In this episode of Library Talks, award-winning writer and multidisciplinary artist Eloghosa Osunde joins the podcast for a conversation about their new novel Necessary Fiction with the editor of Necessary Fiction Jake Morrissey.

Necessary Fiction takes place across Lagos, one of Africa's largest urban areas and one of the world's most dynamic cities, Osunde’s characters seek out love for self and their chosen partners, even as they risk ruining relationships with parents, spouses, family, and friends. As they work to establish themselves in the city's lively worlds of art, music, entertainment, and creative commerce, we meet their collective and individual attempts to reckon with the necessary fiction they carry for survival.

In this episode of Library Talks, writer, activist, and speaker Raquel Willis joins Library Talks to discuss her memoir The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation. She’s joined by fellow writer Mecca Jamilah Sullivan.

In The Risk It Takes to Bloom, Raquel Willis recounts with passion and candor her experiences straddling the Obama and Trump eras, the possibility of transformation after the tragedy, and how complex moments can push us all to take necessary risks and bloom toward collective liberation. This recording was part of the Schomburg Centennial Festival.

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In this episode of Library Talks, Writer and director Malcolm D. Lee Joins Library Talks to discuss his debut novel The Best Man: Unfinished Business. He’s joined by his coauthor Jayne Allen in a discussion moderated by radio and television host Bevy Smith.

The beloved characters from Malcom D Lee’s The Best Man movies and hit television series reunite in the first in the trilogy, The Best Man: Unfinished Business. The novel follows Harper, Jordan, and Robyn as they try to establish lives away from the hurts of the past and come to realize that some love is impossible to break.

In this episode of Library Talks, Novelist and features editor at The Verge Kevin Nguyen joins Library Talks to discuss his second novel Mỹ Documents

Mỹ Documents follows four Vietnamese cousins whose lives are upended after a terrorist attack incites a government crackdown that targets their community through mass internment of Vietnamese-American citizens. Nguyen relies on the history of Japanese internment, the Vietnam War, and more recent immigrant detention to imagine a not-entirely-implausible near American future. 

In this episode of Library Talks, Acclaimed translator and playwright Jeremy Tiang joins Library Talks to discuss his debut novel and winner of the Singapore Literature Prize State of Emergency.

Jeremy Tiang is a novelist and playwright, and the translator of over thirty books from Chinese. His debut novel State of Emergency follows an extended family from the 1940s to the present day as they navigate the choppy political currents of the region.

In this episode of Library Talks, National book award finalist Jonas Hassen Khemiri talks to Tess Gunty about his latest book, The Sisters. Narrated in six parts, each spanning a period ranging from a year to a day to a single minute, Jonas Hassen Khemiri's The Sisters is a big, vivid family saga of the highest order

Jonas Hassen Khemiri worked on The Sisters during his 2021-2022 Fellowship at the Library’s Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers.

In this episode of Library Talks, New York’s funniest LGBTQ performers take the stage for a one-night-only celebration of queer comedy, community, and joy.

Hosted by Bobby Hankinson, Kweendom is an all-LGBTQ comedy show featuring some of the city’s sharpest queer comedians and storytellers. Born from Hankinson’s frustration with lineups lacking authentic queer representation, Kweendom centers a wide range of LGBTQ voices—spanning gender identities, cultures, and backgrounds—each sharing their distinct experiences through stand-up.

Former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr talks to Lisette Nieves about his latest book, Teacher by Teacher.

In this episode of Library Talks, author and climate scientist Kate Marvel explores her latest book, Human Nature, with David Wallace-Wells, Monica Youn, and Lauren Kurtz through talks, performances, and more

Each chapter of Kate Marvel’s new book, Human Nature, employs a different emotion to explore the science and stories behind climate change. Kate Marvel shares some of the hope, heartbreak, and humor that she uses to help readers confront the questions about what future lies ahead and how we can help shape it.

In this episode of Library Talks, poets and critics read from and discuss the new anthology, Super Gay Poems: LGBTQIA+ Poetry after Stonewall. 

In Super Gay Poems, Stephanie Burt curates a boundary-pushing anthology of 51 poems by LGBTQIA+ writers, tracing the evolution of queer poetry since the Stonewall Riots. From sonnets to shaped poems, elegies to joyful provocations, the collection features luminaries like Frank O’Hara and Audre Lorde alongside vital contemporary voices such as Chen Chen and The Cyborg Jillian Weise.