Literature
Marlene Banks, “Ruth’s Redemption” (Lift Every Voice, 2012)
It’s A Love Story. Set in the 1800s, Ruth’s Redemption (Lift Every Voice, 2012), is an unusual depiction of the lives of slaves and free blacks in pre-Civil…
- New Books in Literature
David Kushner, “Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D and D” (Nation Books, 2017)
Rise of the Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and the Creation of D and D (Nation Books, 2017) by David Kushner and illustrated by Koren Shadmi is a gorgeous…
- New Books in Literature
Kathy Wilson Florence, “Jaybird’s Song” (Kathy Wilson Florence, 2017)
Josie Flint, known as Jaybird, narrates her story of life in Atlanta during the turbulent South as Jim Crow laws come to an end. Her school desegregates. The…
- New Books in Literature
Gabrielle Mathieu, “The Falcon Flies Alone” (Five Directions Press, 2016)
Peppa Mueller has a lot going for her. The daughter of a deceased Harvard professor who gave her an eclectic upbringing, she is heir to his fortune, and…
- New Books in Literature
Nicky Drayden, “The Prey of Gods” (Harper Voyager, 2017)
The Prey of the Gods, published by Harper Voyager on June 13th, is Nicky Drayden‘s debut novel, though she’s published many short stories. It’s a compassionate…
- New Books in Literature
William Walsh, “Forty-Four American Boys: Short Histories of Presidential Childhoods” (Outpost19, 2017)
Whether you’re on the right or the left of the political spectrum, I’ll bet that lately the Office of the President isn’t far from your mind. Every day, it…
- New Books in Literature
An Interview with Suzanne Gibbs Taylor of Gibbs Smith: BabyLit
The Gibbs Smith motto is “to enrich and inspire mankind.” Since 1969, the publishing house has become known for creating smart, stylish, sophisticated books…
- New Books in Literature
Michelle Cox, “A Girl Like You: A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Novel (She Writes Press, 2016)
It’s January 1935. Prohibition has just ended, but the Great Depression has not, and much of Chicago remains under the grip of the crime lords who profited…
- New Books in Literature
Assaph Mehr, “Murder in Absentia: A Story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic” (Purple Toga Publications, 2015)
Assaph Mehr‘s Murder in Absentia: A Story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic (Purple Toga Publications, 2015) is Egretia, a town in a fantasy world modeled on the…
- New Books in Literature
Roy Bing Chan, “The Edge of Knowing: Dreams, History, and Realism in Modern Chinese Literature” (U. Washington Press, 2017)
Roy Bing Chan‘s new book explores twentieth-century Chinese literature that emphasizes sleeping and dreaming as a way to reckon with the trauma of modernity…
- New Books in Literature
Territory-A Literary Project about Maps: Discussion with Tommy Mira y Lopez
As our name makes clear, the New Books Network focuses on books. And as a host who looks at contemporary literature, I have the pleasure of interviewing…
- New Books in Literature
Sarah Bracey White, “Primary Lessons: A Memoir” (CavanKerry Press, 2013)
As an African-American child growing up in the segregated pre-Civil Rights South, Sarah Bracey White pushed against the social conventions that warned her not…
- New Books in Literature
Tiffany Reisz, “The Night Mark” (Mira Books, 2017)
So many people hope to find the perfect soul mate, but suppose you do, only to lose the person you love just as your life together is getting off to a…
- New Books in Literature
Aliette de Bodard, “The House of Binding Thorns” (Ace, 2017)
The House of Binding Thorns (Ace, 2017), Aliette de Bodard‘s novel set in a turn-of-the-century Paris devastated by a magical war, is the follow up to The…
- New Books in Literature
Marlene Banks, “Son of A Preacher Man” and “Greenwood and Archer” (Lift Every Voice, 2012)
The tragic Tulsa Race Riots plus a smidgeon of romance equals to a compelling historical saga. Marlene Banks weaves fact and fiction together illustrating how…
- New Books in Literature
Leia Penina Wilson, “i built a boat with all the towels in your closet” (Red Hen Press, 2014)
There’s a phrase that sometimes comes up among those of us who love poetry. Its called the “heresy of paraphrase.” It’s from a book published in 1947 by…
- New Books in Literature
Julia Alekseyeva, “Soviet Daughter: A Graphic Revolution” (Microcosm Publishing, 2017)
Julia Alekseyeva’s graphic novel Soviet Daughter: A Graphic Revolution was published by Microcosm Publishing in 2017. This is the intertwining story of two…
- New Books in Literature
Li Zhi, “A Book To Burn And A Book To Keep (Hidden): Selected Writings” (Columbia UP, 2016)
Rivi Handler-Spitz, Pauline C. Lee, and Haun Saussy have created a wonderful resource for readers, researchers, students, and teachers alike. A Book To Burn…
- New Books in Literature
Quincy Carroll, “Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside: A Novel” (Inkshares, 2015)
Quincy Carroll’s new novel Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside: A Novel (Inkshares, 2015) follows the experiences of a handful of expats teaching…
- New Books in Literature
David Rosen and Aaron Santesso, “The Watchman in Pieces: Surveillance, Literature, and Liberal Personhood” (Yale UP, 2013)
“Surveillance and literature, as kindred practices, have light to shed on each other.” When David Rosen and Aaron Santesso considered the discipline of…
- New Books in Literature
Polly Buckingham, “The Expense of a View” (U. North Texas Press, 2016)
Mental illness and other emotional troubles are relatable experiences for Polly Buckingham, author of the new collection of short stories, The Expense of a…
- New Books in Literature
Holly Charles, “Velvet” (AuthorHouse, 2013)
Have you ever wondered about your family history, and how family traditions or secrets through the years may affect you, your behavior, and major aspects of…
- New Books in Literature
Marcia Aldrich, “Waveform: 21st-Century Essays by Women” (U of Georgia Press, 2016)
Back in 2013, in The New York Times, essayist Christy Wampole declared that we are in a moment of “the essayification of everything.” She noted how not only…
- New Books in Literature
Ashaki Jackson, “Language Lesson” (Miel Books, 2016)
How do we mourn those we’ve lost? What are the rituals and rites that allow us to understand our loss? To feel the measure of it? To heal, if we need healing?…
- New Books in Literature
Gail Ashton, ed. “Medieval Afterlives in Contemporary Culture” (Bloomsbury Academic, 2015/2017)
Dilapidated thirteenth-century walls as a playscape for today’s children, medieval relics made as fetish objects for twenty-first century enthusiasts, tourism…
- New Books in Literature
Scott Bruce, ed., “The Penguin Book of the Undead: Fifteen Hundred Years of Supernatural Encounters” (Penguin, 2016)
Like so many Americans, I’m a big fan of the undead. I look forward to a night of nail-biting when a new episode of The Walking Dead airs and I get excited…
- New Books in Literature
Mary Chapman, “Becoming Sui Sin Far: Early Fiction, Journalism and Travel Writing of Edith Maude Eaton” (McGill-Queens UP, 2016)
Becoming Sui Sin Far: Early Fiction, Journalism and Travel Writing of Edith Maude Eaton (McGill-Queens University Press, 2016) is a collection of…
- New Books in Literature
Kathryn Kleppinger, “Branding the Beur Author: Minority Writing and Media in France, 1983-2013” (Liverpool UP, 2015)
Kathryn Kleppinger’s Branding the Beur Author: Minority Writing and the Media in France, 1983-2013 (Liverpool University Press, 2015) examines the “paradox of…
- New Books in Literature
Scott Donaldson, “The Impossible Craft” Literary Biography” (Penn State UP, 2015)
Admiring books that appeal to our hearts and souls, rather often we want to know more about the writers who create them. If a book is a dialogical and communal…
- New Books in Literature
Daniel Moran,”Creating Flannery O’Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers” (U. of Georgia Press, 2016)
Daniel Moran’s Creating Flannery O’Connor: Her Critics, Her Publishers, Her Readers (University of Georgia Press, 2016) provides a compelling investigation of…
- New Books in Literature
Kate Partridge, “Intended American Dictionary” (Miel Press, 2016)
We commonly think of Walt Whitman as the great American poet, the gray-bearded bard who captures the democratic music of our country with, as he called it, his…
- New Books in Literature
Jonathan Lethem, “A Gambler’s Anatomy” (Doubleday, 2016)
Jonathan Lethem’s latest novel, A Gambler’s Anatomy (Doubleday, 2016), traces the existential crisis of an international backgammon hustler who thinks he’s…
- New Books in Literature
Kristen Case, “Abdication: Emily Dickinson’s Failures of Self” (Essay Press, 2015)
Emily Dickinson is no ordinary poet. Her intelligent and profound work inspires a fierce attachment in those who love it. I know this first-hand. My wife began…
- New Books in Literature
Eric Gardner, “Black Print Unbound: The Christian Recorder, African American Literature, and Periodical Culture” (Oxford UP, 2015)
Eric Gardner’s new study Black Print Unbound: the Christian Recorder, African American Literature, and Periodical Culture (Oxford University Press, 2015)…
- New Books in Literature
Kristin Stapleton, “Fact in Fiction: 1920s China and Ba Jin’s Family” (Stanford UP, 2016)
Kristin Stapleton’s new book opens onto a political crisis in China, and into a spirit of reform touched off by student demonstrations on May 4, 1919. Ba Jin…