What better way to spend your summer than with toxic relationships, creepy islands, and lots of murder? This week on the podcast, Kristen, Wendy, and Layne share what’s at the top of their Summer 2019 TBRs, including new books by Laura Lippman, Kimberly S. Belle, Andrea Dunlop, and more.

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This week we're joined by an author from the other side of the world: Rheea Mukherjee dials in from Bangalore to chat with Kristen and Layne about her debut novel THE BODY MYTH, crafting complicated love stories, and women who don't behave the way they're "supposed" to (our favorite kind!).

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Kristen chats with Rachel Howzell Hall about her new novel THEY ALL FALL DOWN (which features not just one but SEVEN unlikeable characters!), why unlikeability is in the eye of the beholder, and what it's like to write unlikeable female characters as a woman of color.

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Kristen, Layne, and Wendy take a short break from discussing unlikeable female characters to take on some unlikeable real-life men in the publishing industry. Where's the line between having mediocre white man confidence and just being a dick? Unclear, but these dudes have definitely crossed it.

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Wendy interviews #FASHIONVICTIM author Amina Akhtar (live and in person at the Mayfair Hotel in Los Angeles!) about celebrity sightings, how many calories serial killing burns, and meeting a shaman named Britney. Also: we're giving away copies of Amina's novel to 3 lucky listeners! Visit the podcast Twitter for info about how to enter.

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This week we chat with prolific and badass YA writer Mindy McGinnis (author of THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES, THIS DARKNESS MINE, HEROINE, and many more) about being an unlikeable female character in small-town Ohio, writing realistically flawed teenage girls, and why you better watch out for band geeks.

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Just in time for the Oscars, Kristen and Layne chat about some of their favorite awards-season movies featuring unlikeable female characters, including THE WIFE, CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?, WIDOWS, MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS, and (of course) THE FAVOURITE.

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This week on Unlikeable Female Characters, Layne interviews Megan Collins (author of THE WINTER SISTER, out now from Atria Books!) about poetic prose, badass women of mythology, and the Margaret Atwood-related heist they may or may not be plotting together.

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It's a Pitch Wars interview extravaganza! This week, we celebrate the amazing mentoring program that brought us all together. We're joined by Pitch Wars Managing Director Kellye Garrett as well as our mentees Halley Sutton, Nigar Alam, and Wanda Morris. Get a sneak preview of their manuscripts (all of which happen to feature unlikeable female characters!) before the Pitch Wars Agent Showcase starts on February 6th.

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Whether you love her, hate her, or love to hate her, there's no doubt Amy Elliott Dunne is one of the greatest unlikeable female protagonists of all time. This week on the podcast Kristen, Layne, and Wendy do a deep dive into this fascinating and infuriating character. Are you #TeamAmy?

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