Gays Reading

Latest Episodes:

Andrew Sean Greer, Villa Coco Jun 16, 2026

Show notes

Jason Blitman talks with Pulitzer Prize winer Andrew Sean Greer (Less) about his newest novel, Villa Coco. This conversation was recorded live in Los Angeles at the First Congressional Church sponsored by Book Soup.

Conversation highlights include:

🇮🇹 How living in Italy inspired aspects of the book

👑 His experience with a real-life princess

🎶 Intel on the musical adaptation of Less

ANDREW SEAN GREER is the bestselling author of seven works of fiction, including Pulitzer Prize winner Less and its companion Less Is Lost. He is the recipient of the Northern California Book Award, the California Book Award, the New York Public Library Young Lions Award, the O. Henry award for short fiction, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Public Library. Greer lives in Venice.

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What Are You Reading? feat. Haili Blassingame Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

Host Jason Blitman is joined by debut novelist Haili Blassingame to hear about what she's been reading and learn about her book, They All Fall in Love at the End.

Haili Blassingame is a producer for the NPR program 1A. She has written for publications like The New Republic and The New York Times, in which she published the viral “My Choice Isn’t Marriage or Loneliness” for “Modern Love”. She was one of twelve essayists selected to write a follow-up piece for the column’s 20th anniversary in October 2024. She’s also been a guest on the Modern Love podcast, NPR’s Life Kit, and NPR’s 1A. She previously worked on NPR’s Code Switch and Weekend Edition. She is pursuing an MFA in creative writing from American University. She lives in Washington, DC.

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Matt Haig, The Midnight Train Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

Host Jason Blitman talks to author Matt Haig (The Midnight Library) about his latest novel, The Midnight Train. This conversation was recorded live at University of San Diego presented by Warwick's.

Matt Haig was born in Sheffield, England. His novels include The Humans, How to Stop Time, and The Midnight Library, which has been a number one New York Times bestseller and sold more than fourteen million copies world-wide. His non-fiction works include his award-winning mental illness memoir Reasons to Stay Alive and The Comfort Book. His most recent fiction, The Life Impossible, was a New York Times bestseller. He has also written several children’s books, including A Boy Called Christmas, which became a major feature film. His work has been published in fifty-six languages and he is an advocate for literacy, libraries, and better mental health provision for everyone.

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Melissa Albert, The Children Jun 08, 2026

Show notes

Host Jason Blitman is joined by prolific author Melissa Albert to talk about her debut adult novel, The Children, named June 2026's Read with Jenna Book Club pick.

Melissa Albert is the New York Times and indie bestselling author of The Bad Ones, Our Crooked Hearts, and the Hazel Wood series. Her work has been translated into more than twenty languages and included in the New York Times list of Notable Children’s Books. The Children is her first adult novel.

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Ann Patchett, Whistler Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

Host Jason Blitman welcomes Ann Patchett back to the podcast—last heard discussing her annotated Bel Canto in fall 2024—for a conversation about her newest novel, Whistler.

Conversation highlights include:

⏱️ Changes made to the book moments before it went to print

😔 The relationship between missing something and grief

🎭 Whether Ann might ever write for the stage

Ann Patchett is the author of novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, works of nonfiction, and children's books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner, the Women's Prize for Fiction in the UK, and the Book Sense Book of the Year. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. President Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is the owner of Parnassus Books.

Ann Patchett's New Yorker essay Glowworms

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Rasheed Newson, There is Only One Sin in Hollywood Jun 02, 2026

Show notes

Host Jason Blitman is joined by the most frequent Gays Reading guest, Rasheed Newson, to discuss his latest book, There's Only One Sin in Hollywood.

Conversation highlights include:

📖 Stories that don't get their due in the history books

🎥 Rumors in Hollywood and how they continue today

🪞How the understanding of ourselves change as we get older

Rasheed Newson is the author of the national bestseller My Government Means to Kill Me, which was selected as a Lambda Literary finalist for Gay Fiction and was named one of the “100 Notable Books of 2022” by The New York Times. He is also a television drama writer, producer, and showrunner. He codeveloped Bel-Air and worked on The Chi, Animal Kingdom, and Narcos, among other drama series. Newson is a 2025–26 American Library in Paris Visiting Fellow. He currently lives with his husband and their two children in Pasadena.

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Sonia Feldman, Girl's Girl Jun 01, 2026

Show notes

Host Jason Blitman talks to debut novelist Sonia Feldman about her book Girl's Girl, this month's The Nod™️ by Gays Reading with Aardvark Book Club.

Conversation highlights include:

👯‍♀️ What it means to be a good friend

💧 Why Sonia describes the book as "dewey"

🌎 The universality of specific stories and what it means to love

Sonia Feldman lives in Cleveland, Ohio. She won the PEN America PEN/Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, and her poetry and fiction have appeared in The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, and Waxwing. She also runs Sonia’s Poem of the Week, a popular email newsletter. Girl’s Girl is her first novel.

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What Are You Reading? feat. Steven Rowley May 29, 2026

Show notes

On this episode of What Are You Reading?, host Jason Blitman is joined by New York Times bestselling author Steven Rowley for a conversation about what he's been reading, what goes into writing a great blurb, and his latest novel, Take Me With You, an instant USA Today bestseller.

Steven Rowley is the New York Times bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus, a Washington Post Notable Book; The Editor, an NPR Best Book of the Year; The Guncle, winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor and Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Novel of the Year; The Celebrants, a Today Show Read with Jenna book club pick; The Guncle Abroad, a USA Today bestseller; and The Dogs of Venice. His fiction has been translated into twenty languages. He resides in Palm Springs, California.

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Rachel Howzell Hall, Mist and Malice May 26, 2026

Show notes

Host Jason Blitman finally sits down with author Rachel Howzell Hall now that he's survived a full year of agony waiting for the follow-up to her cliffhanger-ending crime novel, Fog and Fury. Today, they're celebrating the arrival of Mist and Malice, the long-awaited sequel. New to the series? No problem. This spoiler-free conversation is the perfect entry point into the world of Haven.

Conversation highlights:

🌽 Rachel's favorite foods at the county fair

🎵 The song from Hamilton as a character's theme song

👵 Which Golden Girl Rachel identifies with

Rachel Howzell Hall is the New York Times bestselling author of Fog and Fury, The Cruel Dawn, The Last One, What Never Happened, We Lie Here, These Toxic Things, And Now She’s Gone, They All Fall Down, and, with James Patterson, The Good Sister, which was included in Patterson’s collection The Family Lawyer. A two-time Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist as well as an Anthony, International Thriller Writers, and Lefty Award nominee, Rachel is also the author of Land of Shadows, Skies of Ash, Trail of Echoes, and City of Saviors in the Detective Elouise Norton series. A past member of the board of directors for Mystery Writers of America, she has been a featured writer on NPR’s acclaimed Crime in the City series and the National Endowment for the Arts weekly podcast. Rachel lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.

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What Are You Reading? feat. Ayelet Waldman May 22, 2026

Show notes

Host Jason Blitman talks to Ayelet Waldman about what she's been reading (spoiler alert: a lot of audiobooks while quilting!) and about her new book, A Perfect Hand. Come for the book recs, stay for the Heated Rivalry conversation.

Ayelet Waldman is the author of A Really Good Day, Love and Treasure, Red Hook Road, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, Daughter’s Keeper, Bad Mother and the Mommy-Track Mystery series. She co-developed and was an Executive Producer on the Netflix series Unbelievable, which received a Peabody Award and Best Limited Series nominations at the Critics’ Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Primetime Emmys in 2020. Waldman lives in Berkeley, California with her husband Michael Chabon.

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