Books

Shortlists for the National Book Awards will be announced Oct. 14. Winners will be awarded the prize at a ceremony Nov. 18.

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Lauren Groff, Ta-Nehisi Coates Lead Long Lists For National Book Awards

6:09pm September 17, 2015

by Colin Dwyer

The novelist and journalist are just two of the 40 nominees, across four categories, for the renowned literary prize. The fiction long list rolled out Thursday morning, capping a week of nominations.

Lutheran Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber says that all are welcome at her Denver church, The House for All Sinners and Saints.

Lutheran Minister Preaches A Gospel Of Love To Junkies, Drag Queens And Outsiders

4:52pm September 17, 2015

Nadia Bolz-Weber was a standup comic who opened up a church for people who didn't belong. "My job is to ... remind people that they're absolutely loved," she says. Her new memoir is Accidental Saints.

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'Killing Kind' Is Pure Thriller With A Smart, Vicious Twist

7:03am September 17, 2015

by Jason Heller

Chris Holm's new novel is about an hit man who only targets other hit men. Critic Jason Heller says the book's somewhat outlandish setup results in lean action and breakneck execution.

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Is 007 Losing His Cool? 'Trigger Mortis' Helps Bring Bond Into 21st Century

6:44pm September 16, 2015

by NPR Staff

From Bond's smoking habit to the Pussy Galore storyline, there's a lot about the franchise that doesn't fly anymore. In a new Bond novel, writer Anthony Horowitz gives the spy story a modern edge.

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Ken Chen is the executive director of the Asian American Writers' Workshop in New York.

Why A White Poet Posed As Asian To Get Published, And What's Wrong With That

6:44pm September 16, 2015

by Ken Chen

A white man called Michael Derrick Hudson used the name Yi-Fen Chou as a strategy to get published. Ken Chen of the Asian American Writers' Workshop in New York says the writer wanted to be "special."

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Superpowers Meet The Supernatural In 'Wayward'

3:07pm September 16, 2015

by Etelka Lehoczky

Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will get a kick out of a graphic novel series that takes the magical-teens-battling-evil-monsters trope and transplants it to a lovingly rendered Tokyo.

Author Discusses Francis, A Pope Seeking To Change 'The Tone Of The Church'

1:38pm September 16, 2015

On the eve of the Pope's first visit to the U.S., journalist Paul Vallely discuses the reforms Francis is making within the Church as well as the teachings that the pope is unlikely to change.

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From Mexico Kidnappings To Eric Garner, Hererra Writes Poetry Of The Moment

10:23am September 16, 2015

by Craig Morgan Teicher

Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera's new book of poems melds the political with the personal. Critic Craig Morgan Teicher says it makes for deep yet accessible reading.

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A Dreamy Marriage Turns To Rage In 'Fates And Furies'

8:40pm September 15, 2015

by Jason Sheehan

In her newest novel, Lauren Groff uses a split narrative to tell the story of a long marriage. Critic Jason Sheehan says the device works thanks to Groff's stunning language.

"Poetry is a call to action," says poet laureate Juan Felipe Herrera, "and it also is action."

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Arts

Poet Laureate's Migrant Childhood Was Like 'Living In Literature Every Day'

7:42pm September 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

Juan Felipe Herrera is the child of Mexican migrant farmworkers. He says, "I had a mother [who] sang and told stories and loved poetry, even though she only went to third grade."

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