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In his novel, The Bad Muslim Discount , Syed M. Masood examines universal questions of identity, faith, and belonging through the lens of Muslim Americans. As one who has been a citizen in three countries, Masood introduces an original voice and fascinating gaze on America with equal parts gravitas and humor.

Melanie Finn’s literary thriller, The Hare , considers a woman's inherent sense of obligation—sexual and emotional—to the male hierarchy.

Kristin Hannah’s novel The Four Winds reveals the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battles between the haves and the have-nots.

In a note to her reader, author Lauren Fox writes: “Children of immigrants are anthropologies of our own families. We’re participant-observers of cultures we live in, but that will never quite belong to us.” Fox’s new novel, Send for Me introduces us to four generations of women inspired by her own family. The novel explores the powerful bonds of family, of those surrounding us and those left behind. I recently spoke with Lauren Fox about her historical fiction.

In this episode I visit with Tom Vanderbilt. The author of Traffic and You May Also Like now shares part of his journey of lifelong learning, proving that no matter your age, it’s never too late to learn something new.

In June of 2019, Wichitan Todd Robins launched “Vautrin,” a literary magazine for gritty urban fiction. I recently caught up with Robins to talk about the magazine, which published its 4th issue this week.

In 2013, NPR cataloged their book reviews and author interviews for the year and combined them with staff recommendations to create a searchable database. They called it the NPR Book Concierge. They’ve continued the service annually, and in 2016 member stations were invited to submit their own book coverage. The 2020 Book Concierge was released last week, and I’m proud to announce that for five consecutive years, KMUW’s book reviews and author interviews have been included among the NPR coverage. This year’s list contains more than 380 book recommendations from NPR staff and trusted critics. And the “app”, as they call it, is searchable by more than 30 categories for you to find a great gift or your own next read. Some categories are typical, like Biography and Memoir , or For Sports Lovers . Others are a little more nuanced, like It’s All Geek to Me , or Rather Long or Rather Short , or my favorite, Seriously Great Writing . And those categories are searchable for each of the eight

"Call me Ishmael." Whether you've read it or not, you probably recognize that as the first line of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. It's also the name of a book project founded by Stephanie Kent & Logan Smalley.

I had a conversation with Oliver Jeffers on Zoom on October 7, because his picture book, What We’ll Build , was released in bookstores the day before. Jeffers has many picture book fans and full disclosure, I am one of them. But I’m also a fan of his fine art. We talked about all of it, including his philosophy on walls, the pandemic, and the other. Here’s our conversation: - What We'll Build by Oliver Jeffers is published by Philomel Books. Marginalia was produced at KMUW Wichita. If you like this podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts . Engineers: Mark Statzer and Torin Andersen Editor: Lu Anne Stephens Producer: Beth Golay Follow Beth Golay on Twitter @BethGolay .

Why did I ask Fredrik Backman how to pronounce Ove? Well, Ove is the title character his bestselling novel, A Man Called Ove .

The Big Door Prize , the new novel by M.O. Walsh, poses this question to its readers: What would you do if you knew your life’s potential? Characters in the small town of Deerfield, Louisiana, are faced with this question when a mysterious machine appears in the local grocery store, reading and analyzing DNA, and inevitably challenging residents to gaze inward, searching for unrealized potential. As as fan of Walsh’s first novel, My Sunshine Away , I was very excited to to visit with M.O. Walsh about this new novel, The Big Door Prize. Here’s our conversation: - The Big Door Prize by M.O. Walsh is published by Dutton. Marginalia was produced at KMUW Wichita. If you like this podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts . Engineers: Mark Statzer and Torin Andersen Editor: Lu Anne Stephens Producer: Beth Golay Follow Beth Golay on Twitter @BethGolay .

Daniel Hornsby novel, Via Negativa , takes readers on a journey across the midwest with Fr. Dan, the narrator of the book. Along the way, Fr. Dan picks up a wounded coyote and tries to nurse it back to health in the back of his Toyota Camry. The premise sounds simple enough, but weaves into the story medieval texts, current scandals, and perhaps most complicated of all, faith. I recently spoke with Hornsby about Via Negativa . Here’s our conversation: - Via Negativa by Daniel Hornsby is published by Knopf. Marginalia was produced at KMUW Wichita. If you like this podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts . Engineers: Mark Statzer and Torin Andersen Editor: Lu Anne Stephens Producer: Beth Golay Follow Beth Golay on Twitter @BethGolay .

My conversation today is with Hank Green. Many fans recognize Hank as one of the Vlogbrothers and the continuing conversation he has with his brother John Green. You might recognize him as the author of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and former guest right here on Marginalia. Hank recently published a sequel, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor . We avoid spoilers, so I can tell you it’s a sequel. We actually talk about the book and so much more. Here’s our conversation: Hank and his brother, John, are raising money to dramatically and systematically improve maternal health care in Sierra Leone, where, if trends continue, one in seventeen women will die in childbirth. You can join them at PIH.org/hankandjohn. - A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor: A Novel by Hank Green is published by Dutton. Marginalia was produced at KMUW Wichita. If you like this podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts . Engineers: Mark Statzer and Torin Andersen Editor: Lu Anne Stephens Producer

I begin this episode of Marginalia a bit red in the face. You see, I interviewed Jenny Offill about her novel, Weather , on March 6. It was the last interview I conducted in-studio at the station. The next week we started working from home.

What would a world look like where only two people remain?

I recently had a conversation with Rufi Thorpe about her book, The Knockout Queen . At its most basic level, it’s a book about friendship. But that’s just one of the many themes we could have explored. It's also about sexuality. It’s about fitting in. It’s about how we don’t always do the right thing. And then there’s Thorpe’s writing. Somehow it’s simultaneously accessible and sophisticated. She has a way of respecting people's desires and fragilities as legitimate. There are so many things to unpack here, just as there were when we started our conversation. So I’m going to start as I did that day. Here’s Rufi Thorpe giving me the elevator speech for The Knockout Queen . - The Knockout Queen by Rufi Thorpe is published by Knopf. Marginalia was produced at KMUW Wichita. If you like this podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts . Engineers: Mark Statzer and Torin Andersen Editor: Lu Anne Stephens Producer: Beth Golay Follow Beth Golay on Twitter @BethGolay .

Luke Geddes has written a novel set in Wichita. Since KMUW is based in Wichita, that’s an oddity worth pointing out. The novel, Heart of Junk , is about a group of antique mall booth owners and the world of collectibles—a world Geddes discovered when he spent a couple years in Wichita earning an MFA from Wichita State University. Heart of Junk is filled with humor, sadness, and cynicism. I wondered if Geddes’s time in Wichita was filled with the same. Here’s our conversation. - Heart of Junk by Luke Geddes is published by Simon & Schuster. Marginalia was produced at KMUW Wichita. If you like this podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts . Engineers: Mark Statzer and Torin Andersen Editor: Lu Anne Stephens Producer: Beth Golay Follow Beth Golay on Twitter @BethGolay .

Diana Arterian is the Spring 2020 Visiting Emerging Poet at Wichita State University. Her book, Playing Monster :: Seiche, is a book-length poem, a blending of two collections, tackling abuse by her father and anxiety about her mother's stalker.

In her debut novel, Kiley Reid tackles the subjects of race, social media, #BlackLivesMatter, misconception, misunderstanding… all without casting judgement.

Since his novel, The Eyre Affair , was released in 2002, Jasper Fforde has been entertaining fans with novels that he describes as incorporating a narrative dare. Jasper Fforde’s novel Early Riser will be released in paperback in the coming weeks and he explained to me that Early Riser ’s narrative dare is that it’s set in a world where humans have always hibernated. Fforde and I spoke about Early Riser and so much more. Here's our conversation: - Early Riser by Jasper Fforde is published by Penguin. Marginalia was produced at KMUW Wichita. If you like this podcast, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts . Engineers: Mark Statzer and Torin Andersen Editor: Lu Anne Stephens Producer: Beth Golay Follow Beth Golay on Twitter @BethGolay .