ReadMore Podcast

Author Yaa Gyasi discusses her new novel, Transcendent Kingdom, what she read to prepare to write about a neuroscientist who's studying addiction, and why she wanted to explore how faith shapes a character like her protagonist.

Author Ben Okri discusses his new short story collection, Prayer for the Living, why he wants readers to take their time with his work, and why re-reading is more pleasurable for him than reading.

Claudia Rankine discusses Just Us: An American Conversation, her genre-defying book about whiteness and how it functions in the US, as well as what she gained during quarantine, and why the pandemic has made this topic easier to discuss.

Award-winning author Alisson Wood discusses her debut memoir, Being Lolita, how she feels about being forever tied to the Nabokov novel and who she ultimately wrote this book for.

Award-winning author Natalia Sylvester discusses her first YA novel, Running, why she doesn't call herself an activist and ultimately decided to write unapologetically for her community.

Writer Edwidge Danticat discusses living and writing during quarantine, her latest short story collection, Everything Inside, and what legendary authors Toni Morrison and Paule Marshall meant to her.

Sara Collins discusses her debut novel, The Confessions of Frannie Langton, why she wanted to shake up how Black women are portrayed in historical fiction and the celebrated writer she's ashamed to admit is not her cup of tea.

Author Kimberly King Parsons discusses her first short story collection, Black Light, why she's fascinated by the dark side of human nature, and what she hopes readers will get out of her characters' bad decisions.

Author Jennine Capó Crucet discusses her essay collection, My Time Among the Whites, how she's been shaped by having white privilege, losing it and getting it back and her complicated relationship with Disney.

New YA author Brittney Morris describes how Black Panther influenced her to write SLAY, her debut novel about a video game designed to celebrate Black culture, why she wanted to explore the issue of race through a virtual world and how she started writing fiction in elementary school.