Books

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with novelist Willy Vlautin about his new book "The Left and The Lucky" and focusing his writing on working class characters.

Jan Morris was a writer who seemed to be everywhere at the right moment, from witnessing the first climb of Mt. Everest to interviewing Che Guevara. NPR's Scott Simon talks to biographer Sara Wheeler.

Once called the "King of Bad Taste," Waters is known for his off-beat cult films Pink Flamingos and Polyester, as well as the more mainstream Hairspray. Originally broadcast in 2014 and 2019.

A new book from NPR’s Planet Money breaks down the economy through vivid and surprising stories, such as food bank pickle surpluses and the hidden rules shaping global business.

The annual Whiting Award for Emerging Writers comes with $50,000 to support each winner's work. It's one of the largest prizes granted to promising new authors.

In The Take, an older woman and a younger woman agree to exchange 10 years of their lives through a blood transfusion. NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with author Kelly Yang.

The novel centers around Cherry, whose disintegrating marriage is complicated by the success of her husband's comic strip.

Protesting the government by not paying taxes is one way to be heard. We talk with Ruth Braunstein about her book, My Tax Dollar: the Morality of Taxpaying in America.

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with James Wolff, the pseudonym of a former British intelligence officer who now writes about them in spy novels. His latest book is Spies and Other Gods.

Fishermen and women are drawn to fish by something other than hunger.