Write On Radio

We speak with director, screenwriter and novelist Martyn Burke about his new novel Music for Love or War. In 2012, his feature documentary Under Fire: Journalists in Combat won a Peabody and he was short-listed for an Academy Award. His many novels include The Truth About the Night, Ivory Joe, Laughing War and Tiara. We then speak with Sun Yung Shin about her new poetry collection Unbearable Splendor. She is also the author of the poetry collections Rough, and Savage; and Skirt Full of Black – and the children’s book Cooper’s Lesson. She edited A Good Time for the Truth.

We also talk with Zeke Caligiuri about This Is Where I Am: A Memoir. He is currently incarcerated at the Faribault Correctional Facility and he has won multiple awards from the PEN Prison Writing Contest in fiction, poetry. His work has appeared in the collection Prison Noir, edited by Joyce Carol Oates, and other publications. We speak with Craig Johnson about his new novel An Obvious Fact. He is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Longmire mysteries, which are the basis for the television series Longmire – and he has received many awards, including the Western Writers of America Spur Award and the Mountains and Plains Booksellers Award.

We speak with Senator Amy Klobuchar about her new memoir The Senator Next Door: A Memoir from the Heartland. She is Minnesota’s senior senator and the daughter of a newspaperman and a schoolteacher. We also talk with Nancy Shih-Knodel about her forthcoming poetry collection The Landscape of the Body. She is a professor of English at North Hennepin Community College right here in Minneapolis.

We speak with Benjamin Percy about his new book Thrill Me – a collection of essays on how to craft a thrilling read in any genre. He is the bestselling author of the novels The Wilding, Red Moon and The Dead Lands, as well as two books of stories – Refresh, Refresh and The Language of Elk. We also talk with Reed Farrel Coleman about his new novel, Robert B. Parker’s Debt to Pay: A Jesse Stone Novel. He took over writing the Jesse Stone series after Robert Parker’s death in 2010. Reed Farrel Coleman has been called a “hard boiled poet” and the “noir poet laureate.” He is the author of 24 previous novels and has won many awards.

We speak with Philip Beard about his new novel Swing, which became the first self-published novel ever to win the Independent Publishers National Gold Medal for Best Contemporary Fiction Award. He is also the author of Dear Zoe, which was named one of the Ten Best First Novels of the Year by the American Library Ass’n, and Lost in the Garden. We also talk with Chris Santiago about his poetry collection Tula, winner of the 2016 Lindquist & Vennum Prize for Poetry. His poems, fiction, and criticism have appeared in FIELD, Copper Nickel, Pleiades, and the Asian American Literary Review – and he teaches at the University of St. Thomas.

We speak with Nathan Hill about his debut novel The Nix, which has been receiving rave reviews. His short fiction has appeared in many literary journals, including The Iowa Review, AGNI, The Gettysburg Review, and Fiction, where he was awarded the annual Fiction Prize. We then talk Charlie Quimby about his new novel Inhabited. He is also the author of Monument Road, which was an Indie Next pick, a Booklist Editors’ Choice 2013 and a Reading the West finalist. His nonfiction has appeared in the Star Tribune, High Country News and Harvard Business Review.

We speak with Adrian Lee about his new book Mysterious Midwest: Unwrapping Urban Legends and Ghostly Tales from the Dead. Adrian Lee is a historian and paranormal investigator who is also the author of several books including Mysterious Minnesota and How to be a Christian Psychic. In addition, he is the host of More Questions than Answers on another radio station. We also talk with James Lenfestey about If Bees Are Few: A Hive of Bee Poems out from the University of Minnesota Press, which he edited. James Lenfestey is a former editorial writer for the Star Tribune, where he won several Page One awards for excellence. He has published five collections of poems, a collection of essays and a memoir, Seeking the Cave: A Pilgrimage to Cold Mountain, which was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award.

We speak with Patrick Scully about Leaves of Grass – Illuminated, now playing in Minneapolis. Scully reveals Walt Whitman’s many sides: from the furtive—changing genders to “straighten things up”—to the fierce: defying the censors and getting banned in Boston. More info is available at http://thehookmpls.com/event/leaves-of-grass/ We also talk with Jennifer Bowen Hicks about the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop, which will be having its annual public reading at Hamline University on Saturday, October 22nd at 7pm. She is a writer who has received a Pushcart Prize Special Mention, a Best American Essay notable distinction, and her work has appeared in numerous publications, including The Iowa Review and Rumpus. As part of that conversation, we'll chat with Paul Van Dyke, who is a writer and an alumnus of the program. He is an Army veteran of Iraq and a recipient of the Purple Heart. His work has been published in Water~Stone Review, Literature & the Arts, and 0-Dark Thirty, among other publicati

We speak with retired University of Minnesota professor of communication and creativity Fred Amram about his new book We’re in America Now: A Survivor’s Stories. He spent his early years in Hanover, Germany, where he experienced the Holocaust from its inception in 1933. He witnessed Kristallnacht and the Gestapo invading his home. More information can be found at http://www.FredAmram.com We then talk with Lawrence Kessenich about debut new novel Cinnamon Girl. He is also a playwright, essayist, reviewer, editor and poet, who has three books of poetry: Strange News, Before Whose Glory, and Age of Wonders. One of his essays appeared on NPR’s This I Believe, and he won the People’s Choice Award in a national drama competition.

We speak with our own Ian Graham Leask about his new novel House of Large Sizes, which has been garnering rave reviews.  He is also the author of The Wounded: And Other Stories About Sons and Fathers. He has taught at the University of Minnesota and the Loft Literary Center, and has been a literary consultant for many years. Recently, he helped form the publishing company Calumet Editions. We then talk with our own Steve McEllistrem about his newest science fiction effort The Devereaux Deity. He is the author of the acclaimed novels The Devereaux Dilemma, The Devereaux Disaster and The Devereaux Decision, which was a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award, a Midwest Book Award and an International Book Award.

We speak with Kathleen Glasgow about her debut novel Girl in Pieces, a portrait of a teenage girl on the verge of losing herself and the journey she must take to survive in her own skin. We then talk with Elizabeth Tannen and Michael Kleber-Diggs about the reading series: Five Writers, Five Minutes, Five Watt at Five Watt Coffee in South Minneapolis. Elizabeth Tannen is a writer and teacher, as well as the founder and curator of the reading series: Five Writers, Five Minutes, Five Watt at Five Watt Coffee in South Minneapolis. Her poems, essays and stories have appeared in or will be featured in various publications, including Copper Nickel, Front Porch, The Rumpus, Salon and Southern Humanities Review. This year she is a Loft Mentor Series Award Winner in Poetry. Michael Kleber-Diggs is a poet and essayist. He was a 2015 Fellow with the Givens Foundation for African-American Literature and a 2015-2016 winner of the Loft Mentor Series in Poetry and Creative Prose. His work has appeared in Water~Stone Revie

We speak with Tim Applegate about his debut novel Fever Tree. He is the author of the poetry collections At the End of the Day, Drydock, and Blueprints. His poetry, essays and short fiction have appeared in many publications, including The Florida Review and Lake Effect. We then talk with David Culberson about his new novel Alterio’s Motive. He spent decades living and mixing with the cultures of the Caribbean, Mexico and Lake Superior, where he pioneered sustainable development and built several low-impact resort properties. He is also the author of the novel Back Time on Love City: The Carnival Never Stopped.

We speak with Edward Hirsch about The Best American Poetry 2016. Edward Hirsch has published 9 books of poems, including The Living Fire: New and Selected Poems; and Gabriel: A Poem. He has also published five prose books about poetry, including How to Read a Poem and Fall in Love with Poetry. We then talk with Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew about her new novel Hannah, Delivered. She is also the author of Living Revision: Opening the Writer’s Art, Swinging on the Garden Gate: A Spiritual Memoir; Writing the Sacred Journey: The Art and Practice of Spiritual Memoir; and On the Threshold: Home, Hardwood, and Holiness.

We speak with Thom Sandberg about his debut novel Lylian: Lost Land of the Lytles, loosely based on the Lake Harriet elf. He is a long-time advertising creative and has worked in Minneapolis, London, Istanbul and Tokyo. We then talk with Mark Levine about the publishing business. He is the founder of Hillcrest Media and was also one of the founders of Click Media. In addition, he is the author of The Fine Print of Self-Publishing and two novels.

We speak with Cecily von Ziegesar about her new novel Dark Horses. She is the author of the bestselling Gossip Girl series, which was made into a television show, and also assisted on the series The It Girl. We then talk with Joseph Finder about his new novel, Guilty Minds. He is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve previous novels, including The Fixer, Paranoia, High Crimes, Buried Secrets and Killer Instinct, which won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel.

We speak with Hasan Namir about his debut novel God in Pink, which is set in Iraq in 2003 and which won the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction. We also talk with Bonnie MacBird - @macbird - about her debut novel, Art in the Blood, a Sherlock Holmes Adventure. She wrote the movie Tron with Steve Lisberger and worked in Hollywood as a producer, screenwriter, actress and playwright. Her work has garnered many awards, including three Emmy Awards. She teaches screenwriting at UCLA Extension.

We speak with Tracy Barone about her debut novel Happy Family. She earned her MFA in dramatic writing at NYU and has worked as a screenwriter and playwright. She has worked on and produced a number of films, including Ali and Men in Black. We also speak with Gerry Schmitt about her new novel, an Afton Tangler thriller called Little Girl Gone. She is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 35 mysteries, including the tea shop, scrapbooking and Cackleberry Club mysteries written under the name Laura Childs.

We speak with Sun Yung Shin and David Grant about A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota. Sun Yung Shin is the author of Unbearable Splendor and the poetry collections Rough, and Savage and Skirt Full of Black. David Grant has written drama for the stage, film and television – and has written on racial bias in the justice system and racial disparities in the health care system for the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Minnesota Legislature. We also speak with Daniel Silva about his newest Gabriel Allon bestseller The Black Widow. He is the author of 18 other books, including The English Spy, The Kill Artist, A Death in Vienna, Portrait of a Spy and The English Assassin. His books are published in 30 countries and he serves on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.