Poets & Writers Theater

“It’s not, I don’t think, hyperbolic to say that books can and have changed people’s lives, and how we find books matters a great deal.” In this conversation with Politics and Prose Bookstore co-owner Bradley Graham, author Evan Friss talks about his book The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore (Viking, 2024) and how bookstores serve as important spaces that foster community and culture in America.

In this Late Night With Seth Meyers interview, Amor Towles talks about the television adaptation of his novel A Gentleman in Moscow, and bringing life to the short stories in his new book, Table for Two (Viking, 2024).

Rebecca Makkai discusses her newest novel, I Have Some Questions for You (Viking, 2023), and talks about spectacles of violence in media and what makes a good mystery in a conversation with journalist Rachael Brown for this 2023 Wheeler Centre event in Melbourne, including an introductory reading by playwright and novelist Suzie Miller.

In this episode of Poured Over: The Barnes & Noble Podcast hosted by Miwa Messer, Phillip B. Williams talks about the makings of his debut novel, Ours (Viking, 2024), and how his characters led him to shape the story. For more from Williams, read his installment of our Ten Questions online series.

Geraldine Brooks speaks about her “ridiculous optimism” for new writing projects, the connection she has with her characters, and her new novel, Horse (Viking, 2022), with librarian Rebekah Scarborough in this virtual event, hosted by PBS Books in collaboration with Georgia Public Broadcasting celebrating the 2022 Library of Congress National Book Festival.

“It seems like the ideas kind of find me, and oftentimes it’s an image, just one word or one smell or one setting, and it just won’t leave me alone,” says Erika L. Sánchez about her writing process and how her family’s storytelling influenced her in this 2020 virtual event for the Speak On It series hosted by the Chicago Public Library. Sánchez’s memoir, Crying in the Bathroom (Viking, 2022), is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“I successfully avoided husbands and children and day jobs—those things can all really interfere with your productivity.” In an interview with Emma Watson, Rebecca Solnit discusses how she has managed to write so prolifically, the communication of information as a cultural phenomenon, and the themes in her first memoir, Recollections of My Nonexistence (Viking, 2020), which is featured in Page One in the March/April issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Dublin Murders is a BBC television adaptation of the first two novels in Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad mystery series, In the Woods (Viking, 2007) and The Likeness (Viking, 2008), which follows two detectives investigating homicides in contemporary Dublin. Adapted by Sarah Phelps, the eight-episode crime show stars Moe Dunford, Sarah Greene, Killian Scott, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor.

“I sincerely believe this is a life-affirming book and it is a novel that celebrates diversity, inclusion…and friendships.” Elif Shafak speaks about her writing process and the inspiration behind her latest novel, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World (Viking, 2019), which is shortlisted for the 2019 Booker Prize.

“I start with a physical feeling. I start with a visual image.” On Late Night With Seth Meyers, Ann Beattie speaks about her writing process, the differences between writing a novel and a short story, and how she came up with the title for her most recent novel, A Wonderful Stroke of Luck (Viking, 2019).

In this interview, Susan Choi talks to Paul Peppis at the University of Oregon about her fifth novel, Trust Exercise (Henry Holt, 2019), her previous four novels, which include A Person of Interest (Viking, 2008) and My Education (Viking, 2013), writing Asian American characters, and her nonfiction work.

A Discovery of Witches (Viking, 2011), the first novel in Deborah Harkness’s All Souls historical fantasy trilogy, has been adapted into a television miniseries. The eight-part series stars Edward Bluemel, Gregg Chillin, Matthew Goode, Teresa Palmer, and follows the story of a history scholar witch, a geneticist vampire, and a long-lost alchemical manuscript.

“You’re writing in total isolation. It’s like getting dressed in the dark, the complete dark, and then you have to go out on stage.” On Late Night With Seth Meyers, Rebecca Makkai discusses what it feels like to publish a book, the research behind her new novel, The Great Believers (Viking, 2018), and why she enjoys teaching MFA students. The Great Believers is longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award in fiction.

“What I’m often writing about is the sense of disappointment between how one wishes one would be and how one really is.” A. M. Homes speaks about her new story collection, Days of Awe (Viking, 2018), for Waterstones in London. Homes reads an excerpt from the book in the twentieth episode of Ampersand: The Poets & Writers Podcast.

In a craft talk at the Center for Fiction in New York City, A. M. Homes discusses the value of having a writing routine, how she approaches novels and short stories differently, and her fascination with Barbie. Homes is the author of Days of Awe (Viking, 2018), which is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“Reading is an opportunity to see little aspects of the world and different periods that you can never access yourself...” Tom Rachman talks about how his literary inspirations, such as Dickens, Tolstoy, Virginia Woolf, and George Orwell, have evolved over the years. Rachman’s third novel, The Italian Teacher (Viking, 2018), is featured in Page One in the March/April issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

“That was really one of my goals when I wrote the book, to create a human experience rather than the so-called North Korean experience for readers.” Author and translator Krys Lee speaks about her debut novel, How I Became a North Korean (Viking, 2016), and what she hopes to accomplish through her writing.

“I see the world as a magical place.” Nnedi Okorafor talks about magical realism, fantasy, and her writing process at the 2015 Aké Arts and Book Festival in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Okorafor is the author most recently of Akata Warrior (Viking, 2017), the second novel in the Akata young adult fantasy series centered around Sunny Nwazue, a Nigerian American girl.

The Danish Girl, a film adaptation of David Ebershoff's first novel, follows the story of married painters Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener, and Lili's journey as a transgender pioneer. The film is directed by Tom Hooper and stars Eddie Redmayne and Alicia Vikander.

“Writing is my true, true joy, and that’s what makes me feel alive and nourished.” Erika L. Sánchez talks about her memoir, Crying in the Bathroom (Viking, 2022), and the process of book promotion and being a writer with Sandra Cisneros in this virtual event for Politics and Prose, produced in partnership with Books and Books and Café con Libros. Sánchez’s memoir is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.