AWM Author Talks

This week we take a look back at some of our favorite moments from the top episodes we released in 2022. From Poet Laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners to screenwriters, novelists and more, we hope you enjoy entering the minds of these writers. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME

This week, celebrate the 100th anniversary of T. S. Eliot’s iconic poem The Waste Land with scholar and professor Jed Rasula, author of What the Thunder Said: How The Waste Land Made Poetry Modern . Rasula discusses his book and the enduring impact of The Waste Land with poet and scholar Reginald Gibbons. The following conversation originally took place December 6th, 2022 and was recorded live via...

This week, we discuss The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022 anthology with guest editor Rebecca Roanhorse, series editor John Joseph Adams, and bestselling author Veronica Roth. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor Rebecca Roanhorse,  The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2022  explores the ever-expanding and changing w...

This week, writers from Central and Eastern Europe stop by the AWM on the Ukrainian and Dissident Writers Tour, presented by The Continental Literary Magazine . Sándor Jászberényi , editor-in-chief of  The Continental Literary Magazine , moderates a panel of writers aimed at promoting cultural exchange between Central Europe and the writers of the United States. In tumultuous and dangerous times l...

This week, Stuart N. Brotman and John Palfrey discuss Brotman’s new book The First Amendment Lives On , a collection of conversations with free speech scholars and advocates. This conversation originally took place November 7th, 2022 at the American Writers Museum and was recorded live. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME More about The First Amendment Lives On : Hugh M. Hefner’s legacy of enduring free spee...

This week, Imani Perry, recent recipient of the 2022 National Book Award for nonfiction, discusses her book South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation . Perry is joined by Dawn Turner. This episode is presented in conjunction with our special exhibit Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice , in which Perry and her work is featured. Explore Da...

This week, we present the Fierce Reads Nonfiction Panel, a discussion of the various forms of nonfiction writing with five authors who work in the genre. In order of appearance, the writers are Achut Deng and Keely Hutton, Alex Graudins, Ashley Woodfolk, and Jessica Vitkus. Quick note: Alex Graudins is a cartoonist and presented a slideshow of her work during her segment. If you would like to watc...

This week, bestselling author Ross Gay discusses his new essay collection Inciting Joy . In these gorgeously written and timely pieces, Gay considers the joy we incite when we care for each other, especially during life’s inevitable hardships. This conversation originally took place November 1, 2022 at the American Writers Museum and was recorded live. This episode is presented in conjunction with...

To celebrate Halloween, this week’s episode is magical! Acclaimed authors Dhonielle Clayton and Jacqueline Woodson discuss Clayton’s recent middle grade debut The Marvellers , a fantasy adventure set in a global magic school in the sky. This conversation originally took place May 15th, 2022 at the inaugural American Writers Festival and was recorded live. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB Dhonielle Clayton...

This week, acclaimed authors Reyna Grande and Juan Martinez discuss Grande’s life and writing, in particular her two most recent books: A Ballad of Love and Glory , a historical novel set during the Mexican-American War; and an anthology of immigrant voices she co-edited called Somewhere We Are Human: Authentic Voices on Migration, Survival, and New Beginnings . The Spanish version of her recent n...

This week, photographer Carell Augustus discusses his new photography book Black Hollywood: Reimagining Iconic Movie Moments with journalist Arionne Nettles. This episode is presented in conjunction with our new special exhibit Dark Testament: A Century of Black Writers on Justice , now open. This conversation originally took place October 13, 2022 and was recorded live at the American Writers Mus...

This week, U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo and Literary Director of the Library of Congress Marie Arana explore the themes of their roots, their creativity, and how their origin stories feed them and their work. This conversation originally took place May 15, 2022 at the inaugural American Writers Festival and was recorded live. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HUB In 2019,  Joy Harjo  was appointed the...

This week, historian and author Kelly Lytle Hernández sits down with writer Michael Zapata to discuss her book Bad Mexicans: Race, Empire, and Revolution in the Borderlands . The recently released book fills in one of the largest gaps in our history textbooks: the 1910 Mexican Revolution, which remade both Mexico and the United States. This conversation originally took place May 15, 2022 at the in...

This week, historian and author David W. Blight talks with scholar Keidrick Roy about the work and legacy of Frederick Douglass. Blight edited the recently published collection of Douglass’s public writings from the Library of America. This edition is the largest single-volume selection of Douglass’s writings ever published, including 34 speeches and 67 pieces of journalism. This episode is presen...

This week, author David Maraniss discusses his new book Path Lit By Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe , the definitive biography of a great American athlete who struggled most of his life to overcome racist stereotypes. Maraniss is an associate editor at The Washington Post and a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and was a fina...

This week, bestselling mystery novelist Sara Paretsky chats with Booklist editor Donna Seaman about Overboard , the latest book in Paretsky’s “V.I. Warshawski” detective series. This conversation originally took place May 15th, 2022 at the American Writers Museum and was recorded live as part of the museum’s inaugural American Writers Festival . We hope you enjoy entering the mind of a writer.

This week, beloved children’s book authors Andrea Beaty and Betsy Bird chat about Beaty’s career, her writing process, the publishing industry, and how much fun it is to write for kids. This conversation originally took place May 15th, 2022 at the American Writers Museum and was recorded live as part of the Museum’s inaugural American Writers Festival . We hope you enjoy entering the mind of a wri...

This week, singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and writer Bekah Brunstetter discuss the process of adapting The Notebook , the romance novel by Nicholas Sparks, into a musical for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The world premiere musical opens September 6th, 2022. Learn more here. This conversation originally took place August 17th, 2022 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. We h...

This week, author and Broadway director Schele Williams discusses her children’s picture book Your Legacy: A Bold Reclaiming of Our Enslaved History with journalist Arionne Nettles. This conversation was recorded live at the American Writers Museum on May 15, 2022 as part of the inaugural American Writers Festival . We hope you enjoy entering the mind of a writer. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME

This week, author Kim Michele Richardson discusses her new book The Book Woman’s Daughter with American Writers Museum Program Director Allison Sansone. This conversation was recorded live for the American Writers Festival on May 15, 2022 in Chicago. We hope you enjoy entering the mind of a writer. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME

This week, journalist and author Kosoko Jackson discusses his young adult novel Survive the Dome with writer and educator Jacoby Cochran. The Hate U Give meets Internment in this pulse-pounding thriller about an impenetrable dome around Baltimore that is keeping the residents in and information from going out during a city-wide protest. This conversation was recorded live at the American Writers F...

This week, acclaimed writers Maxine Hong Kingston and Viet Thanh Nguyen discuss Kingston’s writing and legacy in light of the new collection of Kingston’s work from the Library of America , edited by Nguyen. This conversation was recorded live for the American Writers Festival on May 15, 2022 in Chicago. We hope you enjoy entering the mind of a writer. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME

This week, bestselling author Sudhir Venkatesh discusses his new book, The Tomorrow Game: Rival Teenagers, Their Race for a Gun, and a Community United to Save Them . This conversation originally took place July 6th, 2022 and was recorded live at the American Writers Museum. We hope you enjoy entering the mind of a writer. AWM PODCAST NETWORK HOME

On July 11th, 1960, Harper Lee’s iconic novel To Kill A Mockingbird was originally published. To celebrate the 62nd anniversary of this literary event, this week screenwriter Aaron Sorkin chats with professor Ivy Wilson about how he adapted Lee’s novel for the stage. This conversation was recorded for the American Writers Festival on May 15th, 2022, which featured more than 75 leading writers from...

This is a special week…it is our 100th episode! To celebrate, we’re counting down our top ten most listened-to podcasts from the past three years and sharing highlights from each. From poets to journalists to novelists and more, we hope you enjoy entering the minds of these writers. Listen to the full episodes below: Alice McDermott, Joseph O'Neill & Daniel Mulhall : Irish-American Writers and...