KGNU Radio Book Club

The September selection for the Radio Book Club is The Correspondent by author Virginia Evans. The book which follows the life of a retired lawyer Sybil, through her personal letters and emails, won the 2026 women’s prize for fiction.

Today’s conversation was recorded on September 17, 2026, at the annual Boulder Library Foundation gala.

This interview was broadcast on KGNU at 9 am on Thursday, September 24, 2026.

In this episode, author Claire Boyles talks more about some of the characters in her novel Appraisals, especially Paul, a billionaire who is buying up land and water rights in Weld County. She also talks about her experience as a writer, including the difference between writing screenplays and writing a novel. 

The August 2026 selection for the Radio Book Club is Appraisals by author Claire Boyles. The book follows four generations of women tied to a family farm in Weld County, Colorado. The story is set against the backdrop of the 2008 financial crash and talks about land and family and what it takes to hold onto both. 

In this podcast episode author David Heska Wanbli Weiden talks about the real place that is Wisdom Corner, and about life on the Rosebud Reservation. He also talks about the importance of Native American writers telling the stories of Native American communities, especially in the light of current efforts to whitewash history.

The July selection for the Radio Book Club is Wisdom Corner, the latest novel by David Heska Wanbli Weiden and the long-anticipated sequel to his bestselling debut, Winter Counts.

In Wisdom Corner, we once again meet protagonist Virgil Wounded Horse, who is trying to leave behind his past as a hired vigilante on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. But the murder of a close friend and respected community member draws him back into a life he had tried to leave behind. The book explores the terrible legacy of Native American boarding schools, and how the American justice system has failed tribal communities.  

Listen to more of our conversation with author T. A. Barron where he talks about the origins of the names of creatures from the vampire squid from hell to the aquatic salamander called the hellbender, also known as the Allegheny alligator. We also hear about the fertility benefits of eating truffles and T.A. Barron's spiritual encounter with an ancient redwood tree.

The June selection for the Radio Book Club is Naming Nature: A Cabinet of Natural Curiosities for Word Lovers by Colorado author T.A. Barron.

Barron is best known for his fantasy novels for children and young adults, including the popular Merlin series. Throughout his more than 30 books, he has frequently explored themes of nature, stewardship and conservation.

In his latest work, Barron turns to nonfiction, examining the fascinating stories behind how plants, animals and birds came to be named across different cultures and societies. The book also highlights the importance of protecting biodiversity and preserving the species that share our world.

In this edition of Afterhours at the Radio Book Club, author Nina McConigley talks more about growing up as an immigrant in 1980s Wyoming, and navigating an Indian, Irish, American identity. 

The May 2026 installment of the Radio Book Club, a collaboration between KGNU and the Boulder Bookstore, is How to Commit a Post Colonial Murder, by author Nina McConigley. The book is set in 1986 in rural Wyoming and tells the story of two sisters Georgie Ayyar and Agatha Krishna as they plot to murder their uncle to end a cycle of abuse. The book is darkly funny and explores themes of identity, immigration, sisterhood and 1980s Wyoming.

Listen to more of our conversation with Laura Pritchett where she talks more about nature writing and the urgency for literature to address the climate crisis.