Interview

The director of Crystal Lake on short films, the power of props, and how we cope weirder as we get older. 

 The authors discuss Hill’s debut work, his love of dysfunction, and why you need to think about writing a novel the way you think about keeping a garden. 

The author of Why We Came to the City on losing someone to cancer too young, and how New York reminds everyone they're not special. 

Talking with the author of Here I Am about different notions of home, the downsides of television development, and whether or not he'll ever write another book.

Talking with the author of Beatlebone about fictionalizing the life of John Lennon, the hard time Kate Bush gets in the book, and why rock novels are almost always disasters.

Talking to the author of The Last Days of New Paris about applying a video game sensibility to fiction, redeeming and finding inspiration in the politics of the Surrealists, and when to add demons.

Talking with the author of Substitute about an educational system at odds with learning, seduced by technology, and ripe for reform; the vanishing awe of teachers; and the madness that is lunchtime.

Talking with the author of The Underground Railroad about knowing when the time is right to write a book, schools skipping over slavery, and why Sonic Youth made his acknowledgments page.

The author of American Heiress on the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, San Francisco in the '70s, and why we're fascinated by decades-old trials.