George Saunders Wins Man Booker Prize For 'Lincoln In The Bardo'
It's the second year in a row that an American writer has taken home the prestigious literary award.
Arts
'Death In The Air' Revisits 5 Days When London Was Choked By Poisonous Smog
Kate Winkler Dawson's new book chronicles The Great Smog of 1952, when moist air from the Gulf Stream stalled for days over London, mixing with poisonous gases and causing more than 12,000 deaths.
Tom Hanks Lays Out A Kinder, Gentler World In 'Uncommon Type'
Tom Hanks' well-documented obsession with typewriters is on display in his new story collection, tales linked not just by typewriters but by a benign, humane view of people and their many foibles.
'I Am Full Of Contradictions': Novelist Amy Tan On Fate And Family
In Where the Past Begins, Tan connects her experience with spirituality to that of her parents and grandmother. "I don't consider myself any religion," she says. " ... I have an amalgam of beliefs."
Taran Killam Says 'There Was Never Any Common Ground' When Trump Hosted 'SNL'
In November 2015, candidate Donald Trump drew protesters to NBC's New York studio. Saturday Night Live alum Taran Killam says, "We could hear the protests during our table read."
Astronaut Scott Kelly's Latest Mission: A Book
After a year in space, Kelly says, writing a book was harder than he thought — but still, he adds, "If I write a bad sentence people are only going to get angry with me. They're not going to die."
Richard Wilbur, Renowned American Poet And Translator, Dies At 96
His commitment to traditional forms, with tight patterns and taut construction, stood out among his contemporaries. He said his craft was finding order in pain and chaos — not creating it.
Sleep Scientist Warns Against Walking Through Life 'In An Underslept State'
"Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain," says sleep scientist Matthew Walker. His new book is Why We Sleep.
Pulitzer Prize-Winning Poet Richard Wilbur Dies At 96
Poet Richard Wilbur won two Pulitzer Prizes and was the second poet to hold the title of Poet Laureate of the United States. He died Saturday at the age of 96.
Amy Tan Revisits The Roots Of Her Writing Career In 'Where The Past Begins'
In a new memoir, the Joy Luck Club author searches her past for the sources of her creativity. She says, "I certainly think that the bad experiences ... shaped me as a writer."