AWM Author Talks

This week, dive into the New Fiction panel from the American Writers Festival, recorded live on May 19, 2024. Four novelists — Donna Hemans , Jessica Shattuck , Yukiko Tominaga , and Michael Zapata — discuss their craft, process, and recent novels: The House of Plain Truth  by Donna Hemans — A lyrical, lush, evocative story about a fractured Jamaican family and a daughter determined to reclaim her...

Ahead of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, media historian Heather Hendershot discusses her book When the News Broke: Chicago 1968 and the Polarizing of America , a riveting, blow-by-blow account of how the network broadcasts of the 1968 Democratic Convention shattered faith in American media. She sits down with historian Kevin Boyle to discuss these themes and shows how this his...

This week, we chat with members of the Ardent Dance Company about their upcoming ballet POE , based on the life and work of Edgar Allan Poe. Justine Kelly is the Artistic Director of Ardent Dance Company and Ben Locke is a dancer who plays the role of Poe in the upcoming show. You can learn more about Kelly and Locke below. You can see Ardent Dance Company perform POE at the Ruth Page Center for t...

This week, speculative fiction writers Darcie Little Badger , Michi Trota , and Suzanne Walker discuss their work, crafting other worlds with writing, and the science fiction genre at large. This conversation originally took place May 19, 2024 and was recorded live at the American Writers Festival . AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME About the writers: DARCIE LITTLE BADGER  is a Lipan Apache writer wit...

This week, tune into the panel discussion Making Up True Stories: Novels and Books About Real People. Our featured writers are Amanda Flower , Sarah James , Brianna Labuskes , and Brianna Madia . Moderated by Dipika Mukherjee . This conversation originally took place May 19, 2024 and was recorded live at the 2024 American Writers Festival . AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME About the writers: AMANDA FLOWER...

This week, writers John Berendt and Taylor Mac discuss the Goodman Theatre’s world-premiere stage musical adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil . Berendt is the author of the original book the musical is based on, and Mac wrote the book for the adaptation. Learn more about Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: The Musical , here . This conversation originally took place July 8,...

This week, journalist Mark Bowden discusses his new book The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It , co-written with Matthew Teague . Bowden is interviewed by reporter Natalie Y. Moore . This conversation originally took place May 19, 2024 and was recorded live at the 2024 American Writers Festival . AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME MARK BOWDEN  is the author of fi...

This week, we have the first of many programs from the 2024 American Writers Festival for you. In this episode, comedians Jamie Loftus and Chelsea Hood talk about Chicago hot dogs, comedy writing, and Jamie’s cross-country journey to write Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs . Moderated by food writer David Hammond . This conversation originally took place May 19, 2024 and was recorded live at...

This week, we get spooky. National bestselling author Paul Tremblay discusses his latest summer blockbuster Horror Movie: A Novel , a chilling twist on the "cursed film" genre from the author of  The Pallbearers Club ,  A Head Full of Ghosts , and  The Cabin at the End of the World . Tremblay’s latest is an obsessive, psychologically chilling, and suspenseful feat of storytelling genius that build...

This week, bestselling author R. O. Kwon discusses her new novel Exhibit , an exhilarating, blazing-hot novel about a woman caught between her desires and her life. Kwon is joined by fellow author Nami Mun. This conversation originally took place May 5, 2024 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME More about Exhibit : At a lavish party in the hills outside of...

This week, we present a panel discussion with a range of scholars exploring religion through narrative games. This is a special episode in conjunction with our new exhibit Level Up: Writers & Gamers , on display now at the American Writers Museum. This conversation originally took place April 11, 2024 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. Featured panelists: Emily Crews , Execu...

This week, acclaimed mystery writer Sara Paretsky discusses her new book Pay Dirt , the latest installment of her iconic V.I. Warshawski detective series. Paretsky is joined by Booklist editor Donna Seaman. This conversation originally took place April 16, 2024 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB See Sara and Donna at the American Writers Festival too! Thi...

This week, we’re on a mission from God. Journalist and author Daniel de Visé discusses his book The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Classic . Hit it. This conversation originally took place March 19, 2024 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME More about The Blues Brothers : "They're not going to catch us...

This week, pop culture historian Jennifer Keishin Armstrong discusses her new book So Fetch: The Making of Mean Girls (And Why We’re Still So Obsessed With It) . From the New York Times bestselling author of  Seinfeldia  comes the totally fetch story of one of the most iconic teen comedies of all time,  Mean Girls , revealing how it happened, how it defined a generation, "like, invented" meme cult...

This week, award winning filmmaker Ed Zwick discusses his memoir Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood , a heartfelt and wry career memoir that gives a dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Zwick is interviewed by Carey Cranston, President of the American Writers Museum. This conversation originally took place Februar...

This week, journalist and historian Tim Spofford discusses his book What the Children Told Us: The Untold Story of the Famous “Doll Test” and the Black Psychologists Who Changed the World . Does racial discrimination harm Black children's sense of self? The "Doll Test" illuminated its devastating toll. Spofford is interviewed by AWM Program Director Allison Sansone. This conversation originally to...

This week, bestselling author Laurence Leamer discusses Truman Capote and his book Capote’s Women: A True Story of Love, Betrayal, and a Swan Song for an Era , which served as the basis for FX's hit show Feud: Capote vs. The Swans . Leamer reveals the complex web of relationships and scandalous true stories behind Truman Capote’s never-published final novel, Answered Prayers —the dark secrets, tra...

In this special episode, we take a look back at some of our favorite moments from the top episodes of our two ongoing series – Nation of Writers and AWM Author Talks .

This week, award-winning author Gabriel Bump discusses his new novel The New Naturals , a touching, timely novel about an attempt to found an underground Black utopia and the interwoven stories of those drawn to it. He is joined in conversation by author Adam Levin. This conversation originally took place December 3, 2023 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HO...

This week, author Clara Kumagai discusses her debut young adult novel Catfish Rolling , a wholly original and mind-bending debut YA novel about memory, family, and an earthquake that breaks apart time. This conversation originally took place October 28, 2023 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. Quick note: during this episode, Clara references photos from a slideshow she shared du...

This week, writers Jonathan Taplin and Michi Trota discuss the profound implications of AI for the future of writing and creative expression. They are interviewed by Allison Sansone, Program Director at the American Writers Museum. This conversation originally took place November 10, 2023 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. Taplin’s latest book  The End of Reality: How Four Billi...

This week, filmmaker and author Curtis Chin discusses his book Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant , a memoir about coming of age and coming out. Chin traces his journey through 1980s Detroit as he navigated rising xenophobia, the AIDS epidemic, and the Reagan Revolution to find his voice as a writer and activist—all set against the backdrop of his family’s popular Chinese rest...

This week, author and theater critic Patti Hartigan discusses her recent book August Wilson: A Life , the first authoritative biography of iconic playwright August Wilson. Hartigan is joined by actor and playwright J. Nicole Brooks. This conversation originally took place October 30, 2023 and was recorded live via Zoom. This episode is presented alongside our special exhibit Dark Testament: A Cent...

This week, Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen discusses his new book A Man of Two Faces , a highly original, blistering, and unconventional memoir in which he rewinds the film of his own life with insight, humor, formal invention, and lyricism. Nguyen is joined by writer and professor Vu Tran. This conversation originally took place October 23, 2023 and was recorded live at the American Write...

This week, historian and author Sterling L. Bland Jr. discusses his book In the Shadow of Invisibility: Ralph Ellison and the Promise of American Democracy . This conversation originally took place October 15, 2023 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. This episode is presented in conjunction with the AWM's ongoing special exhibit Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justi...