In this episode of The Archive Project, we feature a talk by Amor Towles from a Literary Arts special event on February 1, 2023.

Towles is the author of three novels including the huge, international bestseller, A Gentleman in Moscow. He joined us to talk about his latest work The Lincoln Highway, also a bestselling novel, which began for Towles a full twenty years before its publication with a simple initial image: A warden driving a young man home for a juvenile detention center. From this jumping off point, Towles dives into describing his writing process and how he brings to life the large cast of characters that populate his books, and the complex plots that are so satisfying. There are few writers who talk with such clarity about their own process.

Towles also takes time to dwell in the historic context of the novel, the American mid-century, by talking about the extraordinary life of Carl Fisher, an entrepreneur who, among many other accomplishments, developed the first transcontinental highway (called The Lincoln Highway). Towles showed some slides during the talk so you’ll hear the audience react to some visuals, but you won’t miss anything as he does a wonderful job talking through the images. After his talk, Towles and sat down for an extend conversation.

Amor Towles is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The Lincoln Highway, A Gentleman in Moscow, and Rules of Civility. His novels have collectively sold millions of copies and have been translated into more than thirty languages. Towles lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children.