The Watchung Booksellers Podcast

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, Kate Zernike and Rachel Swarns talk about their professions as journalists and authors, and how they developed their long-form articles into books.  Rachel L. Swarns is a journalism professor at New York University and a contributing writer for The New York Times. She is the author of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the...

In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, author Jemimah Wei and editor Lee Boudreaux discuss the author/editor relationship and the work each does to develop and publish a novel. Lee Boudreaux is an executive editor at Doubleday, specializing in fiction. She edited James by Percival Everett and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, and also has the great pleasure of working with such...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, four of our community's authors read excerpts from their current and upcoming books. Anne Burt reads from Please Don't Lie , Christina Baker Kline reads from The Foursome , Henry Neff reads from The Witchstone , and Jemimah Wei reads from The Original Daughter . All can be ordered (or preordered) from Watchung Booksellers.  Christina B...

In this episode of the Watchung Bookselelrs Podcast, authors Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt discuss collaborating together on their first thriller, Please Don't Lie. Christina Baker Kline is the Number 1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles , Orphan Train , and A Piece of the World . She is the recipient of the New England Society prize for fiction, the...

In this bonus episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we share a recording from an in-store event this spring with Amy Larocca, author of How to Be Well: Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time , in conversation with Jason Tanz. Amy Larocca is an award-winning American journalist. She spent twenty years working at New York magazine as both fashion director and editor at...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, librarians Laura Sims and Kerri Sullivan discuss their alternate jobs as writers and editors and how the two careers mesh together. Laura Sims is the author, most recently, of How Can I Help You , a New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Book Riot, and CrimeReads Best Book of the Year. She works part-time as a children's librarian in Millburn,...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Anne Berest and Claire Berest discuss their novel, Gabriële , with moderator Violaine Huisman during a partnership event with the Montclair Literary Festival, the Montclair Public Library, and the Montclair Campus of L'Alliance-New York.  Anne Berest ’s first novel to appear in English, The Postcard (Europa, 2023), was a national be...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we feature a compilation of book recommendations from our customers, recorded in store on Independent Bookstore Day. Enjoy this varied and wonderful list of books! Libro. Fm Audiobook of Walking Practice Books: A full list of the books and authors mentioned in this episode is available here . Register for Upcoming Events . The Watchung Bookselle...

To celebrate the first anniversary of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we share a live recording of a book club discussion of Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt, led by authors Alice Elliott Dark and Dagmara Domińczyk.  Alice Elliott Dark is the author of the novels Fellowship Point and Think of England , and two collections of short stories, In The Gloaming and Naked to the Waist . She is a recipien...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, children's book author Alliah Agostini talks with children's book illustrator Olivia de Castro about taking humor seriously, and celebrating the joy of underrepresented voices in kids' books. Buffalo, NY native Alliah L. Agostini has marketed everything from iconic brands to scrappy start-ups, but motherhood helped her return to h...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we feature a recent book launch discussion with Benjamin Wallace, author of The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto: A Fifteen-Year Quest to Unmask the Secret Genius Behind Crypto , and author Jason Tanz. Benjamin Wallace is The New York Times bestselling author of The Billionaire’s Vinegar and The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto . He has been a features writer at...

In this week's episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, booksellers Asia and Caroline chat with longtime favorite customer, Edward.  Asia Jannah was born and raised in Montclair, and has worked at Watchung Booksellers for a total of 9 years. She is currently the gift buyer for the flagship location. Her favorite genres include dark fiction, short stories, essays and memoirs. When she’s no...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, children's book author/illustrators Kristine Lombardi and Cat Min talk about their process and love of kids' literature. Kristine A. Lombardi has written and illustrated several books for children, including Lovey Bunny, Mr. Biddles, My Wish for the World and The Grumpy Pets , which garnered an International Literacy Association Childr...

In this week's episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, journalists Candy J. Cooper and Dale Russakoff share their excitement in the triumphs of journalistic writing. Candy J. Cooper is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting. She is the author, most recently, of Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and A Town that Looked Away,...

In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Laurie Lico Albanese and Anastasia Rubis discuss reading and writing historical fiction. Laurie Lico Albanese is a historical novelist, most recently of the acclaimed novel Hester,  which gives voice to Hester Prynne in a retelling of The Scarlet Letter . Hester was a Book of the Month club selection and an Audible and Goodreads Best Boo...

In this week's episode, scientists Charles Liu and George Musser find joy in daily observations through science and writing.  Charles Liu is a professor of astrophysics at the City University of New York’s College of Staten Island and an associate with the Hayden Planetarium and Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History . His research focuses on colliding galaxies,...

In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, journalists Farnoosh Torabi and Grace L. Williams talk about financial writing and books that focus on women and money. Grace L. Williams is a scholar of feminism and economics who moonlights as a financial reporter and podcast co-host. She is the author of the newly released Give Her Credit , a book that spotlights women's banks in the 197...

In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, novelists Marcy Dermansky and Hayley Krischer tackle challenges of a writer's life and troubleshoot helpful writing solutions. Marcy Dermansky is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Very Nice, The Red Car, Bad Marie, Twins, and Hurricane Girl . She has received fellowships from the McDowell Colony and the Edward F. Albee Foundatio...

In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, poets Alicia Cook and Deborah Garrison share how poetry fosters connection and their own work. Plus, at the end of the episode, listen to some of the poetry readings from our special Valentine's Day Pop-Up Poetry Booth in The Kids' Room.  Deborah Garrison began her career at the The New Yorker, where she worked for fifteen years and wh...

In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, Montclair State Professor Lee Behlman and high school English teacher Nick Hernandez talk about their love of literature and teaching it to their students.  Lee Behlman is a professor of English at Montclair State University , where he's taught since 2006. He's a scholar of Victorian literature and his most recent publication is a 2023...

Welcome to Season 2 of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast! In this episode bookstore owner Maddie Ciliotta-Young talks with her mom and former owner Margot Sage-EL about the past, present, and future of Watchung Booksellers. Maddie Ciliotta-Young is the owner and operator of Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ. Maddie grew up in Montclair and at the bookstore with her mom, Margot. After college sh...

In this bonus episode, we feature an in-store event held the day after the 2024 Presidential election with professors Kim Wehle and Jessica Henry, who discussed Kim’s book Pardon Power: How the Pardon System Works–and Why . Kim Wehle is a constitutional scholar and tenured professor of law at the University of Baltimore School of Law. She was formerly an assistant United States Attorney and an ass...

As we gear up for Season 2 of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we are re-airing an episode from the first season to celebrate the release of The Last Bookstore on Earth from debut author Lily Braun-Arnold, a Smith College student and employee of Watchung Booksellers. Enjoy this repeat episode of Season 1 - Ep 10: From Reader to Writer with Lily Braun-Arnold and Laura Marx Fitzgerald.  Books: A fu...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers, the dedicated Kids' Room staff talks about their love of children's books and everything the store offers to the Montclair community. Aubrey Cece is the Kids’ Room manager, children’s book and gift buyer, and children’s author event planner. She’s a born creative with the love of everything books and art. Her favorite color is lime green and h...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers, authors and entrepreneurs Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry discuss becoming The Book Doctors--their business of teaching writers how to get published. Arielle Eckstut is co-founder of The Book Doctors. She is the author of nine books including The Secret Language of Color: The Science, Nature, History, Culture and Beauty of Red, Orange, Yellow, Gr...