Gays Reading

Jason and Brett talk to Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider (In the Form of a Question) about life before and after her lauded run on the show, the impact of teachers, her experience writing nonfiction and stand-up comedy, and how hard it is to execute the infamous "Jeopardy! poker face."

Amy Schneider is an American software engineer and recent Jeopardy! champion. Following an impressive forty-game winning streak, she became the most successful woman ever to compete on Jeopardy!. She is second all-time in the show’s history, trailing only Ken Jennings. Amy is also the first openly transgender contestant to qualify for the Tournament of Champions. She has been covered in People, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, USA TODAY, and more, and she has appeared on Good Morning America. 

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December Book: Like Family by Erin O. White

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Jason and Brett talk to Ashley Winstead (Midnight is the Darkest Hour) about twist pressure, the difference between mysteries and thrillers, Twilight, and more. This episode also features special guest Dennis Michel aka @scaredstraightreads who talks about favorite thrillers.

Ashley Winstead is an academic turned novelist with a Ph.D. in contemporary American literature. She lives in Houston with her husband, two cats, and beloved wine fridge. ashleywinstead.com

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December Book: Like Family by Erin O. White

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Jason and Brett talk to Alex Gino (Green) about favorite sweets, book banning, their experience as a banned book author, using the singular they pronoun, and creating a safe world for young readers.

Alex Gino writes queer and progressive middle grade novels, including the Stonewall and Lambda Award-winning Melissa. They love glitter, ice cream, gardening, wordplay, and stories that reflect the complexity of being alive. Alex is from Staten Island, NY and now lives in Western Massachusetts with Thunder the Wonder Cat. alexgino.com

Melissa Cover Fix
Get your sticker if you have an old cover for Melissa HERE.

More info about PEN America HERE. 

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December Book: Like Family by Erin O. White

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Jason and Brett talk to Nathan Hill (Wellness) about monogamy, parental relationships, social media and the algorithm, and how stories can be both constructed and constricted by the worlds we live in.

Wellness is the September 2023 Oprah’s Book Club Pick

Nathan Hill’s best-selling debut novel, The Nix, was named the number one book of 2016 by Entertainment Weekly and one of the year’s best books by The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, Slate, and many others. It was the winner of the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction from the Los Angeles Times and was published worldwide in more than two dozen languages. A native Iowan, Hill lives with his wife in Naples, Florida.

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December Book: Like Family by Erin O. White

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Jason and Brett talk to Gaby Wood, the Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation about the prize process. Gaby talks about choosing judges, facilitating meetings, and other aspects of her role which includes making some difficult decisions. They also talk to three-time Booker Prize listee, Tan Twan Eng about his experience as a nominee and his unique insight as an 2023 International Booker Prize judge. Twan is currently represented on the 2023 longlist with his book, The House of Doors.

- Watch how the Booker Prize works in this animated video

- Official Booker Prize rules

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December Book: Like Family by Erin O. White

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Jason and Brett talk to Mona Awad (Rouge) about the key ingredients of a fairy tale, the cult of the beauty industry, and how her own biracial background influenced her writing this contemporary gothic Snow White.

Mona Awad is the author of the novels All’s Well, Bunny, and 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl. Bunny was a finalist for a Goodreads Choice Award and the New England Book Award. It was named a Best Book of 2019 by TIME, Vogue, and the New York Public Library. It is currently being developed for film with Bad Robot Productions. All’s Well was a finalist for a Goodreads Choice Award. 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl was shortlisted for the Giller Prize. Awad’s forthcoming novel Rouge, is being adapted for film by Fremantle and Sinestra. This spring, Margaret Atwood named Awad her ‘literary heir’ in The New York Times’s T Magazine. She teaches fiction in the creative writing program at Syracuse University and is based in Boston.

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BOOK CLUB!
Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE
December Book: Like Family by Erin O. White

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Jason and Brett talk to acclaimed actor, playwright, and male actress Charles Busch (Leading Lady) about his career, the evolution of drag performers, and iconic stories featuring the likes Liza Minnelli, Carol Channing, and more.

Charles Busch is an actor, playwright and drag legend. He is the author and star of many plays, including Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, one of the longest-running plays in Off-Broadway history. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife played 777 performances on Broadway and received a Tony nomination for Best Play. Busch wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. He has been honored with a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright and he also received the Flora Roberts Award for Sustained Achievement in the theater by the Dramatist’s Guild.

Support the show

BOOK CLUB!
Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE
December Book: Like Family by Erin O. White

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Jason and Brett talk to Lara Love Hardin (The Many Lives of Mama Love) about her journey from soccer mom, to opiate addict with 32 felonies, to literary agent turned bestselling author. They talk about the complexities of shame, identity, and empathy, reflect on the power of storytelling, and the courage it takes to confront one's past. And they laugh a lot, too, if you can imagine.

Lara Love Hardin is a literary agent, author, and president of True Literary. Prior to founding True Literary, she was the co-CEO of Idea Architects. She has an MFA in creative writing and is a four-time New York Times bestselling collaborative writer, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Designing Your Life, and 2018 Oprah Book Club pick, The Sun Does Shine, which she coauthored with Anthony Ray Hinton. In 2019 she won a Christopher Award for her work “affirming the highest values of the human spirit.” In 2019 she was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award and short-listed for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Love Hardin lives in La Selva Beach, California, with her husband, Sam. She has four children, two step-children, five dogs, three cats, twenty-one chickens, and four ducks.

- Register for Lara's event in conversation with Jason HERE

- Watch Lara's TED Talk HERE

- Learn about Lara's organization The Gemma Project HERE

Support the show

BOOK CLUB!
Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE
December Book: Like Family by Erin O. White

SUBSTACK!
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MERCH!
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WATCH!
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Jason and Brett talk to Angie Kim (Happiness Falls) about the importance of managing expectations, maintaining your happiness baseline, and of all things, their favorite musicals. Warning: This episode may or may not include a sing-along. Okay, it definitely does.

As always, Gays Reading is spoiler-free, so you can listen whether you've read the book or not!

Angie Kim moved as a preteen from Seoul, South Korea, to the suburbs of Baltimore. After graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy, she studied philosophy at Stanford University and attended Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Her debut novel, Miracle Creek, won the Edgar Award, the ITW Thriller Award, the Strand Critics’ Award, and the Pinckley Prize and was named one of the best books of the year by Time, The Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, and the Today show. Angie Kim lives in northern Virginia with her family. @angiekimask

Learn more about Angelman Syndrome HERE. 

Support the show

BOOK CLUB!
Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE
December Book: Like Family by Erin O. White

SUBSTACK!
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MERCH!
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WATCH!
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BONUS EPISODE! Jason and Brett talk to Rasheed Newson (My Government Means to Kill Me) about his firsthand experience on the WGA picket line and get the inside scoop on what the writers are fighting for. They also chat about gay history and the exciting project that Rasheed is keeping himself busy with in the meantime. 

Rasheed Newson is a writer and producer of Bel-Air, The Chi, and Narcos. He currently resides in Pasadena, California with his husband and two children. My Government Means to Kill Me is his debut novel.

Support the show

BOOK CLUB!
Sign up for the Gays Reading Book Club HERE
December Book: Like Family by Erin O. White

SUBSTACK!
https://gaysreading.substack.com/

MERCH!
http://gaysreading.printful.me

WATCH!
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Bluesky: @gaysreading | @jasonblitman

CONTACT!
[email protected]

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