Writers at Work

Tribute to Rod Serling

This episode of Writers at Work pays tribute a man who is high on the short list of the best writers in the history of the TV medium. He is Rod Serling and this week marks the centennial of his birth on December 25, 1924.

M.T. Anderson

Today on Writers at Work, I'll be speaking with M.T. Anderson, an author of enormous imagination. His latest novel, NICKED, is his first for adult readers. It's set in 1087, and a gang of misfits is sailing to what's known today as Turkey to recover the 700-year-old bones of St. Nicholas. Yes, that St. Nicholas.
But NICKED is not a Christmas story. It is an amazement aptly described as a swashbuckling saga, a meditation on miraculous, and medieval noir. And it features a wonderful character, Brother Nicephorus, a gentle dreamer who, in his innocence, may be the wisest participant in this adventure.
Matthew Tobin Anderson has had three of his novels shortlisted for the National Book Award in the Young Person's Literature category. His THE ASTONISHING LIFE OF OCTAVIAN NOTHING, TRAITOR TO THE NATION, VOL. I: THE POX PARTY, won that award. This year, his ELF DOG & OWL HEAD received a Newbery Honor.
 
TIME magazine called his 2002 novel FEED one of the 100 Best YA Books of All Time. FEED portrays a dystopian society in which the citizenry is controlled by implants that permit, among other things, an endless barrage of messages from corporations. Through his novels and his picture books, he's also introduced young readers to classical musicians Frederick Handel, Eric Sati and Dmitri Shostakovich.

Jessica Anthony

It's that time of year when book lovers and critics declare their favorites from the prior 12 months. The latest by today's guest on Writers at Work has been turning up on quite a few of those lists. She is Jessica Anthony, and the book is THE MOST, a, crisp, suspenseful, wonderfully detailed, and altogether remarkable study of a marriage and a woman who has had enough.
I count it among my favorite books of 2024. Jessica has a remarkable biography that I'll be asking her about. The Oneida, New York, native earned a BA in English Lit and an MFA in Fiction, was a butcher in Alaska and an English teacher in Prague and remote villages in Poland.
While working on THE MOST, she guarded a bridge that linked Slovakia and Hungary. THE MOST is Jessica's fourth book, following, among others, ENTER THE AARDVARK, a political satire that was the subject of a heated auction among six publishers. It was a finalist for the New England Book Award in fiction this year.
THE MOST was long listed for the National Book Award for Fiction. The National Book Foundation describes it thusly: Set over the course of eight hours. Jessica's Anthony's THE MOST paints an intimate portrait of a marriage in the late 1950s, and the secrets, expectations and lost loves that tells a story of one seemingly unremarkable couple and a larger cultural moment. That says much, but only hints at the wonders of THE MOST.
I'm delighted to talk to Jessica about her quietly amazing book.

Tirzah Price

This episode of Writers at Work features Tirzah Price, author of the Jane Austen murder mystery series. Her latest novel, IN WANT OF A SUSPECT, a spin off from that series, is subtitled A Lizzie and Darcy Mystery and is available now.
 
Tirzah set out to be an author of books for young adults. She's in possession of an MFA in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She also knows well the publishing industry, having worked as a bookseller and librarian. Her debut novel, PRIDE AND PREMEDITATION, is a retelling of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE in which 17-year-old Lizzie Bennett sets out to solve a murder. In SENSE AND SECOND-DEGREE MURDER, it's 18-year-old Eleanor Dashwood who's out to solve crimes. And in MANSLAUGHTER PARK, Fanny Price believes the killer of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, is right there on the estate.
 
Of course, this is a delightful way to introduce Jane Austen's setting characters and their social milieu to readers aged 14 to 17. But there's also a danger in tears reimagining of tales that are among the most beloved in the literary canon. Jim discusses this and more with the author.

Robert Hilburn

This episode of Writers at Work features Robert Hilburn, author of A FEW WORDS IN DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY, the biography of Randy Newman. Bob is best known for his work for the Los Angeles Times, where during his four decades with the paper, he became the dean of American rock music writers, winning the loyalty of his readers and the trust of the artists he covered.
 
It would be easier to list the musicians Bob didn't write about during his tenure. He bore witness to many of rock and pop music's most notable events, including Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison performances, Elton John's first tour of Russia, Bob Dylan's first shows in Israel, and a Paul Simon show in Zimbabwe. And of course, if a band played Los Angeles County, Bob was more than likely right there. He wrote about each and all with clarity, humility and an open mind and heart.
 
After leaving the Times in 2006, Bob turned his attention to books. His first, CORNFLAKES WITH JOHN LENNON, reveals how he came to know the era's most famous rock icons. Next came biographies of Johnny Cash and Paul Simon. Now we have a study of Randy Newman. I can't tell you how excited I was to read this book; it is the perfect blend of subject and author.

Ruth D Nelson

This episode of Writers at Work features Ruth D. Nelson, art historian and author of OUR LADY OF THE WORLD'S FAIR: BRINGING MICHELANGELO'S "PIETÀ" TO QUEENS IN 1964.
 
Make no mistake, Nelson's book is work of serious scholarship, but it is also a tale of intrigue and suspense as mighty forces struggle to bring or to prevent the export of the Pieta to America. With a deft, confident hand, Nelson introduces us to the major players, like Robert Moses, Pope John XXIII, various members of the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in the US and at the Vatican, and American and Italian business leaders.
 
But there are countless unsung heroes of the saga. And by showing us their contributions, Nelson reveals what a complex operation it was. And then there is the matter of Michelangelo, who created the Pieta before he turned 25. We learn how he came to receive the assignment and what he thought of his masterpiece.
 
We know now, some six decades later, that the Pieta arrived and departed safely and intact. So how did Nelson create her tale of suspense?

Robert Plunket

Conversation with author Robert Plunket

George Pelecanos

Conversation with writer George Pelecanos