Meet the LITERARY LOOKBOOK, a comprehensive but not exhaustive collection of 182 upcoming 2024 releases curated by Kelly Hooker and me. The Lookbook includes titles from January-May 2024 from a variety of genres and features cover designs organized by publication date. Buy it here: Literary Lookbook

Episodes

July 23, 2021

Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray - THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN

We discuss their new book The Personal Librarian, bringing Belle de Costa Greene to life, portraying Belle’s internal struggle, using the first person POV to tell a more personal story, writing partnerships, their July GMA book club selection, and much …

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July 23, 2021

Elizabeth Letts - THE RIDE OF HER LIFE

Elizabeth and I discuss The Ride of Her Life, crafting this grand adventure story, how she learned about Annie Wilkins and her incredible journey, the manner in which the automobile and interstates revolutionized the United States, what surprised her while …

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July 20, 2021

S. C. Perkins - FATAL FAMILY TIES

Stephanie and I discuss her new book Fatal Family Ties, the complexity of researching individuals who fought in the Civil War, her favorite secondary characters to write, how her title came about, how the theme of second chance ended up …

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July 16, 2021

Danielle Bartlett

Danielle and I discuss her job as a Publicity Director at Harper Collins and what her role entails, her road to becoming a book publicist, how publicists at William Morrow are assigned to books, how each book campaign is unique …

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July 14, 2021

Mary O'Malley and Pamela Klinger-Horn

Pamela, Mary and I discuss working as booksellers and what their roles entail, the book club event they are organizing and hosting in September called the Book Club Buffet, what surprises them the most about the book world, the genres …

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July 13, 2021

Adam Stern - COMMITTED

Adam and I discuss Committed: Dispatches from a Psychiatrist in Training, how psychiatry differs from other medical fields, imposter syndrome, how he handled the legal issues related to his book, positive changes to the medical industry resulting from the pandemic, …

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July 9, 2021

Jamie Brenner - BLUSH

Jamie and I discuss Blush, paying homage to the books that have stayed with her for decades, what Jackie Collins’ daughter thought about Blush, the unfortunate push to categorize books by women and how men’s books are not treated the …

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July 8, 2021

Vanessa Riley - ISLAND QUEEN

Vanessa and I discuss Island Queen, bringing Dorothy Kirwan Thomas to life, why she created her fabulous Author’s Note, how the stunning cover came about, the importance of uncovering stories hidden to history, and much more.

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July 7, 2021

Riley Sager - SURVIVE THE NIGHT

Riley and I discuss Survive the Night, how he enjoys making the reader scared, setting a story over the course of one evening in a car, using a screenplay format for the chapter headings, converting from a plotter to a …

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July 6, 2021

Lyn Liao Butler - THE TIGER MOM'S TALE

Lyn and I discuss The Tiger Mom’s Tale, what she wants readers to take away from her book, bringing Taiwanese culture and food to life, how her Instagram blooper Reels came about, her unusual publishing journey, and much more.

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July 2, 2021

Chantel Guertin - INSTAMOM

Chantel and I discuss Instamom, the world of Instagram influencers and how individuals now make careers of out being influencers, the term childfree and how it better reflects not having children, her book recommendations, and much more.

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July 1, 2021

Elizabeth Barnhill

Elizabeth and I discuss the books that have captivated us in 2021 so far, why we organized them by publication date, and more.

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June 29, 2021

Amy Mason Doan - LADY SUNSHINE

Amy and I discuss Lady Sunshine, how Woody Guthrie and Fleetwood Mac inspired her book, crafting the lyrics for the songs included in Lady Sunshine, taking someone’s art and finishing it, her unique Covid writing spot, and much more.

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June 27, 2021

John Galligan - BAD MOON RISING

John and I discuss Bad Moon Rising, the inspiration for Heidi Kick, weaving timely issues into his mysteries, connecting his community in rural Wisconsin with the bigger themes and conflicts in culture, the most challenging part of writing for him, …

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June 27, 2021

Saumya Dave - WHAT A HAPPY FAMILY

Saumya and I discuss What a Happy Family, wanting to focus on mental health and the ways we do and do not talk about it, how memories are filtered through our own experiences, the origins of the title, balancing two …

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June 23, 2021

Alka Joshi - THE SECRET KEEPER OF JAIPUR

Alka and I discuss The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, providing Malik with his own story and his popularity with readers, finding the balance between wearing her reader hat and her writer hat while writing, the inspiration for the Royal Jewel …

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June 22, 2021

Clare Mackintosh - HOSTAGE

Clare and I discuss Hostage, the idea that it is far more terrifying when you do not know where a threat is coming from, landing a plane herself at a flight simulation center (listen to learn if she successfully landed), …

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June 21, 2021

Emma Brodie - SONGS IN URSA MAJOR

Emma and I discuss Songs in Ursa Major, how the relationship between James Taylor and Joni Mitchell inspired her story, crafting the lyrics for the songs in the book, growing up with music as a language in her house, what …

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June 18, 2021

Sarah Pinsker - WE ARE SATELLITES

Sarah and I discuss We Are Satellites, what happens when a medical technology developed for one condition is used for another purpose or has a commercial application instead, how she chose to tell the story from four POVs, the ethical …

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June 17, 2021

Kristan Higgins - PACK UP THE MOON

Kristan and I discuss Pack Up the Moon, how reading books about other people’s grief provides a safe way to cry over the things in your own life, why she chose to incorporate letters into her book, providing a story …

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June 11, 2021

Jess McHugh - AMERICANON

Jess and I discuss Americanon, the way these thirteen books shaped culture, gender roles and beliefs in the U.S., evaluating American identity in terms of a different canon of books, looking into what books were owned in any given era, …

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June 9, 2021

Philip D'Anieri - THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL

Philip and I discuss The Appalachian Trail, crafting the history of the trail from the perspective of the people who built it and how and why they did so, the difficulty of knitting together a very long and narrow space …

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June 8, 2021

Pam Jenoff - THE WOMAN WITH THE BLUE STAR

Pam and I discuss The Woman with the Blue Star, looking for the gasp in a story, her struggle to write this book, how publishing during a pandemic is like learning to walk all over again, how each one of …

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June 4, 2021

Jeff Arch - ATTACHMENTS

Jeff and I discuss Attachments, crafting a story about relationships, his personal connection to the novel, how watching soap operas helped him write this novel, creating Sleepless in Seattle and behind-the-scenes details about its development, and much more.

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