In our very first conversation with two novelists. C. Christopher Smith, Senior Editor of The Englewood Review of Books, talks with Amy Frykholm and Doug Worgul about their latest novels and their writing processes. Among other things, Doug and Amy discuss writing fiction within the world of a particular place and developing complex characters. 

Amy Frykholm is a novelist, journalist, poet, podcaster, and non-fiction writer. Her debut novel High Hawk was long-listed for the 2025 PEN/Hemingway Award. She is the co-founder of Sage Mountain Institute, a writing and creativity institute that offers workshops and retreats. She lives in Leadville, Colorado.  

Doug Worgul was born into a family of preachers, teachers and writers, in the state of Michigan. He now resides in Kansas City, where barbecue and the blues are a way of life. In addition to writing two novels, Doug has been a newspaper journalist and editor of regional and national magazines. He is married, with four daughters, and is a nationally recognized authority on the history and cultural significance of American barbecue traditions.

Books Mentioned in this Episode

If you’d like to order any of the following books, we encourage you to do so from Hearts and Minds Books(An independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA, run by Byron and Beth Borger) 

By Amy Frykholm:

High Hawk: A Novel

By Doug Worgul:

Thin Blue Smoke: A Novel

The Night Office: A Novel

Other Books Mentioned: 

Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Lake Woebegone Days by Garrison Keillor

The Moviegoer by Walker Percy

Tracks by Louise Erdrich

Lila by Marilynne Robinson

The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene

The Book of Bebb by Frederick Buechner

Godric by Frederick Buechner

Like a Fading Shadow by Antonio Muñoz Molina

When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Meditations of the Heart by Howard Thurman

Every Riven Thing: Poems by Christian Wiman 

The Dance: Poems by Christian Wiman

In this episode of The Englewood Review of Books Podcast, Lindsey Cornett, the Managing Editor of Englewood Press and Assistant Editor of The ERB, is joined by children’s book authors, Dana VanderLugt and Karina Yan Glaser. They address the role of storytelling and imagination in a life of faith and the sometimes surprising ways faith and spirituality show up in children’s literature, with a particular emphasis on life in community and the challenge of loving our enemies. They talk about the tension between marketing books for children when they can, in fact, be enjoyed and appreciated by all readers. Finally, Lindsey, Dana, and Karina discuss some of their favorite contemporary middle grade readers and offer recommendations for anyone needing stories of hope, faith, and love.

Dana VanderLugt is a writer and teacher who descends from a family of Michigan apple growers and storytellers. Her first book, Enemies in the Orchard: A World War 2 Novel in Verse was published by Zonderkidz in September 2023. The middle grades novel is based on the stories of German POWs who came to work on her grandfather’s orchard during the 1940s. Dana’s work has been published in Longridge Review, Relief: A Journal of Art & Faith, the Michigan Reading Journal, and The Reformed Journal, where she is also a frequent contributor on its daily blog. A former middle school English teacher, Dana now works as a literacy consultant and has an MFA in Creative Writing from The Sena Jeter Naslund-Karen Mann Graduate School of Writing at Spalding University. She lives in Michigan with her husband, three sons, and a spoiled Golden Retriever. And yes, she makes a mean apple pie.

Karina Yan Glaser is a Newbery Honoree and a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator. Originally from California, Karina came to New York City for college and has stuck around for nearly thirty years. She has had a varied career teaching and implementing literacy programs in family homeless shelters and recruiting healthcare professionals to volunteer in under resourced areas around the world. One of her proudest achievements is raising two kids who can’t go anywhere without a book. She lives in Harlem with her husband, two teenagers, two dogs, three cats, and a fish named Gustav. 

Books Mentioned in this Episode

If you’d like to order any of the following books, we encourage you to do so from Hearts and Minds Books (An independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA, run by Byron and Beth Borger) 

By Dana VanderLugt:

Enemies in the Orchard: A WW2 Novel in Verse

By Karina Yan Glaser:

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
The Vanderbeekers Ever After (Book #7 in The Vanderbeekers Series)
The Nine Moons of Han Yu and Luli 

Other Books Mentioned: 

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt

The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary Schmidt

The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate 

Birdie by Eileen Spinelli

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jaqueline Woodson

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower

The Life by Carrie Fountain

Spiritual Direction for Writers: Everyday Rituals for Your Writing Life by Charlotte Donlon

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

 Owls and Other Fantasies by Mary Oliver 

In this episode, ERB Podcast producer Julie L. Moore speaks with acclaimed writers Robert Cording and Marjorie Maddox about their most recent books: In the Unwalled City and What's Possible: New and Selected Poems by Cording and Seeing Things and Hover Here by Maddox. Humble and gracious, Cording and Maddox share how they write about their own deep questions, intense challenges, and heart-breaking losses in their vulnerable, relatable poetry and prose. Both retired college professors, Cording and Maddox also address contemporary Americans' hesitance regarding and anxiety about reading poetry as they likewise discuss how their craft enables readers to feel welcome when encountering their poetry. They each read one of their poems to illustrate how accessible and moving their poetry can be.   

Robert Cording is professor emeritus at College of the Holy Cross where he taught for 38 years and served as the Barrett Chair of English and Creative Writing.  After his retirement, he worked for five years as a poetry mentor in the Seattle Pacific University low residency MFA program. He has published ten collections of poems, and three of his books were finalists for the Connecticut Book Award. Walking with Ruskin (CavanKerry Press) was also a runner-up for the Poet’s Prize. A book on poetry, the Bible, and metaphor, Finding the World’s Fullness, was published by Slant. He has received two NEA Fellowships in poetry, two poetry fellowships from the state of Connecticut, and has won three Pushcart Prizes in poetry. His poems have appeared in such notable publications as Best American Poetry, 2018; Best Spiritual Writing (1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010); Poetry Magazine Anthology; Godine: Poets of the New Century; and Milkweed: Urban Nature. Cording has also served as director of From the Fishouse and was poet-in-residence at the Frost Place.

Marjorie Maddox is Professor Emerita of English and Creative Writing at the Lock Haven campus of Commonwealth University, 2023 Monson Arts Fellow, a poetry editor of Presence, and radio host of WPSU-FM’s Poetry Moment. Maddox has published seventeen collections of poetry and won many awards, including the Yellowglen Prize and the Philip H. McMath Post-Publication Award for Transplant, Transport, Transubstantiation; the Sandstone Book Award for Perpendicular As I; the Redgreene Press Chapbook Award for When the Wood Clacks Out Your Name: Baseball Poems; the Painted Bride Chapbook Award for How to Fit God into a Poem; and the Amelia Chapbook Winner for Nightrider to Edinburgh. Her poem, “Arise,” about the Thailand cave rescue, won the 2019 Foley Poetry Prize by America Magazine. She is co-editor, with Jerry Wemple, of Common Wealth: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania (Penn State University Press, 2005) and Keystone: Contemporary Poets on Pennsylvania (Penn State University Press, 2025).

If you’d like to order any of the following books, we encourage you to do so from Hearts and Minds Books(an independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA, run by Byron and Beth Borger)

Robert Cording's Recent Books, both by Slant Books:

In the Unwalled City (2022)
What's Possible: New and Selected Poems (2026)

Marjorie Maddox's Recent Books:

Seeing Things (Wildhouse Publishing, 2025)
Hover Here (Broadstone Books, 2026)

Other Books Discussed:

Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich
The Awful Rowing Toward God by Anne Sexton
Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L'Engle
The Accidental Pilgrim: Finding God and His Mother in Tuscany by Judith Sornberger
Sorority of Stillness: A Gallery of Women in Art by Judith Sornberger
Love Song with Dying Fish by Marci Rae Johnson
Devil's Backbone by Julie L. Moore
The Countess by Rebecca Johns

Poems Mentioned:

"Satire III" by John Donne
"Lord" by George Herbert

Influential Authors Mentioned & Recommended:

Gerard Manley Hopkins, William Wenthe, Sydney Lea, Baron Wormser, Ada Limón, Laura Reece Hogan, and Marie Howe

In this episode, C. Christopher Smith, founding editor of ERB, chats with poet Julie L. Moore, who is also the new producer of this podcast. Chris and Julie offer a behind-the-scenes look at the podcast and discuss Julie's hopes for her work as producer. They also discuss Julie's brand new collection of poems, Devil's Backbone, which arrives in bookstores this week.

A Best of the Net and eight-time Pushcart Prize nominee, Julie L. Moore is the author of five poetry collections, including, the brand new collection Devil's Backbone. Her previous collection, Full Worm Moon, won a 2018 Woodrow Hall Top Shelf Award and received honorable mention for the Conference on Christianity and Literature's 2018 Book of the Year Award. After directing two university Writing Centers for 20 years, Julie now lives in Indiana and works at Eastern University for its LifeFlex program as a Senior Online Advisor and First Year Composition Instructor.

If you’d like to order any of the following books, we encourage you to do so from Hearts and Minds Books (an independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA, run by Byron and Beth Borger)

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

By Julie L. Moore :

• Devil’s Backbone (brand new!)
• Full Worm Moon
• Particular Scandals
• Slipping Out of Bloom

Other Books Mentioned

Poetry: 

• Kiki Petrosino, Bright: A Memoir
• Kiki Petrosino, White Blood: A Lyric of Virginia 
• Naomi Shihab Nye, The Tiny Journalist
• Claudia Rankine, Citizen 

Creative Nonfiction: 

• Susanna Childress, Extremely Yours

Nonfiction:

• Marilyn McIntyre, Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies
• Jemar Tisby, The Color of Compromise
• Jemar Tisby, How to Fight Racism
• Jemar Tisby, The Spirit of Justice
• Willie James Jennings, The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race 
• Willie James Jennings,After Whiteness
• Esau McCaulley, Reading While Black
• James Cone, The Cross and the Lynching Tree

In this episode, Chris Smith, founding editor of ERB, speaks with best-selling author Shannan Martin and first-time author Amar Peterman about the intersecting themes of faith, justice, and community in their new books. Their conversation explores the tension between life’s “heavy goodness” and its “undercurrent of grief,” demonstrating that "we can only counter what we're first willing to weigh," as Martin puts it. In addition, the authors explore the tension between one’s personal comfort and the call to “draw near in mercy” to our neighbors, especially those who are marginalized, as Peterman points out. Both authors emphasize that meaningful change begins not with grand gestures but with everyday relationships, accompanying our neighbors across lines of difference through joys and struggles. Overall, the episode, like the books, is not prescriptive but rather rooted deeply in how the authors work to cultivate a sense of belonging for everyone in their local neighborhoods.

If you’d like to order any of the following books, we encourage you to do so from Hearts and Minds Books (an independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA, run by Byron and Beth Borger)

Books by Shannan Martin
Counterweights
The Ministry of Ordinary Places
Start with Hello
Falling Free

Work by Amar Peterman
Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local

Other Books Mentioned
A Theology of Liberation by Gustavo Gutiérrez
Paul Farmer: Servant to the Poor by Jennie Weiss Block
Make Your Home in this Luminous Dark by James K. Smith
God Without Being by Jean-Luc Marion
Hope for the Mission by Kevin Nye
Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times by Gregory Boyle

Kin by Tayari Jones (novel)

The Message, a Bible translation by Eugene Peterson

Joel hosted a fun and freewheeling discussion, with a stand-out panel of readers, of our favorite books from 2025. They discuss many books that were published in 2025, but not exclusively new titles, covering a wide swath of genres from biblical studies to young adult literature to poetry. There's something in this discussion for everyone!

Jessica Hooten Wilson is the Fletcher Jones Endowed Chair of Great Books at Pepperdine University (’23). She co-hosts a podcast called The Scandal of Reading, and is the author of many books, including READING FOR THE LOVE OF GOD and THE SCANDAL OF HOLINESS.

Nijay K. Gupta is Julius R. Mantey Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary. He is the cohost of the Slow Theology podcast, and author of books including TELL HER STORY, STRANGE RELIGION, and many scriptural commentaries.

Dorothy Littell Greco is a writer, speaker, and photographer. Her writing has been featured in many publications including Christianity Today, Missio Alliance, and The Common Good and her most recent book is FOR THE LOVE OF WOMEN.

If you’d like to order any of the following books, we encourage you to do so from Hearts and Minds Books(An independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA, run by Byron and Beth Borger) 

• Reading for the Love of God: How to Read as a Spiritual Practice by Jessica Hooten Wilson
• The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints by Jessica Hooten Wilson
• Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught & Ministered in the Early Church by Nijay Gupta
• Strange Religion: How the First Christians Were Weird, Dangerous & Compelling by Nijay Gupta
• Slow Theology: Eight Practices for Resilient Faith in a Turbulent World by Nijay Gupta & A.J. Swoboda
• For the Love of Women: Uprooting and Healing Misogyny in America by Dorothy Littell Greco
• The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward by Malcolm Foley
• Redeeming Eden: How Women in the Bible Advance the Story of Salvation by Ingrid Faro with Joyce Koo Dalrymple
• The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
• The Teacher of Nomad Land by Daniel Nayeri
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• Do Not Judge Anyone: Desert Wisdom for a Polarized World by Isaac Slater
• Where God Happens: Discovering Christ in One Another by Rowan Williams
• Jesus and the Law of Moses: The Gospels and the Restoration of Israel Within First-Century Judaism by Paul Sloan 
• Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller
• You Have a Calling: Finding Your Vocation in the True, Good & Beautiful by Karen Swallow Prior
• Romans: An Interpretation Bible Commentary by Susan Eastman
• 1 Corinthians: A Theological, Pastoral & Missional Commentary by Michael Gorman
• For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional by Hanna Reichl
• When Courage Calls: Josephine Butler and the Radical Pursuit of Justice for Women by Sarah C. Williams
• Nervous Systems: Spiritual Practices to Calm Anxiety in Your Body, the Church and Politics by Sara Billups
• A Pilgrimage Into Letting Go: Helping Parents and Pastors Embrace the Uncontrollable by Kara Root & Andrew Root
• Some of the Words are Theirs: The Art of Writing and Living a Sermon by Austic Carty

Chris (founding editor of the ERB) spoke with first-time podcast guest (and one of our most-frequently mentioned writers!) Kathleen Norris and returning guest Amy Julia Becker, regarding some common themes in their published writing. They speak about disability, what it means to be human, and their experiences accompanying family members with disabilities. Their conversation is humble, sincere, vulnerable and light-hearted, and listeners will find their honest reflections encouraging.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

If you’d like to order any of the following books, we encourage you to do so from Hearts and Minds Books(An independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA, run by Byron and Beth Borger) 

• The Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris
• Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks & a Writer's Life by Kathleen Norris
• Dakota: A Spiritual Geography by Kathleen Norris
• Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith by Kathleen Norris
• A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith, Expectations & a Little Girl Named Penny by Amy Julia Becker
• Rebecca Sue: A Sister's Reflections on Faith, Disability & Love by Kathleen Norris
• When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...And Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
• To Be Made Well: An Invitation to Wholeness, Healing & Hope by Amy Julia Becker
• The Hospitality of Need: How Depending on One Another Helps Us Heal & Grow Together by Kevan Chandler & Tommy Shelton
• The Dignity of Dependence: A Feminist Manifesto by Leah Libresco Sargeant
• How to Read a Book: A Novel by Monica Wood
• Do Not Judge Anyone: Desert Wisdom for a Polarized World by Isaac Slater
• Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
• Ghost Trail (film)

Lindsey Cornett, Managing Editor of Englewood Press, spoke with authors Sarah Arthur and Mitali Perkins about the value and significance of children’s literature for spiritual formation. We discuss how literature connects us to the heart of God, how Mitali and Sarah think about their own audiences as they write, and why adults should be reading children’s literature. As always, the conversation wraps up with a discussion of what we’ve been reading lately.

Lindsey Cornett is a loud talker, obsessive coffee drinker, and lover of the written word who lives in Indianapolis with her family. She is the Managing Editor of Englewood Press and a Senior Writer at Indianapolis Moms. You can find her writing at lindseycornett.substack.com. 

Mitali Perkins is an award-winning author of novels and picture books for young readers, including You Bring the Distant Near; Forward Me Back to You; Rickshaw Girl; and Bamboo People, among others. Her books have been nominated for the National Book Award, have won the South Asia Book Award, and have been listed as Best Book of the Year by Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and School Library Journal. Born in Kolkata, India, Perkins has lived in India, Ghana, Cameroon, Great Britain, Mexico, Bangladesh, Thailand, and the United States. She lives and writes in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sarah Arthur is a fun-loving speaker and the bestselling author of a dozen books for teens and adults, including Once a Queen and Walking with Frodo. Among other nerdy adventures, she has served as preliminary fiction judge for the CT Book Awards, was a founding board member of the annual C. S. Lewis Festival in Northern Michigan, and codirects the Madeleine L’Engle Writing Retreats.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

If you’d like to order any of the following books, we encourage you to do so from Hearts and Minds Books(An independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA, run by Byron and Beth Borger) 

• Once A Queen (Book 1 of the Carrick Hall Novels) by Sarah Arthur
• Once a Castle (Book 2 of the Carrick Hall Novels) by Sarah Arthur
• You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins
• Rickshaw Girl by Mitali Perkins
• The Golden Necklace: A Darjeeling Tea Mystery by Mitali Perkins
• Steeped In Stories: Timeless Children's Novels to Refresh Our Tired Souls by Mitali Perkins
• The God-Hungry Imagination: The Art of Storytelling for Postmodern Youth Ministry by Sarah Arthur
•  A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
• A Light so Lovely: The Spiritual Legacy of Madeleine L'Engle by Sarah Arthur
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
• Peace Like a River by Leif Anger
• The Same Stuff as Stars by Katherine Paterson
• My Friends by Fredrick Backman
• The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next #1) by Jasper Fforde
• Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace

Chris sat down for an in-person conversation with 3 of the co-authors of "The Shape of Our Lives" from Englewood Press. They discuss the concept of formation, it's inevitability, and what it means for leaders of congregations to pursue intentional formation in the context of community and worship.

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

If you’d like to order any of the following books, we encourage you to do so from Hearts and Minds Books(An independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA, run by Byron and Beth Borger) 

• The Shape of Our Lives: A Field Guide for Congregational Formation
• The Form of the Word: Making Sense of Scripture in the Body of Christ

Joel spoke with two first-time guests to the podcast, Jonathan Tran & Malcolm Foley, about their recent books and their work to more precisely illuminate and define the "racial capitalism" in which those of us in the Western world live. It's a stimulating and wide-ranging conversation about race, economics, history, higher education, politics and more. Of course, we end with a discussion of what we have all been reading.

Dr. Jonathan Tran is the author of multiple books, including Asian Americans and the Spirit of Racial Capitalism (2022, Oxford UP), as well as Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke University’s Divinity School.

Dr. Malcolm Foley is a pastor, historian, and speaker who serves as special adviser to the president for equity and campus engagement at Baylor University. He has written for Christianity Today, The Anxious Bench, and Mere Orthodoxy, and is the author of the brand-new book The Anti-Greed Gospel (Brazos).

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

If you’d like to order any of the following books, we encourage you to do so from Hearts and Minds Books(An independent bookstore in Dallastown, PA, run by Byron and Beth Borger) 

• Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others: The Political Economy of Racism in the United States (essay) by Judith Stein
• The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward Baptist
• God's Reign and the End of Empires by Antonio Gonzalez
• We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite by Musa al-Gharbi
• Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon
• God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert
• White Property, Black Trespass: Racial Capitalism and the Religious Function of Mass Criminalization by Andrew Krinks
• Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich
• Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmond
• $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America by Kathryn Edin & Luke Shaefer
• The Life in Christ by Nicholas Cabasilas
• Capitalism and its Critics: A History: From the Industrial Revolution to AI by John Cassidy
• Retrieving Nicaea: The Development and Meaning of Trinitarian Doctrine by Khaled Anatolios