The National Writers Series Podcast

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Tess Gerritsen, Author of "The Surgeon" featuring Rizzoli & Isles (2015) Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

September 1st is the publish date of "The Surgeon" in 2001. It's perhaps better known as the very first novel featuring detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles, who are now famously the lead characters in the long-running show "Rizzoli & Isles" on TNT.

Since it's the 20th anniversary of that book's release, we thought we'd revisit our chat with the author: Tess Gerritsen.

Gerritsen joined the NWS for a conversation in January 2015 that ranged from her mother's love of horror movies to her career in medicine to the first novels she wrote in the romance genre before turning to thrillers. Our guest host for this episode of the NWS podcast is Kerrey Woughter.

Maggie Stiefvater, Author of "Shiver" and "Raven Boys" (2012) Aug 03, 2021

Show notes

Since we have a superstar Young Adult author scheduled to join the NWS in the Fall 2021 Season (Friends of the NWS know who we're talking about!), we thought we'd look back at the first YA author to grace the NWS Stage: Maggie Stiefvater.

Stiefvater is the author of "Shiver," the first novel in her famed Wolves of Mercy Falls series, which debuted in August of 2009. She joined us for a conversation in 2012 in advance of her novel "Raven Boys," hosted by Bookends blogger and young adult reviewer Lynn Rutan.

Martha Teichner, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and author of "When Harry Met Minnie" (2021) Jul 13, 2021

Show notes

We've been spending a lot of time outside over the past few weeks and months, some of it wandering the Teichner Preserve on Lime Lake. We thought that since the Cherry Fest crowds have parted ways with the TC area once again, we might be able to convince some of you to head there as well.

What better way to do that than to share our conversation with Martha Teichner, CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and author of "When Harry Met Minnie"? She joined us earlier this year when the weather wasn't quite as kind for outdoor activities, and it was one of the most popular events of our Spring Season.

We discussed her first book as well as her history growing up in the Traverse City area, as well as how she and the Leelanau Conservancy helped to save her family's land for future generations as the Teichner Preserve. If you weren't able to join this special ticketed event as it happened, good news - the full conversation is now right here.

Benjamin Busch, author of "Dust to Dust" (2012) Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

Benjamin Busch is probably best known for his acting career: He played the character of officer Tony Colicchio in the HBO series “The Wire” and has had roles in shows like "Generation Kill" and "The West Wing." Ben is quite active in many other creative pursuits, including writing, filmmaking, photography, and stonemasonry. He’s written many poems and essays for various collections and periodicals.

Ben is also a veteran officer of the U.S. Marine Corps and served two tours in Iraq. His memoir “Dust to Dust” came out in 2012. That year, Ben talked with Doug Stanton on the stage of the City Opera House in Traverse City. We thought that this sprawling two-hour conversation could be a great companion for the Independence Day holiday, and we hope you enjoy the discussion.

If you were there in person, you would have seen Ben's entrance to the stage via roller skates, along with him smashing pottery and calling for chairs that dropped seemingly out of the sky. That doesn't work very well in an audio format so we've jumped straight into the conversation, but just know that it does come up in reference here and there throughout the episode.

Colum McCann, author of “Let the Great World Spin” (2013) Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

Colum McCann’s stunning novel, “Let the Great World Spin” (winner of the National Book Award for fiction) debuted right around this time of year back in 2009, and so this week we look back on his visit to the National Writers Series in June of 2013.

McCann sat down with Leigh Haber, Books Editor for O, the Oprah Magazine, for a charming and wide-ranging discussion at the City Opera House. They covered everything from the perils of being an optimist to the topic he doesn't want to invite Dr. Freud in to discuss; on why he rereads "Ulysses" every year (plus why read the naughty parts to a dead friend) and his need to “murder” a book to create a screenplay of it (for no less than JJ Abrams).

If you enjoyed this discussion, we recommend you check out McCann’s nonprofit group Narrative 4, which connects writers, musicians and artists with groups of students around the globe (something close to our heart here at the NWS). Thanks for listening, and don’t forget to subscribe and give us a 5-star rating!

Emily Giffin, author of "Something Borrowed" and "The One and Only" (2014) Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

With Emily Henry joining the NWS on June 24, we thought we'd take this week's podcast episode back to 2014 to hear from another Emily whose work travels along a similar wavelength.

Emily Giffin has written seven novels that have been commonly described by critics as "chick lit," but Giffin takes exception to that characterization. Her novel "Something Borrowed" was made into a movie starring Kate Hudson and John Krasinski. Giffin joined us in advance of her latest book, "The One and Only," which debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list at number one for hardcover fiction.

In this episode, our guest host is the vice president for content and engagement for The Tennessean in Nashville, Stefanie Murray.

Sara Paretsky, creator of V.I. Warshawski (2013) Jun 08, 2021

Show notes

Before there was Lisbeth Salander or Stephanie Plum, there was V.I. Warshawski.

Today we celebrate the birthday of author Sara Paretsky, who joined the National Writers Series in 2013 to talk about Critical Mass, her then-newest detective novel featuring her famous investigator V.I. Warshawski (immortalized in the 1991 film by Kathleen Turner).

In this week's episode, guest host Nancy Baker joins Paretsky on the City Opera Hall stage to talk about how Paretsky's experiences in Chicago help shape and inform her novels (and what people need to do when they visit the city - including how to get stalked by the mob), why she might want to buy Texas and return it to Mexico, and why she created the "Sisters in Crime" organization.

Sebastian Junger, Author of "The Perfect Storm" (2011) May 18, 2021

Show notes

We're celebrating a double anniversary this week! Not only did author, journalist, and filmmaker Sebastian Junger join the National Writers Series for a conversation with co-founder Doug Stanton in May 2011, but his book The Perfect Storm was released on May 17th, 1996.

Of course, The Perfect Storm -- which followed the fishing vessel The Andrea Gail as it fought to survive against a brutal Nor'Easter storm -- was turned into a blockbuster hit movie in 2000 starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg.

Junger would join us again for a discussion in 2017, but join us now as we look back at our very first conversation where we cover his connection to the Boston Strangler, the reaction to his Oscar-nominated documentary Restrepo and the necessity of journalism in times and areas of conflict...

Nathaniel Philbrick, Author of "Mayflower" (2013) May 11, 2021

Show notes

For this week's podcast, we celebrate the release of Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower - a book nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and released right around this date back in 2006 (at least according to our records).

Philbrick joined the National Writer Series also right around this date in May 2013, just days after the release of his newest book: Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution.

In this conversation (guest hosted by Rich Fahle) we discuss the roots of the American Revolution, how Philbrick's research helps him make history come alive, where his own "bunker" can be found, and what tarring and feathering was truly like (hint: not fun)...

Jason Matthews, Author of "Red Sparrow" (2013) May 04, 2021

Show notes

This week's podcast episode is a little different from our other entries.

Sadly, former NWS guest author Jason Matthews passed away last week at age 69. Jason was the author of three best-selling spy thrillers including Red Sparrow, written based on his experiences working for the CIA over 33 years.

We welcomed Jason to the NWS stage back in May 2013, where he and host Doug Stanton discussed how he came to the spy thriller genre, tricks of the CIA trade (unclassified, of course), Jason's experiences going up against Vladimir Putin's forces, and much more over a 90-minute discussion.

As Doug told us, Jason certainly kept his espionage training sharp:

"When I picked up Jason at the Park Place before the NWS event, he was standing right next to me, and I couldn’t find him anywhere in the lobby. It was like he disappeared. He had changed his hat, turned his coat inside out, and did not look at all like the person I was looking for and had had lunch with at the house earlier. 'Hi Doug,' he said, standing next to me, a big smile on his face."

There's an amazing story about how Jason and his wife helped save a Russian family from Putin's Russian Security Service that's right up there with anything Ian Fleming or John le Carré ever wrote - and it's all in this week's podcast.

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