Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share How NY Times Bestselling Author Hanif Abdurraqib Writes
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
How NY Times Bestselling Author Hanif Abdurraqib Writes
New York Times bestselling author Hanif Abdurraqib spoke to me about taking a leap of faith, the tentpoles of his writing practice, and his recent NBCC award-winning THERE’S ALWAYS THIS YEAR: On Basketball and Ascension.
Hanif Abdurraqib is a lauded New York Times bestselling author, recent Winner of the NBCC Award for criticism, and a finalist for the National Book Award for A Little Devil in America. He is also a poet, essayist, cultural critic, contributor for The New Yorker, and a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant.
His latest book, There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, was described by Publishers Weekly, in a Starred Review, as "A triumphant meditation on basketball and belonging…" and named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, Time, The Washington Post, NPR, The Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Book Riot, Electric Lit and many others.
Steve James, director of Hoop Dreams, called it, “Mesmerizing ... not only the most original sports book I’ve ever read but one of the most moving books I’ve ever read, period.”
Hanif’s first collection of essays, They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, was named a book of the year by NPR, Esquire, BuzzFeed, O: The Oprah Magazine, Pitchfork, and the Chicago Tribune, among others.
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]
In this file Hanif Abdurraqib and I discussed:
What it’s like to be on a book tour for close to a year
His superpower as a highly prolific writer
Quitting his 9-5 job after squirreling away money from freelancing
Building his own poetry curriculum
Why his writing routine hasn’t changed much over the years
Hot takes on the 2025 NBA Playoffs
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
abdurraqib.com
There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib (Amazon)
Hanif Abdurraqib on Facebook
Hanif Abdurraqib on Instagram
Kelton Reid on Twitter
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
View all episodes
By Kelton Reid
4.5
211211 ratings
New York Times bestselling author Hanif Abdurraqib spoke to me about taking a leap of faith, the tentpoles of his writing practice, and his recent NBCC award-winning THERE’S ALWAYS THIS YEAR: On Basketball and Ascension.
Hanif Abdurraqib is a lauded New York Times bestselling author, recent Winner of the NBCC Award for criticism, and a finalist for the National Book Award for A Little Devil in America. He is also a poet, essayist, cultural critic, contributor for The New Yorker, and a recipient of the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant.
His latest book, There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension, was described by Publishers Weekly, in a Starred Review, as "A triumphant meditation on basketball and belonging…" and named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times Book Review, Time, The Washington Post, NPR, The Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Book Riot, Electric Lit and many others.
Steve James, director of Hoop Dreams, called it, “Mesmerizing ... not only the most original sports book I’ve ever read but one of the most moving books I’ve ever read, period.”
Hanif’s first collection of essays, They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, was named a book of the year by NPR, Esquire, BuzzFeed, O: The Oprah Magazine, Pitchfork, and the Chicago Tribune, among others.
[Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm]
[If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen]
In this file Hanif Abdurraqib and I discussed:
What it’s like to be on a book tour for close to a year
His superpower as a highly prolific writer
Quitting his 9-5 job after squirreling away money from freelancing
Building his own poetry curriculum
Why his writing routine hasn’t changed much over the years
Hot takes on the 2025 NBA Playoffs
And a lot more!
Show Notes:
abdurraqib.com
There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib (Amazon)
Hanif Abdurraqib on Facebook
Hanif Abdurraqib on Instagram
Kelton Reid on Twitter
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More shows like The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience
View all
The Book Review
3,854 Listeners
On Being with Krista Tippett
10,322 Listeners
The New Yorker: Fiction
3,326 Listeners
The Creative Penn Podcast For Writers
605 Listeners
Helping Writers Become Authors
993 Listeners
Otherppl with Brad Listi
519 Listeners
Writing Excuses
1,287 Listeners
The History of Literature
1,099 Listeners
The History of Standup
335 Listeners
Micheaux Mission
211 Listeners
Freelance to Founder
69 Listeners
Writer's Routine
306 Listeners
Book Dreams
58 Listeners
Fiction Writing Made Easy | Top Creative Writing Podcast for Fiction Writers & Writing Tips
1,432 Listeners
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
767 Listeners
Trail Weight
62 Listeners
Poured Over
294 Listeners
31 for 31
14 Listeners
NPR's Book of the Day
606 Listeners
Essential Guide to Writing a Novel
355 Listeners
Writers on Writing
73 Listeners
No Write Way with V. E. Schwab
69 Listeners