ReadMore Podcast

YA author Emiko Jean discusses her new novel, Tokyo Ever After, the story of a Japanese American teenager who discovers her dad is the Crown Prince of Japan, how her life influenced the book, and the disturbing subliminal messages traditional fairytales send to young girls of color.

Brian Broome discusses his memoir, Punch Me Up to the Gods, which details his rough upbringing in a small town in Ohio in the 1980s. As a child, he contended with homophobia, racism, colorism and poverty. He struggled to fit in and faced abuse from his father and so-called friends. We discuss why he granted his parents grace, the unusual roommate who sparked his writing and his obsession with writ...

Author Deesha Philyaw discusses her critically acclaimed short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, why she started writing about "church ladies" in the first place, and her love for fantastic first lines.

National Book Award Winner James McBride discusses his new novel, Deacon King Kong, why he almost missed Oprah's call, and why the writing is easy for him, but the thinking is hard.

Author Walter Mosley discusses his new short story collection, The Awkward Black Man, how he's able to write so much, and why he won't hesitate to chuck a book if it's not working.

Author Yaa Gyasi discusses her new novel, Transcendent Kingdom, what she read to prepare to write about a neuroscientist who's studying addiction, and why she wanted to explore how faith shapes a character like her protagonist.

Author Ben Okri discusses his new short story collection, Prayer for the Living, why he wants readers to take their time with his work, and why re-reading is more pleasurable for him than reading.

Claudia Rankine discusses Just Us: An American Conversation, her genre-defying book about whiteness and how it functions in the US, as well as what she gained during quarantine, and why the pandemic has made this topic easier to discuss.

Award-winning author Alisson Wood discusses her debut memoir, Being Lolita, how she feels about being forever tied to the Nabokov novel and who she ultimately wrote this book for.

Award-winning author Natalia Sylvester discusses her first YA novel, Running, why she doesn't call herself an activist and ultimately decided to write unapologetically for her community.

Writer Edwidge Danticat discusses living and writing during quarantine, her latest short story collection, Everything Inside, and what legendary authors Toni Morrison and Paule Marshall meant to her.

Sara Collins discusses her debut novel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton, why she wanted to shake up how Black women are portrayed in historical fiction and the celebrated writer she's ashamed to admit is not her cup of tea.

Author Kimberly King Parsons discusses her first short story collection, Black Light, why she's fascinated by the dark side of human nature, and what she hopes readers will get out of her characters' bad decisions.

Author Jennine Capó Crucet discusses her essay collection, My Time Among the Whites, how she's been shaped by having white privilege, losing it and getting it back and her complicated relationship with Disney.

New YA author Brittney Morris describes how Black Panther influenced her to write SLAY, her debut novel about a video game designed to celebrate Black culture, why she wanted to explore the issue of race through a virtual world and how she started writing fiction in elementary school.

Author Nicole Dennis-Benn discusses her latest novel, Patsy, why she initially judged her title character and what fascinates her about women who make unpopular choices.

Children's author Pablo Cartaya discusses his new middle grade novel, Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish, the importance of children seeing themselves in literature and how young readers keep writers on their toes.

Author T Kira Madden discusses her memoir, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, how she was able to write about her experiences as the child of parents with major substance abuse issues and why she couldn't write this story in a linear way. Content Warning: T Kira's memoir includes the graphic depiction of a rape. We discuss the decision to include this around the 15-minute mark until about th...

Dariel Suarez discusses his short story collection, A Kind of Solitude, why he's drawn to writing about his Cuban homeland, and his love of books in translation.

Writer Alexia Arthurs discusses her debut short story collection, How to Love A Jamaican, what inspires her to write and the authors who have influenced her work.

YA Author Tiffany D. Jackson discusses her novel, Monday's Not Coming, what she hopes teens and adults will get out of the novel and an unpopular opinion on a very popular series of books.

The founder of Well-Read Black Girl, Glory Edim, discusses her new anthology that features essays with prominent Black women authors writing about when they first felt seen in literature. Glory also discusses her reading life and what reading Black women has meant to her throughout her life.

Writer Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah discusses his debut short story collection, Friday Black, how it was influenced by time he spent working in retail and why he was a little hesitant at first to write speculative fiction.

Author Renee Simms discusses her debut short story collection, Meet Behind Mars, how her interest in social justice affects her writing and why she wants to tap into her legal background to improve her work.

Author Natalia Sylvester discusses her new novel, Everyone Knows You Go Home, her interest in legacy, and the classic she abandoned after a few chapters.