The Literary Life with Mitchell Kaplan

Latest Episodes:

Kerri Maher on How a Paris Bookseller Changed the Course of Literature Jan 21, 2022

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On today’s episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Kerri Maher about her latest book, The Paris Bookseller, out now from Berkley Books.

Kerri Maher is the author of The Girl in White Gloves, The Kennedy Debutante, and, under the name Kerri Majors, This Is Not a Writing Manual: Notes for the Young Writer in the Real World. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and was a writing professor for many years. She now writes full-time and lives with her daughter and dog in a leafy suburb west of Boston, Massachusetts.

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What Are You Reading: Connie Ogle Jan 14, 2022

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“Some people don’t want to read about younger people, because they can’t relate to it. But for me, reading a book like Open Water or Sally Rooney’s book Beautiful World, Where Are You, it’s like looking at the lifestyle of people who live on a different planet. That’s how much older I am now, but it’s really interesting to me because people in their twenties look at life differently than I do.” This week, in a new ongoing series on The Literary Life, What Are You Reading, Mitchell Kaplan and Miami Herald‘s Connie Ogle discuss what books she’s read or looking forward to read this year.

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Valerie Miles on the Craft of Curating Translators Dec 10, 2021

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On today’s episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Valerie Miles about two of her recent new works, the anthology A Thousand Forests in One Acorn: An Anthology of Spanish-Language Fiction, out now from Open Letter Books, and the translation of Cremation by Rafael Chirbes, out now from New Directions Publishing.

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Paul Auster on the One Poem That He Can't Get Out of His Head Dec 03, 2021

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On this week's episode, live from the Miami Book Fair, Mitchell Kaplan talks with Paul Auster about his masterful new book, Burning Boy: The Life and Work of Stephen Crane, out now from Henry Holt and Co.

Paul Auster is the bestselling author of 4 3 2 1, Sunset Park, Invisible, The Book of Illusions, and the New York Trilogy, among many other works. In 2006 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature. Among his other honors are the Prix Médicis étranger for Leviathan, the Independent Spirit Award for the screenplay of Smoke, and the Premio Napoli for Sunset Park. In 2012, he was the first recipient of the NYC Literary Honors in the category of fiction. He has also been a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (The Book of Illusions), the PEN/Faulkner Award (The Music of Chance), the Edgar Award (City of Glass), and the Man Booker Prize (4 3 2 1). He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His work has been translated into more than forty languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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Bob Spitz on Writing the Definitive History of the Greatest Rock Band of All Time Nov 26, 2021

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This week on The Literary, Mitchell Kaplan talks with Bob Spitz about his new biography, Led Zeppelin.

Bob Spitz is the award-winning author of the biographies Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child and The Beatles, both New York Times bestsellers, as well as seven other nonfiction books and a screenplay. He helped manage Bruce Springsteen and Elton John at crucial points in their careers. He’s written hundreds of major profiles of figures, ranging from Keith Richards to Jane Fonda, from Paul McCartney to Paul Bowles.

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Amor Towles on How Peter Matthiessen Inspired Him To Write Nov 19, 2021

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On today’s episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Amor Towles about his latest novel, The Lincoln Highway, out now from Viking.

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The Cultural History of the Miami Book Fair Nov 12, 2021

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This week, Mitchell Kaplan talks with Miami Book Fair program director Lissette Mendez and Madeline Pumariega on the almost 40 years of the Fair, how it's changed over the years, and how this year will be conducted.

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Books for Those on Your 2021 Holiday List From Mitchell Kaplan and the Books & Books Team Nov 05, 2021

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Mitchell Kaplan has been a bookseller and has owned the independent bookstore Books & Books for almost 40 years. Enter The Literary Life where every Saturday you’ll hear candid conversations with Mitchell and his guests. If you love books, writers or are a passionate reader, this podcast is for you. Listen to this week’s episode to hear the Books & Books team talk about some of their favorite books for everyone on your holiday list. Shop the recommendations here from Mitchell, head book buyer Gaël LeLamer, children's and YA buyer Cristina Russell, and events and marketing director Cristina Nosti.

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Tananarive Due on Reinventing Black Horror Oct 29, 2021

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On today’s episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Tananarive Due about her latest novel, The Between, out now in paperback from Harper Perennial.

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Tananarive Due is an award-winning author who teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA. She is an executive producer on Shudder’s groundbreaking documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. Her books include Ghost Summer: Stories, My Soul to Keep, and The Good House. She and her late mother, civil rights activist Patricia Stephens Due, co-authored Freedom in the Family: a Mother-Daughter Memoir of the Fight for Civil Rights. She is married to author Steven Barnes, with whom she collaborates on screenplays. They live with their son, Jason.

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Lauren Groff on Exploring the Many Meanings of Matrix in Her New Novel Oct 15, 2021

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On today’s episode of The Literary Life, Mitchell Kaplan talks to Lauren Groff about her new novel, Matrix, out now from Riverhead Books.

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Lauren Groff is a two-time National Book Award finalist and the New York Times bestselling author of the novels The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, and Fates and Furies, and the short story collections Delicate Edible Birds and Florida. She has won the Story Prize and has been a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Groff’s work regularly appears in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and elsewhere, and she was named one of Granta’s 2017 Best Young American Novelists.

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