Arthur Phillips – The Song is You – part 1 of a 2 part interview
9781400066469 (hardcover)
Random House, $25.00
Writerscast host David Wilk interviews author Arthur Phillips, acclaimed author of Prague, The Egyptologist and Angelica. Phillips, who was born and raised in Minnesota, and educated at Harvard, now lives in Brooklyn, which is also the setting for his newest novel The Song is You. It is a beautifully written, complicated, sometimes painful, often extremely funny and very modern novel. Music is a critical underpinning of the story, and the complexity of the relationship between listener and performer is deeply entwined with the unusual love story that is at the heart of the novel. Phillips is widely considered one of the best novelists writing today – and The Song is You is solid evidence of how good he really is.
In this first segment of a lively two part interview with David Wilk, Phillips talks in detail about his new book The Song is You, what it is about, how he came to write it, what music means in the novel and for his main character, as well as what it has meant to him, how he writes, and how he sees his work in the context of his own daily life.
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Meg Wolitzer – The Ten Year Nap
9781594483547 (paperback)
Penguin Group, $16.00
Writerscast host David Wilk interviews author Meg Wolitzer, whose novel The Ten Year Nap has recently been released in a paperback edition. This brilliantly written novel, set in contemporary New York City, portrays the lives of a group of women who have set aside their careers to raise children. Wolitzer paints her characters with the complexity and sympathy they deserve, but she never lets them off the hook for their foibles and failings. Women and men will recognize – sometimes painfully – much that is familiar to those who have lived through and come after the post-first wave of feminism in modern urban culture. Her humor is subtle but can make the reader laugh out loud as well.
In a wide ranging discussion Wilk and Wolitzer discuss the story line, characters and issues raised in The Ten Year Nap, as well as Ms. Wolitzer’s approach to writing and books and how she works. For any fan of Meg Wolitzer’s novels, and there are many, listening to this interview will be fun and illuminating. The Ten Year Nap is a wonderful book and highly recommended to anyone interested in contemporary American fiction.
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Russ Baker – Family of Secrets – Part 2 of a Two Part Interview
April 26, 2009 by David
Filed under Non-Fiction
978-1596915572
Bloomsbury Press, $30.00
Hardcover
Writerscast host David Wilk interviews investigative journalist Russ Baker, author of the newly released FAMILY OF SECRETS: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America. Baker started his investigation into the Bush family during the most recent Bush administration, thinking that he would be able to understand how the “unlikely” George W actually became President of the most powerful nation on earth. This simple investigation turned into something far deeper – and ultimately Baker learned details about the Bush family going back three generations that connects them to some of the major political events of the last 75 years. In Part Two of Wilk’s two part interview with Baker, they discuss more details of the startling and controversial content of the book. Baker discusses the information he uncovered about the “real” George Bush and his role in the still unfolding story of the Bush family dynasty. He talks about the image and the reality of our ex-President and suggests what we as citizens can do to learn more about how our country really operates.
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Russ Baker – Family of Secrets – Part 1 of a two part interview
April 14, 2009 by David
Filed under Non-Fiction
978-1596915572
Bloomsbury Press, $30.00
Hardcover
Writerscast host David Wilk interviews investigative journalist Russ Baker, author of the newly released FAMILY OF SECRETS: The Bush Dynasty, the Powerful Forces That Put It in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America. Baker started his investigation into the Bush family during the most recent Bush administration, thinking that he would be able to understand how the “unlikely” George W actually became President of the most powerful nation on earth. This simple investigation turned into something far deeper – and ultimately Baker learned details about the Bush family going back three generations that connects them to some of the major political events of the last 75 years. In Wilk’s two part interview with Baker, they discuss much of the startling and controversial content of the book. Baker talks in detail about his background as a journalist and many of the intriguing Bush family stories. Warning: some of what you learn here will be frightening!
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Josh Lambert – American Jewish Fiction
978-0-8276-0883-2
The Jewish Publication Society, $18.00
paperback original
Writerscast host David Wilk interviews Josh Lambert, the editor of AMERICAN JEWISH FICTION: A guide to great novels and short story collections published in January 2009 by the Jewish Publication Society. In the book, Lambert collects and discusses 125 classic American Jewish novels and short story collections beginning with Nathan Meyer’s DIFFERENCES from 1867 through Michael Chabon’s THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN’S UNION of 2007. In this fascinating interview, Lambert talks about his method for assembling his anthology, as well as some of the books and stories that it features. Wilk and Lambert talk extensively about the nature of Jewish fiction in America, themes that have remained constant over time, as well as what has changed in the American Jewish experiences since the earliest novels of the 19th century. Lambert talks about some of the issues he faced in making selections for the book and his enthusiasm for the many books he read in order to put this book together. AMERICAN JEWISH FICTION offers readers many surprises and should be of interest to any reader of contemporary fiction.
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Tony Abbott-The Postcard-a Mystery within a Mystery-Pt 2
March 21, 2009 by David
Filed under Children's Authors, Fiction
978-0316011723 (Hardcover)
Little Brown Young Readers, $15.99
(paperback is due out in May 2009)
Writerscast host David Wilk interviews Tony Abbott, the author of over 60 books for young readers, including the extremely popular Droon series, which has sold over 4.5 million books, and the Golden Kite winner Firegirl.
This is part two of Wilk and Abbott’s in depth and wide ranging conversation about books and writing. Wilk and Abbott talk extensively about Tony’s latest book, The Postcard , an exciting and well written mystery set in Florida in the sixties that is based to a great extent on Tony’s experiences visiting there as a child. They also talk about some of Abbott’s many other books and how his newest projects are developing. Abbott’s many fans will find this a great opportunity to get to know him as a writer and person. Part One of their conversation was posted earlier in March 2009.
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Tony Abbott – The Postcard – a Mystery within a Mystery
March 11, 2009 by David
Filed under Children's Authors, Fiction
978-0316011723 (Hardcover)
Little Brown Young Readers, $15.99
(paperback is due out in May 2009)
Writerscast host David Wilk interviews Tony Abbott, the author of over 60 books for young readers, including the extremely popular Droon series, which has sold over 4.5 million books, and the Golden Kite winner Firegirl.
This is part one of Wilk and Abbott’s in depth and wide ranging conversation about books and writing. Abbott talks about what he did before he became a full time writer and discusses in detail his writing methods and how he develops ideas that turn into books. Wilk and Abbott talk extensively about Tony’s latest book, The Postcard , an exciting and well written mystery set in Florida in the sixties that is based to a great extent on Tony’s experiences visiting there as a child. Abbott’s many fans will find this a great opportunity to get to know him as a writer and person. Part Two of their conversation will be posted soon.
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Starvation Lake – a mystery – Bryan Gruley
978-1-4165-6362-4 (paperback)
Touchstone, $14.00
Writerscast host David Wilk interviews Bryan Gruley, award-winning Chicago bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal, whose first novel, a mystery called Starvation Lake is about to be published as a paperback original from the Touchstone imprint of Simon & Schuster. Gruley’s novel is set in small town Michigan, and centers around a journalist with an unresolved past, local hockey players, and an engrossing story that captures the reader from the beginning and won’t let go. Harlan Coben has called Starvation Lake “A great debut from a major talent.”
Wilk and Gruley talk in depth about the writer’s work, what it’s like for a full time journalist to take on a novel, small town newspapering, and explore in depth some of the background and underpinnings of Gruley’s first novel. They discuss character development, story development and plotting, and the life and work of the novelist. Listeners will enjoy the opportunity to hear from a writer who clearly has alot to say and is an emerging new talent in American fiction.
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The People of the Book – Geraldine Brooks
978-0143115007 (paperback)
Penguin Books, $15.00
Writerscast host David Wilk interviews Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brooks, on tour for the release of the paperback edition of her newest novel, People of the Book. This brilliant and engaging historical novel has a story that spans centuries, using the Sarajevo Haggadah as the focus. As one reviewer has said: “There’s a romance between Brooks and the world, and her writing is as full of heart and curiosity as it is intelligence and judgement.” Carrie Brown, The Boston Globe.
In a wide ranging discussion with host Wilk, Ms. Brooks talks about her work and her working methods as a historical novelist. Wilk and Brooks talk in depth about The People of the Book. The author also offers fascinating details about the novel she is working on now, based on the Wampanoag Indians of Martha’s Vineyard, where she lives with her family. Her own website www.geraldinebrooks.com is a rich source of information about this wonderful writer and her consistently rich and rewarding fiction.
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Will War Ever End? Capt. Paul K. Chappell
January 31, 2009 by David
Filed under Non-Fiction
978-1935073-02-4
Ashoka Books, Hardcover $14.95
“There is cause to hope, and believe, that there can be an end to war.”
–Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, U.S. Army (ret.), author of On Killing
Writerscast host David Wilk interviews first time author US Army Captain Paul K. Chappell, whose new book, Will War Ever End? A Soldier’s Vision of Peace for the 21st Century will be published in February, 2009. The author talks about his personal background, why an active duty soldier who has served in Iraq has written a “manifesto for waging peace,” and explores some of the powerful ideas he covers in his new book. In a wide ranging interview Captain Chappell makes clear that achieving peace is not just a cliche, discusses the practical ways we can all work toward an active state of peace on earth, and gives compelling evidence for his reasoning that human beings are not naturally violent. In this interview the author shows why his powerful and original ideas are receiving so much attention among thinkers and activists for peace. The book website is located at www.paulkchappell.com.
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