Sue Monk Kidd is the author of the widely acclaimed nonfiction books “The Dance of the Dissident Daughter” (1996) and “When the Heart Waits” (1990). Her first published novel, the best-se...
http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/bookfest09/podcast_kidd_talor.html
After he read the books of Raymond Chandler, Michael Connelly decided to become a writer. After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., speci...
http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/bookfest09/podcast_connelly.html
Walter Mosley is the author of the critically acclaimed Easy Rawlins mystery series (Devil in a Blue Dress, A Red Death, White Butterfly, Black Betty and A Little Yellow Dog). Mosley’s other bo...
Judy Blume has sold more than 80 million copies of such young-adult best-sellers as Blubber: Just as Long as We’re Together and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret as well as the adult title...
Although Julia Alvarez was born in New York City, her family moved to the Dominican Republic shortly after her birth, where she spent the majority of her childhood. In 1960, when Alvarez was 10, ...
Jodi Picoult studied creative writing in college and had two short stories published in Seventeen magazine while still a student. Realism -- and a profound desire to be able to pay the rent -- le...
Gwen Ifill says she always knew she wanted to be a journalist. The moderator and managing editor of Public Broadcasting’s “Washington Week” and senior correspondent for “NewsHour with Jim...
John Irving is the best-selling author of “The World According to Garp” (1973), “The Hotel New Hampshire” (1981), “The Cider House Rules” (1985) and “A Prayer for Owen Meany” (198...
Lois Lowry describes herself as "a solitary child who lived in the world of books and my own vivid imagination." A two-time recipient of the Newbery Medal for her novels Number the Stars (1990) a...
Jon Scieszka is the first National Ambassador for Young People's Literature , a program sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and the Children's Book Council. He is the ...
http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/bookfest09/podcast_scieszka.html
David Wroblewski grew up in rural central Wisconsin, not far from the Chequamegon National Forest, where The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is set. In high school, Wroblewski won a statewide arts compet...
http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/bookfest09/podcast_wroblewski.html
Nicholas Sparks is the author of such hugely successful best-sellers as The Notebook, Message in a Bottle and Nights in Rodanthe - all of which have been turned into popular films. Sparks contrib...
George Pelecanos, the author of 15 crime novels set in and around Washington, D.C., spent years developing his writing talent and gathering his material from his life experiences in the national ...
http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/bookfest09/podcast_pelecanos.html
James Patterson holds the New York Times best-seller list record, with 46 titles overall. He has sold more than 170 million books worldwide and is the only author to occupy the No. 1 slot on the ...
http://www.loc.gov/podcasts/bookfest09/podcast_patterson.html
Rickey Minor is the Emmy-nominated music director of television's No. 1-rated show, "American Idol." His résumé also includes the Grammys and the Super Bowl, and he has collaborated with major ...
Junot Díaz was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and is the author of the short-story collection Drown and the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (hardback 2007, paperback 2008)...