This Is the Author

S5 E27: In this episode, meet Bethany Saltman, Sarah Menkedick, and Kelsey Patel. In each of these authors’ audiobooks, they guide listeners through tricky life moments, whether it’s the anxiety of new motherhood or struggling with personal burnout. Discover what each woman learned about herself in their respective recording sessions -- and hear which author listens to audiobooks to help her get through 10 mile runs.

Strange Situation by Bethany Saltman: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/553712/strange-situation/

Ordinary Insanity by Sarah Menkedick: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/589989/ordinary-insanity/

Burning Bright by Kelsey J. Patel: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/622572/burning-bright/

S5 E23: In this episode, meet Tony Wagner, Casey Schwartz, and Rana el Kaliouby. Go behind the mic with these authors and discover what it was like for them to record their audiobooks.

Learning by Heart by Tony Wagner: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/600078/learning-by-heart/

Attention: A Love Story by Casey Schwartz: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/562183/attention-a-love-story/

Girl Decoded by Rana el Kaliouby and Carol Colman: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/603999/girl-decoded/

S5 E22: Welcome to another episode of This is the Author in Conversation, a more intimate behind-the-mic chat with our authors in the audiobook studio. This is Jennifer Rubins from Penguin Random House Audio, and I’m thrilled to invite you into my conversation with Emily Neuberger, the author of A Tender Thing, a beautiful debut novel set under the dazzling lights of late 1950s Broadway. I should mention this was recorded right before Broadway went dark due to the COVID-19 crisis, and before we were quarantined to our respective homes, so Emily and I were able to be together in a studio to talk about what it means to be a theatre person, the unique challenge of writing and then recording lyrics from a fictional musical, and of course learn more about her debut novel and why she wanted to narrate it. Her book has since been named by Playbill.com as one of 11 Books for Theatre Lovers to Read in Spring 2020 and it’s definitely a way for us all to be able to experience a bit of Broadway magic at home right now.

I should also add – as you’ll learn - that not only is Emily an MFA graduate and grant recipient at Brooklyn College's fiction program but she’s also a talented performer and trained vocalist. She’s even performed at Carnegie Hall in Stephen Schwartz's birthday celebration and she once sang for Stephen Sondheim at the Music Institute of Chicago. Wow.

So listen in as Emily and I discuss A TENDER THING…

A Tender Thing by Emily Neuberger: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/611242/a-tender-thing/

S5 E20: In this episode, meet Jerry Saltz, Sarah Urist Green, and Adrienne Raphel. Each of these authors is passionate about art, artists, and how the creative impulse can permeate the every day. Go behind the mic as they talk about recording their audiobooks, and the unique challenges and joys of translating the visual medium of their books into the spoken word. Plus, find out who became a dedicated student of the arts, even though they “never did a lick of homework in high school.”

How to Be an Artist by Jerry Saltz: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/612484/how-to-be-an-artist/

You Are an Artist by Sarah Urist Green: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/601958/you-are-an-artist/

Thinking Inside the Box by Adrienne Raphel: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/561343/thinking-inside-the-box/

In this second installment of our National Library Week special on This is the Author, we asked even more of our authors to share their fondest library memories. Listen to Glennon Doyle, John Von Sothen, Lee Hartley Carter, Emilie Pine, Ali Wong, Richard Russo, Terry McMillan, and Pablo Cartaya as they share anecdotes about their experiences as children within the library space, as well as stories about how they are creating memories with their own children in the library.

In this special episode of This is the Author, we’re celebrating National Library Week by asking authors to share some of their favorite library memories. Listen to Rebecca Solnit, Sarah Urist Green, Samantha Irby, Erin Lee Carr, Deepak Chopra, Janice Kaplan, Wendelin Van Draanen, Carolina de Robertis, and David Levithan highlight the wonderful opportunities that both libraries and librarians provide to the individual and the community as a whole.

S5 Ep 21: In this episode, meet Samantha Irby, Glennon Doyle, and Mike McHargue. Go behind the mic with these dynamic, charismatic authors and hear what it was like for them to record their audiobooks. You may also learn a thing or two about mispronouncing words in a sweaty recording booth, listening to audiobooks in the shower, and more.

Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/576724/wow-no-thank-you/

Untamed by Glennon Doyle: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/592473/untamed/

You're a Miracle (and a Pain in the Ass) by Mike McHargue: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/599602/youre-a-miracle-and-a-pain-in-the-ass/

S5 E18: In this episode, meet Bess Kalb, Fanny Singer, and Terry McMillan. These authors have written remarkable new books about the complex, restorative, and joyous power of female relationships. Go behind the mic to hear what it was like for them to narrate their own audiobooks. Plus, find out which author recommends an audiobook that she says was like “the greatest lunch I ever had.”

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me by Bess Kalb: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/580375/nobody-will-tell-you-this-but-me/

Always Home: A Daughter's Recipes & Stories by Fanny Singer and Alice Waters: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/553642/always-home-a-daughters-recipes-and-stories/

It's Not All Downhill From Here by Terry McMillan: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/600731/its-not-all-downhill-from-here/

S5 E19: In this episode, meet Alex Halberstadt, Esther Safran Foer, and Carolyn Forche. Each of these authors has written about their search for hidden family histories in the context of world-altering historical events. Listen in and hear what it was like for them to read their audiobooks. Plus, find out whose recording session required them to pronounce words in (at least!) 8 languages.

Young Heroes of the Soviet Union by Alex Halberstadt: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/73622/young-heroes-of-the-soviet-union/

I Want You to Know We're Still Here by Esther Safran Foer: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/577021/i-want-you-to-know-were-still-here/

In the Lateness of the World by Carolyn Forché: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/book/586567/in-the-lateness-of-the-world/

S5 E15 - Welcome to another episode of This is the Author in Conversation, a more intimate behind the mic chat with our authors in the audiobooks studio. Today you’ll meet beloved, award-winning author George Saunders, and Sr. Executive Producer at Penguin Random House Audio, Kelly Gildea, who also produced and directed George’s many audiobook productions.

Recording an audiobook can be a singular creative experience for an author---and equally so for their listeners and fans. What’s perhaps even more unique is when writers have the opportunity to narrate multiple titles from their own backlist---books that have been previously published that are coming afresh to audio.

Listen in as George & Kelly discuss their longtime collaborations, the difference between a really good director and the alternative, and the temptations to edit one’s own work from the audio studio. And of course, the epic recording that was Lincoln In the Bardo. Plus, hear how George has integrated his own original music in ways even he didn’t expect.

See more from George Saunders: https://www.penguinrandomhouseaudio.com/author/26961/george-saunders/