Accessibility links
Author Interviews NPR interviews with top authors and the NPR Book Tour, a weekly feature and podcast where leading authors read and discuss their writing. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

Author Interviews

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

'Billy Lynn' A Full-Bore Tale Of A Day After Iraq

Author Ben Fountain's debut novel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, is the story of what happens to a 19-year-old college dropout after he joins Bravo Company in the early years of the Iraq war.

'Billy Lynn' A Full-Bore Tale Of A Day After Iraq

Listen · 8:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155841872/156049741" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Gold

In 'Gold,' Olympic Rivalry Is Personal, Professional

Chris Cleave's newest novel chronicles the friendship and rivalry between cyclists training for the 2012 Olympics. He speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the fascination of athletic rivalries, how he got in shape for the book and what he hopes readers will take away.

In 'Gold,' Olympic Rivalry Is Personal, Professional

Listen · 6:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155846165/156034967" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Gross-Out Gags AND Life Lessons In 'Wimpy Kid'
Jeff Kinney/Abrams

NPR's Backseat Book Club

Gross-Out Gags AND Life Lessons In 'Wimpy Kid'

Author Jeff Kinney is a rock star in the middle school literary scene. His Diary of a Wimpy Kid books follow the misadventures of sad-sack sixth-grader Greg Heffley, who just wants to fit in. Kids love the gross-out humor, but librarians and teachers say the books also help them laugh at the indignities of life.

Gross-Out Gags AND Life Lessons In 'Wimpy Kid'

Listen · 8:15
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155241074/156005201" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
R.A. Dickey On 'Winding Up' As A Knuckleballer

R.A. Dickey currently plays for the New York Mets. He was previously with the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers. courtesy of the author hide caption

toggle caption
courtesy of the author

Sports

R.A. Dickey On 'Winding Up' As A Knuckleballer

Fresh Air

New York Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey is currently the only knuckleball pitcher in the major leagues. His new memoir, Wherever I Wind Up, explains how his life — and career — have mimicked the unpredictable trajectory of the difficult pitch he throws game after game.

R.A. Dickey On 'Winding Up' As A Knuckleballer

Listen · 39:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155855553/155855770" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
This Chef Loves Her 'Pig,' From Nose To Tail

Meat Week

This Chef Loves Her 'Pig,' From Nose To Tail

April Bloomfield says she loves the smell of frying liver, the taste of a good thick steak shared with friends, and the crunch of a crispy fried pig's ear. Her new cookbook is a paean to meat — and from snout to tail, every part of the animal appears on her dinner table.

This Chef Loves Her 'Pig,' From Nose To Tail

Listen · 5:54
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155927258/155967340" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Sleuth Keeps His Good Eye On Mexico City's Crime

In heavily polluted Mexico City, crime writer Paco Ignacio Taibo II describes his exhausted detective Hector Belascoaran Shayne as looking out at his hometown and seeing "a city that was trying to hide itself in the smog." Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty Images

Crime In The City

Sleuth Keeps His Good Eye On Mexico City's Crime

Paco Ignacio Taibo II and his fictional protagonist, Hector Belascoaran Shayne, follow crime trails in a dark, violent Mexico City. But the author has not written about his detective since the drug war began about six years ago.

Sleuth Keeps His Good Eye On Mexico City's Crime

Listen · 7:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155767420/155967420" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

The 'Other Audubon': A Family's Passion

In the late 1800s, Genevieve Jones set out to create the first book in America to catalogue the nests and eggs of birds. But when Jones tragically died of typhoid, her family made the remarkable commitment to complete the project. Melissa Block talks with Joy Kiser, who has once again published the illustrations and wrote the story behind their creation in her book, America's Other Audubon.

The 'Other Audubon': A Family's Passion

Listen · 5:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155936583/155936548" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Marcus Samuelsson: On Becoming A Top Chef

James Beard award-winning chef Marcus Samuelsson has been a judge on Top Chef, Iron Chef America and Chopped. /Courtesy of Marcus Samuelsson hide caption

toggle caption
/Courtesy of Marcus Samuelsson

Fresh Food

Marcus Samuelsson: On Becoming A Top Chef

Fresh Air

The James Beard award-winning chef was the youngest ever to receive a three-star review from The New York Times. His new memoir, Yes, Chef, explains what it takes to be a master chef — and describes his journey from Ethiopia to Sweden to some of America's finest restaurants.

Marcus Samuelsson: On Becoming A Top Chef

Listen · 38:51
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155909328/155909947" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Black Legal Giants Struggled With Role, Identity

The Supreme Court has made major decisions, from rulings on the President's signature health care law, to historic civil rights law. In the book, Representing the Race, Harvard Law Professor Kenneth Mack looks at African-American legal giants like Thurgood Marshall and their struggle with identity. He speaks with guest host Viviana Hurtado.

Black Legal Giants Struggled With Role, Identity

Listen · 8:13
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155913653/155913644" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Who Gets What

'Who Gets What': Putting A Price On Human Tragedy

When a tragedy like Sept. 11 strikes, shock quickly gives way to blame. And when it's time to figure out if victims should be compensated, Kenneth Feinberg's phone rings. The attorney has built a career out of overseeing compensation funds and determining who deserves payment.

'Who Gets What': Putting A Price On Human Tragedy

Listen · 30:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155850506/155849666" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Grieving Widow Turns To Making Pie As Therapy

One day, Beth Howard got a phone call everyone dreads — she learned her husband passed away. Overwhelmed by grief and regret, she decided she needed something sweet in her life, so she began traveling the country, sampling and making pies. Howard speaks with guest host Viviana Hurtado about her book, Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie.

Grieving Widow Turns To Making Pie As Therapy

Listen · 8:49
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155842866/155842859" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Why Flying Is No Fun (And May Be More Dangerous)
Michal Krakowiak/iStockphoto.com

Why Flying Is No Fun (And May Be More Dangerous)

Fresh Air

Airline veteran and writer William McGee says airlines' aggressive cost-cutting hasn't just added fees and hassles. He says they're taking steps that compromise safety — and regulators are letting it happen.

Why Flying Is No Fun (And May Be More Dangerous)

Listen · 32:37
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155838099/155838782" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Author Chronicles Ever-Changing Life On The Border

Author Luis Alberto Urrea's writing career has focused on life along the U.S.-Mexican border and the lives of people who cross it. Changes in state and U.S. immigration policy all influence those lives — and thus Alberto Urrea's work — in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

Author Chronicles Ever-Changing Life On The Border

Listen · 16:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155777840/155777833" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Writers Offer Alternate Lens On Modern Middle East

News from the Middle East often centers on political conflict. But there is a more personal aspect to many of the recent events that shaped the Middle East, from the Iranian Revolution to the Arab Spring. Writers from the region have long been capturing those facets through poetry, song and fiction and nonfiction prose.

Writers Offer Alternate Lens On Modern Middle East

Listen · 30:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155777838/155777831" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Colum McCann Links Communities With Storytelling

When Colum McCann came to the U.S. from Ireland in the early 1980s, he set out on a cross-country bicycle trip to get to know his new country and its stories. He's spent the years since telling those tales through prose. With his Story Swap project, McCann is helping diverse communities better understand each other by sharing their own stories.

Colum McCann Links Communities With Storytelling

Listen · 16:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/155777836/155777829" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript