This Is the Author

S5 Ep 33: In this episode, meet Michael Pollan, Judith Warner, and Conor Knighton. These three authors use their audiobooks to take listeners on journeys of discovery: discovery about the food we eat, about how adolescence shapes adulthood and how we parent, and discovery about National Parks throughout the country. And while all of these authors are avid audiobook listeners themselves, discover w...

S5 Ep 34: In this episode meet Liam Vaughn, Barton Gellman, and Jung H Pak. From the story of a trading prodigy who triggered the fastest US market crash in history to gripping profiles of whistle-blower Edward Snowden and North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un, real people and events inspired these authors’ books. Although they each found the audiobook narration process to be more challenging than ex...

S5 Ep 31: In this episode, meet entrepreneur Meredith Fineman, technology reporter Alex Kantrowitz, and attorney Adrienne Lawrence. Each of these authors has taken a hard look at how engrained company cultures and established hierarchies can deeply and often negatively affect everything from worker productivity and innovation to employees’ basic ability to grow and thrive. Listen in to learn what...

S5 Ep 32: In this episode, meet novelist Maya Shanbhag Lang, writer Benjamin Taylor, and co-authors Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez. Each of these authors has combed through history—whether it’s of a personal relationship with a loved one or the cultural history of the Drag community—to create and share true stories of connection, inspiration, and love. Plus, discover which author rehearsed rea...

S5 E30: In this episode, meet journalist Andy Boyle, psychologist Rick Hanson, and speaker John O’Leary. Discover how each of these authors started asking big questions---of others and of themselves—in an effort to uncover how we grow into the people we are, and what we can do when we’re ready to change as adults. Plus, find out whose experience narrating took him back to his “high school musical...

S5 E29: In this episode meet children’s book authors and educators Torrey Maldonado and M. Evan Wolkenstein. Using their own personal experiences of growing up, both writers create heartfelt, relatable tales that touch on universal issues of self-image and belonging. Each of the audiobooks will bring joy to young listeners, and provide opportunities for families to talk about empathy, connection,...

S5 Ep 25: In this special episode of This Is the Author, we meet bestselling authors Erik Larson and Lisa Wingate. You can hear them narrate an author’s note on their respective audiobook productions. Both authors used history as the basis for their books although one is fiction and one is non-fiction. In Erik Larson’s riveting narrative nonfiction work, The Splendid and the Vile, he explores Wins...

S5 E26: In this episode, meet authors Teju Cole, Nina Renata Aron, and Karla Cornejo Villavicencio. Step into the studio to hear each of them reflect on recording their audiobook, and particularly their thoughts on revisiting difficult or intimate scenes on the page and how voicing those scenes affected their narration. Plus, find out who once listened to an audiobook on a road trip while the sun...

S5 E27: In this episode, meet Bethany Saltman, Sarah Menkedick, and Kelsey Patel. In each of these authors’ audiobooks, they guide listeners through tricky life moments, whether it’s the anxiety of new motherhood or struggling with personal burnout. Discover what each woman learned about herself in their respective recording sessions -- and hear which author listens to audiobooks to help her get t...

S5 E23: In this episode, meet Tony Wagner, Casey Schwartz, and Rana el Kaliouby. Go behind the mic with these authors and discover what it was like for them to record their audiobooks. Learning by Heart by Tony Wagner: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/600078/learning-by-heart/ Attention: A Love Story by Casey Schwartz: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/562183/attention-a-lov...

S5 E22: Welcome to another episode of This is the Author in Conversation, a more intimate behind-the-mic chat with our authors in the audiobook studio. This is Jennifer Rubins from Penguin Random House Audio, and I’m thrilled to invite you into my conversation with Emily Neuberger, the author of A Tender Thing, a beautiful debut novel set under the dazzling lights of late 1950s Broadway. I should...

S5 E20: In this episode, meet Jerry Saltz, Sarah Urist Green, and Adrienne Raphel. Each of these authors is passionate about art, artists, and how the creative impulse can permeate the every day. Go behind the mic as they talk about recording their audiobooks, and the unique challenges and joys of translating the visual medium of their books into the spoken word. Plus, find out who became a dedica...

In this second installment of our National Library Week special on This is the Author, we asked even more of our authors to share their fondest library memories. Listen to Glennon Doyle, John Von Sothen, Lee Hartley Carter, Emilie Pine, Ali Wong, Richard Russo, Terry McMillan, and Pablo Cartaya as they share anecdotes about their experiences as children within the library space, as well as stories...

In this special episode of This is the Author, we’re celebrating National Library Week by asking authors to share some of their favorite library memories. Listen to Rebecca Solnit, Sarah Urist Green, Samantha Irby, Erin Lee Carr, Deepak Chopra, Janice Kaplan, Wendelin Van Draanen, Carolina de Robertis, and David Levithan highlight the wonderful opportunities that both libraries and librarians prov...

S5 Ep 21: In this episode, meet Samantha Irby, Glennon Doyle, and Mike McHargue. Go behind the mic with these dynamic, charismatic authors and hear what it was like for them to record their audiobooks. You may also learn a thing or two about mispronouncing words in a sweaty recording booth, listening to audiobooks in the shower, and more. Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby: https://www.penguinran...

S5 E18: In this episode, meet Bess Kalb, Fanny Singer, and Terry McMillan. These authors have written remarkable new books about the complex, restorative, and joyous power of female relationships. Go behind the mic to hear what it was like for them to narrate their own audiobooks. Plus, find out which author recommends an audiobook that she says was like “the greatest lunch I ever had.” Nobody Wil...

S5 E19: In this episode, meet Alex Halberstadt, Esther Safran Foer, and Carolyn Forche. Each of these authors has written about their search for hidden family histories in the context of world-altering historical events. Listen in and hear what it was like for them to read their audiobooks. Plus, find out whose recording session required them to pronounce words in (at least!) 8 languages. Young He...

S5 E15 - Welcome to another episode of This is the Author in Conversation, a more intimate behind the mic chat with our authors in the audiobooks studio. Today you’ll meet beloved, award-winning author George Saunders, and Sr. Executive Producer at Penguin Random House Audio, Kelly Gildea, who also produced and directed George’s many audiobook productions. Recording an audiobook can be a singular...

S5 E16: In this episode, meet Mara Hvistendahl, Robert Reich, and Charlotte Alter. These authors are each deeply knowledgeable about the urgent economic and political landscapes that are affecting our everyday lives. Listen to their fascinating behind-the-mic insights and hear what it was like for them to record their audiobooks. The Scientist and the Spy by Mara Hvistendahl: https://www.penguinra...

S5 E17: In this episode, meet Jim McKelvey, Hope Jahren, and Courtney Carver. Step into the audio studio with these authors as they talk about both innovation and how we can all do more with less, and what it means to incorporate that new thinking into our daily lives. The Innovation Stack by Jim McKelvey: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/617493/the-innovation-stack/ The Story of More...

S5 E14: In this episode, meet Rebecca Solnit, Celeste Headlee, and Sarah Ramey. These authors have written and narrated audiobooks about what it takes to come up against entrenched systems and create the space needed to live the fullest life possible. Go behind the mic and hear what it was like for them to record their audiobooks. Plus, find out who was told that she pronounces some words “like an...

S5 E13: In this episode, meet Phil Stamper, Ariana Margulis, and Jessica Lanyadoo. Go behind the mic with these authors as they talk about love: first love, misguided love, true love, and even love from an astrological point of view. Plus, find out whose dream audiobook narrator is a toss-up between Bart Simpson and…Scarlett Johansson. The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper: https://www.penguinrandomho...

S5 E12: In this episode, meet co-authors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, Emily Balcetis, and Janice Kaplan. When making a change, sometimes it’s the little things that matter, sometimes it’s the big ones. Step into the recording studio and hear what motivated each of these authors to write and record their audiobooks. Designing Your Work Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans: https://www.penguinrandomh...

S5 E11: In this episode meet Eilene Zimmerman, Conor Dougherty, and Sierra Crane Murdoch. Go behind the mic with these authors and hear what it was like for them to bring their intensely researched, timely, and thought-provoking works to their audiobooks. Smacked by Eilene Zimmerman: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/574587/smacked/ Golden Gates by Conor Dougherty: https://www.penguinra...

S5 E10: Welcome to another episode of This Is the Author - In Conversation, a more intimate behind the mic chat with our authors in the audiobook studio. Today you’ll meet author Lance Rubin and narrator Katie Schorr. This husband and wife team collaborated in more ways than one to bring the humor and heartbreak of CRYING LAUGHING to life. The main character of Winnie is actually inspired by Katie...