Join New York Times bestselling author Patrick deWitt as he talks to Matt Sawyer about his newest novel, The Librarianist. The story follows retired librarian Bob Comet. The book is billed as a wide-ranging and ambitious document of the introvert's condition.  Patrick deWitt: Patrick deWitt is the author of the novels French Exit (a national bestseller), The Sisters Brothers (a New York Times bestseller short-listed for the Booker Prize), and the critically acclaimed Undermajordomo Minor and Ablutions. Born in British Columbia, he has also lived in Californi ..read more

Writer, educator, musician, and University of Mississippi MFA graduate from Brooklyn, NY, delves into his debut novel We Are a Haunting. Tyriek White: Tyriek Rashawn White is a writer, musician, and educator from Brooklyn, NY. He is currently the media director of Lampblack Literary Foundation, which seeks to provide mutual aid and various resources to Black writers across the diaspora. He has received fellowships from Callaloo Writing Workshop, New York State Writers Institute, and Key West Writers' Workshop, among other honors. He holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Mississi ..read more

Winner of the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction delves into her debut novel, Moonrise Over New Jessup, with Story Made Project podcast host Matt Sawyer. Jamila Minnicks: Jamila Minnicks’ novel Moonrise Over New Jessup (Algonquin Books, 2023) won the 2021 PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. In 2022, she was awarded a Tennessee Williams scholarship for the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and she also earned a residency at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her short fiction and essays have been published in CRAFT, Catapult, Blackbird, The Write ..read more

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle discusses her debut novel, Even As We Breath, with her friend and fellow North Carolinian, Matt Sawyer. The book made Clapsaddle the first member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians the first member to publish a novel. Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle: Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and resides in Qualla, NC with her husband, Evan and sons Ross and Charlie. She holds degrees from Yale University and the College of William and Mary. Her debut novel, Even As We Breathe, was released by ..read more

Listen in as America's storyteller, James McBride, discusses his latest masterpiece, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, with guest host and one of McBride's biggest fans, Matt Sawyer.  James McBride: James McBride is the author of the New York Times-bestselling Oprah's Book Club selection Deacon King Kong, the National Book Award-winning The Good Lord Bird, the American classic The Color of Water, the novels Song Yet Sung and Miracle at St. Anna, the story collection Five-Carat Soul, and Kill 'Em and Leave, a biography of James Brown. Th ..read more

Join our guest host, Matt Sawyer, creator of the Story Made Project podcast, as he chats with one of America's favorite humorists, Harrison Scott Key, about his newest memoir, How to Stay Married: The Craziest Love Story Ever Told. Hear how Harrison balances humor with gut-wrenching honesty and self-examination. Harrison Scott Key: Harrison Scott Key is the author of three books, including his newest book, How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told, as well as The World's Largest Man (winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor) and Congratulati ..read more

Sit back, relax, bring your appetite, and listen in on a conversation between our host, Ebony Lumumba, and James Beard award-winning food writer and historian, Michael W. Twitty. In Twitty’s newest, Koshersoul, he takes us on a personal journey through African and Jewish culinary traditions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information ..read more

Join book festival board member Chris Goodwin as he chats with Rinker Buck about his latest nonfiction triumph, Life on the Mississippi: An Epic American Adventure. Buck gives Goodwin the nuts and bolts of building and maneuvering a historic flatboat down the Mississippi to New Orleans.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information ..read more

Join our guest host, Sarah Story, as she talks with Juhea Kim about her debut novel, Beasts of a Little Land, an epic story of love, war, and redemption set against the backdrop of the Korean independence movement, following the intertwined fates of a young girl sold to a courtesan school and the penniless son of a hunter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information ..read more

Olivia Clare Friedman sits down with Sarah Story to discuss her award-winning debut novel, Here Lies. Listen in as they discuss the book, which explores mourning, memory, and motherhood in a future Louisiana ravaged by climate change. Find hope in the beautifully told tale of grief and loss made bearable by the unexpected creation of a found family.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information ..read more