Poured Over

"One thing I really have learned—or at least for myself about writing—is never to explain why a person is the way they are, just to make a dramatic case for why they are the way they are. So, the moments I have that are backstory, or that go back and forth in time, it's because that backstory or that moment of slippage of time is dramatically relevant to the present moment of the story." Alice Elliott Dark (In the Gloaming) returns with Fellowship Point, a spectacular novel of friendship and family, love and loss, loyalty and legacy. She joins us on the show to talk about her modern 19th-century novel, where she's been for the last few years, what we often take for granted when it comes to women's lives, the craft of writing, her literary influences, what's next for her and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer, live from our flagship store at Union Square in New York City. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books (episode): Fellowship Point by Alice Elliott Dark In the Gloaming by Alice Elliott Dark The Hours by Michael Cunningham Middlemarch by George Eliott Matrix by Lauren Groff Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Nightwoods by Charles Frazier Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this episode is available here.

"I wish I could tell you that I went to a cabin and wrote it perfectly and got it in on time, and it just flowed out of me. But really, the truth of the matter is, it came in fits and starts. And it was written on notepads and half-filled notebooks and phone apps and bar napkins….I grew up in a time of a lot of white men writing, Oh, my sad childhood stories. And so, my whole thing was I'm not going to do that, I'm not going to do that." Isaac Fitzgerald walks through the world with an open heart, and luckily for readers, he takes notes. Dirtbag, Massachusetts is his memoir-in-essays, and it covers plenty of ground, from his unconventional childhood and the librarians who helped change the trajectory of his life, to issues of class and code switching and complicated family dynamics, to the craft of writing and his literary inspirations. He joins us on the show to talk about all that and more, including a few things that didn't make the book's final draft, with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books (episode) Dirtbag, Massachusetts by Isaac Fitzgerald Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay The White Boy Shuffle by Paul Beatty The Stories of Breece D'J Pancake by Andre Dubus III, Breece D'J Pancake Featured Books (TBR Topoff) Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this episode is available here.

"The primary intent of these books is to take a break... have something you can just curl up with for an afternoon. This is a book that is not going to hurt you. And I think that that's so vital in this day and age, to be able to just pause for a second. I want the book to feel like a cup of tea as well... But I wanted to give you the option of chewing on some of the stuff in there." Hugo Award-winning author Becky Chambers is arguably a master of the space opera, with her complex, hopeful characters and her compelling world-building. Sibling Dex and Mosscap return in A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, the latest book in the Monk and Robot series and Becky joins us on the show to talk about creating a story that incorporates the same comfort as watching your favorite TV show for the 10,000th time, how a good cup of tea can make a bad day better, what's on her TBR list, and much more with guest host, Allyson Gavaletz. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books (Episode): A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers Spear by Nicola Griffith How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Ayoki Featured Books (TBR Topoff): I, Robot by Isaac Asimov A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C. A. Fletcher This episode of Poured Over is produced and hosted by Allyson Gavaletz and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this show is available here.

"When you're writing a children's book, it shares much relation with horror, because it has to be usually very immediate and very visceral and gripping. Because otherwise the kids are gonna get bored. And your window of opportunity to grab the reader is … longer with horror, you can do the slow creeping dread better, but you have to grab the reader, metaphorically, by the throat." Whether you know her as Ursula Vernon or T. Kingfisher, one thing is for sure—this Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning author always pulls us in with her captivating fantasies and chilling thrillers—which remains true of her two new books, Nettle & Bone and What Moves the Dead, both releasing this year. Ursula joins us on the show to talk about the fine line between writing children's books and writing horror and her love for gothic stories, the artwork that inspired this stunning cover, mycology, the lesser-known life of Beatrix Potter, what she's working on next and what games she's playing, and much more with guest host, Kat Sarfas. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books (Episode): What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Writings by Edgar Allen Poe The White People and Other Weird Stories by Arthur Machen The Willows by Algernon Blackwood The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison The Haunted Mesa by Louis L'Amour Featured Books (TBR Topoff): The Initial Insult by Mindy McGinnis The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard This episode of Poured Over is produced and hosted by Kat Sarfas and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this show is available here.

"But there is joy in advocating for changing of the world for the better, for not allowing the world to tell you who you shall be, but rather reimagining a world in which you can be anything." Award-winning journalist and professor at Northeastern University Caleb Gayle delivers a stunningly original story of America in his first book, We Refuse to Forget: A True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power. Caleb joins us on the show to talk about growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the aftermath of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, the untold stories of marginalized communities, his hopeful outlook for the future of the country, and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books (Episode): We Refuse to Forget: A True Story of Black Creeks, American Identity, and Power by Caleb Gayle Featured Books (TBR Topoff): Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this show is available here.

"I decided to give myself the license to fail, and to write across gender, to write in the voice of a midwife's daughter. And if the book isn't working, fine, we'll write it from the perspective of the midwife's husband, from some other male character. But I loved it. It was so emancipating to not be me, to not be (at the time) this 30-something dude. And I loved it. And I think, my best books, my best characters, whether it's first person or third person, are women." Bestselling author and all-around charmer Chris Bohjalian has written 23 books, including our May 2021 B&N Book Club pick Hour of the Witch, The Flight Attendant—now a hit HBO series—and his latest, The Lioness. Chris joins us on the show to talk about his love of bookstores, not writing the same story twice, researching and asking questions and learning stories, letting his characters guide the plot and going back to the first sentence, geography as a character, and so much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with a TBR Topoff with Marc and Becky riffing on their favorite Bohjalian novels. Featured Books: Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian Midwives by Chris Bohjalian The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian The Lioness by Chris Bohjalian The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this show is available here.

"And so, too often, kids are raised to have empathy for people who look like them, or worship like them or act like them. And we're also taught to have empathy for people who deserve it. And I wanted to convey the importance of raising our kids to have empathy for people who don't look like them or don't live near them. And for us to not make our empathy almost like a tip in which it's transactional." Award-winning, bestselling author and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Ibram X. Kendi returns with How to Raise an Antiracist, a book that parents, caregivers and teachers won't want to miss. Ibram joins us on the show to talk about his own family's experiences, as well as the intersection of ableism and racism, learning from our children, the importance of joy, and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books: How to Raise an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi Magnolia Flower by Zora Neale Hurston Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this show is available here.

Gabrielle Zevin, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, shares insights on the parallels between writing novels and video games, explores the dynamics between main characters Sam and Sadie, discusses the challenges and benefits of writing for different audiences, and recommends two other books. Hosted by Miwa Messer.

"The most important thing is the reader. I tell my students, Look, if you're writing about yourself, it's great that you want to get your feelings out. You want to maybe, you know, have some catharsis. You want to get the earliest things out. But, if you bore the reader, you're done. You know, and it's important to consider the fact that you're telling a story…this is not a therapy session, you know, you're telling a story. And hopefully that story enlightens, or maybe makes the reader think." Brian Broome's acclaimed memoir Punch Me Up to the Gods is a stunning story of love and loss, secrets and shame, sorrow and joy. He joins us on the show for a wise and often very funny conversation about spelling bees and ballet, addiction and recovery, how his memoir is in conversation with Gwendolyn Brooks and bell hooks and James Baldwin, what his students have taught him and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books (Episode): Punch Me Up to the Gods by Brian Broome We Real Cool: Black Men and Masculinity by bell hooks Featured Books (TBR Topoff) How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones Unprotected by Billy Porter Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this episode is available here.

"For me, and perhaps for both of us, I think that our greatest sort of skill set is audacity. It's so funny the way people sort of negatively connote ego, but I think it's necessary to have some, because one has to have a little bit of, I mean, like, when we were 20 years old, our whole thing was we're gonna rearrange and change the way people think of the book, right?" Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin have been friends for 20 years and that friendship has led to an incredible artistic collaboration in Ain't Burned All the Bright and the now reissued My Name is Jason, Mine Too. Jason and Jason join us on the show to talk about how their collaboration works, how they make art (and when the medium matters), masculinity, the incredible range of artists and media that inspire them both, why paper and pencil is sometimes all that you need, and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer. And we end this episode with TBR Topoff book recommendations from Marc and Becky. Featured Books: Ain't Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin My Name is Jason, Mine Too by Jason Reynolds and Jason Griffin Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. Follow us here for new episodes Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays). A full transcript of this episode is available here.