Harper Audio Presents
198 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 32 ratingsThe podcast that celebrates all-things Audiobooks – Whether we're chatting with authors and narrators, playing games and giving away prizes, or sharing clips of the best new audiobooks, HarperAudio Presents aims to highlight the fun in the world of audiobooks. New episodes every other Wednesday.
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Episodes
Neal Shusterman
April 20, 2015 00:00 - 17 minutes - 16.3 MBCongratulations to Neal Shusterman – his YA novel, Challenger Deep just won the 2015 National Book Award for Young People! Challenger Deep uses a split world to convey a young man’s struggle to determine his reality in the face of schizophrenia – hear about the deeply personal origins of the novel as well as an excerpt.
All Involved: Day Two
April 14, 2015 13:37 - 30 minutes - 41.2 MBWARNING: Excerpt is intended for mature audiences only, is unsuitable for children and contains graphic language. (Excerpt from Day One available from HarperAudio Presents) Listen to exclusive author commentary and an excerpt from ‘Day Two’ from Ryan Gottis’ ALL INVOLVED, a gritty and cinematic work of fiction that vividly re-creates Los Angeles after the 1992 verdict to acquit LA police officers accused of beating Rodney King. In this excerpt Gattis tells us about the character Big Fate an...
None Of The Above
April 13, 2015 15:33 - 25 minutes - 29.2 MBNone of the Above, a first novel by I.W. Gregorio, is Mean Girls meets Middlesex -- a groundbreaking story about a teenage girl who discovers she was born intersex . . . and what happens when her secret is revealed to the entire school. Hear Gregorio talk about why we need ‘window’ books in addition to ‘mirror’ books; how training to be a surgeon made her a better writer and the joy of the editorial letter.
All Involved: Day One
April 06, 2015 13:49 - 49 minutes - 68 MBHear Ryan Gattis discuss his new book ALL INVOLVED, a gritty and cinematic work of fiction that vividly re-creates Los Angeles after the 1992 verdict to acquit LA police officers accused of beating Rodney King. In the novel Gattis tells 17 interconnected first-person narratives -- gang members, firefighters, graffiti kids, and nurses caught up in extraordinary circumstances that paint a portrait of modern America itself—laying bare our history, our prejudices, and our complexities. All Invo...
Jason Miller: Down Don't Bother Me
March 31, 2015 12:56 - 23 minutes - 32 MBJason Miller talks about his debut novel, DOWN DON’T BOTHER ME, an atmospheric, wickedly funny mystery set in the flat and withering landscape of the southern Illinois mining country known as “little Egypt”.
Laura Lippman
March 23, 2015 14:06 - 25 minutes - 29.1 MBLaura Lippman is heralded for thoughtful, timely crime novels set in her beloved hometown of Baltimore. Now a perennial New York Times bestseller, HUSH HUSH is her 12th book to feature private detective and new mother Tess Monaghan, working on a disturbing case involving murder and a manipulative mother.
Lauren Oliver
March 09, 2015 13:45 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MBLauren Oliver, author of New York Times bestselling novels BEFORE I FALL, PANIC, and the DELIRIUM trilogy, talks to us about her new novel, VANISHING GIRLS, a gripping story about two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident. Lauren shares how she approaches writing for different audiences, why she chooses a central question for each of her books, how good books can explore scary topics in a safe way, the differences between writing a novel and screenplay and how screenwriting stre...
Matt Damon reads Howard Zinn
March 02, 2015 19:08 - 23 minutes - 32.5 MBSince its original landmark publication in 1980, Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States has been chronicling American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official version of history taught in schools–with its emphasis on great men in high places–to focus on the street, the home, and the workplace. In this recording you’ll hear from Zinn reading from his introduction to the book, and you’ll hear Matt Damon, an American actor and Academy Award-winning screenwriter for ...
Kim Gordon, guitarist with Sonic Youth, talks about her memoir, Girl in a Band
February 24, 2015 14:39 - 14 minutes - 20.1 MBKIM GORDON is an artist, musician, producer, fashion designer, writer and actress. She is a founding member of the experimental post-punk band Sonic Youth and she’s written a fierce, honest story of her life, Girl in a Band. Hear Kim discuss her writing process and influences on her work.
Welcome to Braggsville
February 17, 2015 15:59 - 19 minutes - 7.49 MBRising literary star T. Geronimo Johnson talks about his darkly humorous novel, WELCOME TO BRAGGSVILLE, where, as Ron Rash says, ‘every racial assumption is both acknowledged and challenged in ways that are at times hilarious, at other times poignant’.
Jasmine Warga, author of MY HEART AND OTHER BLACK HOLES
February 09, 2015 20:56 - 19 minutes - 27.5 MBDebut author Jasmine Warga discusses MY HEART AND OTHER BLACK HOLES, a stunning novel about the transformative power of love.
Peter Lerangis
February 02, 2015 16:09 - 17 minutes - 16.5 MBJoin Peter Lerangis, author of children's and young-adult fiction, best known for his Seven Wonders series and three titles in the New York Times-bestselling children's-book series The 39 Clues, as he tells us how he decided to pursue the life he wanted versus the life he was expected to lead, and how this courageous act, combined with failing at his job as a waiter, propelled him to a hugely successful writing career.
Zora Neale Hurston: Every Tongue Got to Confess
January 26, 2015 14:49 - 16 minutes - 23 MBThe audio recording of Zora Neal Hurston’s EVERY TONGUE GOT TO CONFESS features the voices of legendary actors, civil rights activists and humanitarians Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. The recording was monumental, capturing the heart and soul of the vital, independent, and creative community that so inspired Zora Neale Hurston. Here is Ruby Dee reading from the book’s introduction followed by Ossie Davis reading parts of God Tales: Why God Made Adam Last.
Mike Greenberg, Fiction Writer
January 20, 2015 14:17 - 22 minutes - 20.9 MBA side of Mike Greenberg, co-host of Mike & Mike, the most popular sports radio program in America, you may not be familiar with – the man who sees authors as idols and plans to continue writing books for the rest of his life. Hear how his favorite book on golf has influenced his writing, what his yoga instructor has to say about his female characters and how he plots his New York Times bestselling novels.
Allen Kurzweil
January 19, 2015 00:00 - 17 minutes - 24.3 MBAllen Kurzweil discusses how he came to write WHIPPING BOY, a childhood memoir and literary thriller that chronicles Kurzweil's forty-year-search for his twelve-year-old nemesis, a bully named Cesar Augustus, who went on to lead a mad-cap life of international crime and financial fraud.
Carrie Thornton, Editorial Director of Dey Street Books
January 12, 2015 21:57 - 21 minutes - 29.6 MBCarrie Thornton, Editorial Director of Dey Street Books, talks to us about how she got started in the industry, the books she loves, the books she can’t live without, and the provocative books she’s published.
THE TEENAGE BRAIN by Dr. Frances E. Jensen
January 05, 2015 21:50 - 24 minutes - 34 MBJoin Dr. Jensen as she translates recent medical discoveries and clinical trials into easily understood information about the brains of teenagers. Dr. Jensen offers a revolutionary look at the adolescent brain, and provides remarkable insights that translate into practical advice for both parents and teenagers.
Jennifer Robson
January 05, 2015 00:00 - 22 minutes - 31.5 MBTHIS WEEK: Jennifer Robson is the USA Today and #1 Toronto Globe & Mail bestselling author of SOMEWHERE IN FRANCE. Her second book, AFTER THE WAR IS OVER, is a tale of class, love, and freedom-in which a young woman must find her place in a world forever changed. Hear her discuss how her family influenced her work, the role research plays in her writing and which books she regularly re-reads.
A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES read by Dylan Thomas, introduced by Billy Collins
December 22, 2014 01:53 - 25 minutes - 34.5 MBThis holiday season celebrate the joy of poetry with former poet laureate Billy Collins as he introduces the historic Caedmon recording of poet Dylan Thomas reading A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES (in its entirety) recorded in February of 1952.
Richard Kadrey
December 09, 2014 16:08 - 26 minutes - 35.9 MBTHIS WEEK: NY Times Bestselling author Richard Kadrey sits down with HarperAudio producer, Caitlin Garing, to talk about his new book GETAWAY GOD. Dark urban fantasy character, Sandman Slim, is back to save the world from the vengeful gods in this sixth installment of the bestselling series. In this episode, Kadrey speaks on anthropological forensics, what his writing teacher taught him, and the two sentences that started the popular series.
Maira Kalman
December 01, 2014 22:41 - 15 minutes - 21.7 MBMaira Kalman is the illustrator of The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr., and author of And the Pursuit of Happiness and The Principles of Uncertainty. Her latest book, My Favorite Things (HarperCollins, October 2014), is a beautiful pictorial and narrative exploration of the significance of objects in our lives, drawn from her personal artifacts, recollections, and selections from the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Hear her thoughts on what it means to be an o...
Audiobook Narrator Katherine Kellgren
November 25, 2014 17:09 - 22 minutes - 31.5 MBAudiobook producer Caitlin Garing speaks to experienced narrator Katherine Kellgren about how she gives voice to a gargoyle, why she imitates Dame Edith Evans, and what she thinks of Neil Gaiman as a narrator.
Jim Boeheim, Syracuse Basketball Coach
November 19, 2014 15:31 - 21 minutes - 29.7 MBSyracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim talks about his 6-overtime game against UConn and Coach Calhoun, the pros and cons of zone defense, Big East vs. ACC, and what he thinks of casting Tom Cruise to play Jack Reacher, among other things.
Richard Ford: Let Me Be Frank With You
November 17, 2014 14:22 - 19 minutes - 27.1 MBRichard Ford talks about how the commotion of Hurricane Sandy led him to publish another work featuring Frank Bascombe, what Emerson taught him about character, and why the middle section of TO THE LIGHTHOUSE earned the novel a spot on his desert island booklist.
Patricia Cornwell & David Nicholls
November 07, 2014 20:12 - 34 minutes - 47 MBIn this episode we hear from authors Patricia Cornwell and David Nicholls, both with new novels available now and both with fascinating insight into character development. Patricia Cornwell, author of FLESH AND BLOOD, the 22nd book to feature the detective Kay Scarpetta, talks with her editor, David Highfill, about how she used research into new, high tech weapons to try to trick Scarpetta, an attempt that she says always ultimately fails. And David Nicholls tells us about his desire to wr...
Garth Nix and Ilona Andrews on Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy
October 21, 2014 21:49 - 1 hour - 96 MBA discussion about writing genre fiction for adult and children with New York Times bestselling authors Garth Nix, author of the Old Kingdom series including the prequel Clariel, and the duo behind Ilona Andrews, author of several series including the upcoming Hidden Legacy series. Together they talk about how they build their works, creating rules for magic and of course the genres so many of us love, science fiction and fantasy.
Lauren Oliver discusses her new book ROOMS
September 22, 2014 00:00 - 23 minutes - 32.1 MBLauren Oliver, the New York Times bestselling author of the Delirium trilogy, Before I Fall, and Panic, discusses her new novel ROOMS with @HarperAudio_US producer Caitlin Garing. This episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition which is performed by Orlagh Cassidy, Barbara Caruso, Elizabeth Evans, Noah Galvin, and Cynthia Darlow. ABOUT ROOMS After a number of highly acclaimed New York Times bestsellers, including the Delirium trilogy and the standalone novels Before I Fall and...
Gutenberg's Apprentice by Alix Christie
September 20, 2014 00:00 - 33 minutes - 46.3 MBAuthor, journalist and letterpress printer Alix Christie discusses her debut novel, Gutenberg's Apprentice (on-sale: September 23, 2014), with @HarperAudio_US producer Erin Wicks. This episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition read by Robert Petkoff. ABOUT GUTENBERG'S APPRENTICE An enthralling literary debut that evokes one of the most momentous events in history, the birth of printing in medieval Germany—a story of invention, intrigue, and betrayal. Youthful, ambitious Pete...
Smartcuts by Shane Snow
September 07, 2014 00:00 - 26 minutes - 36.2 MBEntrepreneur and journalist Shane Snow (Wired, Fast Company, The New Yorker, and cofounder of Contently)discusses his new Harper Business title, Smartcuts, with @HarperAudio_US Producer Erin Wicks. This episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition performed by the author. ABOUT SMARTCUTS Entrepreneur and journalist Shane Snow (Wired, Fast Company, The New Yorker, and cofounder of Contently) analyzes the lives of people and companies that do incredible things in implausibly short ...
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott
August 31, 2014 00:00 - 18 minutes - 24.9 MBNew York Times bestselling author Karen Abbott discusses her new novel Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy (on-sale: 9-2-14)with @HarperAudio_US Producer Erin Wicks. This episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition performed by Karen White. About Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy Belle Boyd Emma Edmonds Rose O'Neal Greenhow Elizabeth Van Lew In Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy, bestselling author Karen Abbott tells the spellbinding true story of four women who risked everything—their homes,...
THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA by Katy Simpson Smith
August 25, 2014 00:00 - 17 minutes - 24 MBKaty Simpson Smith discusses her debut novel THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA (on-sale: 8-26-14) with @HarperAudio_US Producer Erin Wicks. This episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition performed by Edoardo Ballerini. ABOUT THE STORY OF LAND AND SEA Set in a small coastal town in North Carolina during the waning years of the American Revolution, this incandescent debut novel follows three generations of family—fathers and daughters, mother and son, master and slave, characters who ye...
THE MINIATURIST by Jessie Burton
August 25, 2014 00:00 - 26 minutes - 36.3 MBJessie Burton discusses her new book THE MINIATURIST (HarperCollins, August 26, 2014) with Producer Erin Wicks from @HarperAudio_US. The episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition featuring the voice of Davina Porter. ABOUT THE BOOK Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam—a city ruled by glittering wealth and oppressive religion—a masterful debut steeped in atmosphere and shimmering with mystery, in the tradition of Emma Donoghue, Sarah Waters, and Sarah Dunant. ”There is nothing...
WALLY LAMB
July 29, 2014 16:24 - 25 minutes - 34.7 MBWally Lamb in conversation with Sean McManus, Director of Audio @HarperAudio_US. The paperback edition of Lamb's New York Times bestselling novel WE ARE WATER is on-sale from HarperCollins on August 12, 2014. This episode contains an excerpt from the audio edition of WE ARE WATER, performed by the author. ABOUT WE ARE WATER After twenty-seven years of marriage and three children, Annie Oh—wife, mother, and outsider artist—has fallen in love with Viveca, the Manhattan art dealer who orchestr...
Veronica Roth
July 07, 2014 00:00 - 22 minutes - 31.5 MB#1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth discusses her new book FOUR: A DIVERGENT COLLECTION (HarperCollins, July 8th, 2014) with senior producer Caitlin Garing from @HarperAudio_US. The episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition of FOUR: A DIVERGENT COLLECTION featuring the voice of Aaron Stanford. Fans of the Divergent series by number-one New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth will be thrilled by Four: A Divergent Collection, a companion volume that includ...
THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING by Erika Johansen
July 07, 2014 00:00 - 21 minutes - 30 MBErika Johansen discusses her new book THE QUEEN OF THE TEARLING (HarperCollins, July 8, 2014) with Producer Erin Wicks from @HarperAudio_US. The episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition featuring the voice of Katherine Kellgren. ABOUT THE BOOK An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy. Young Kelsea Raleigh was ...
Neil Gaiman
June 16, 2014 00:00 - 39 minutes - 53.6 MBNeil Gaiman discusses three upcoming @HarperAudio_US titles: THE TRUTH IS A CAVE IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS (on-sale: June 17, 2014), CHU'S FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL (on-sale: June 24, 2014), and the full cast audio edition of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK (on-sale: September 30, 2014) with Senior Producer Caitlin Garing. This episode also includes audiobook excerpts performed by Neil Gaiman. About The Books THE TRUTH IS A CAVE IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS You ask me if I can forgive myself? I can forgive myself... ...
FOURTH OF JULY CREEK by Smith Henderson
May 26, 2014 00:00 - 29 minutes - 40.8 MBSmith Henderson discusses his new book FOURTH OF JULY CREEK (HarperCollins, May 27, 2014) with producer Erin Wicks from @HarperAudio_US. The episode also includes an excerpt featuring the voice of MacLeod Andrews from the audio edition. ABOUT THE BOOK After trying to help Benjamin Pearl, an undernourished, nearly feral eleven-year-old boy living in the Montana wilderness, social worker Pete Snow comes face-to-face with the boy's profoundly disturbed father, Jeremiah. With courage and cautio...
CONSOLE WARS by Blake J. Harris
May 12, 2014 00:00 - 31 minutes - 43.5 MBBlake J. Harris discusses his new book CONSOLE WARS(HarperCollins, May 2014) with Sean McManus from @HarperAudio_US. This episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition, performed by Fred Berman. ABOUT THE BOOK A mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the videogame industry—in development as a feature film from Son...
BIRD BOX by Josh Malerman
May 12, 2014 00:00 - 21 minutes - 29.9 MBJosh Malerman discusses his new book BIRD BOX(HarperCollins, May 2014) with Erin Wicks, Producer @HarperAudio_US. This episode also includes an excerpt from the audio edition, performed by Cassandra Campbell. ABOUT THE BOOK Something is out there . . . Something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from. Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remain, including Malorie and her ...
New Adult Round Table: CORA CARMACK, J. LYNN, JAY CROWNOVER
May 07, 2014 21:18 - 51 minutes - 71.4 MBThis episode is a round table discussion featuring three rising stars in the new adult genre: CORA CARMACK, J. LYNN, and JAY CROWNOVER in conversation with @HarperAudio_US Producer, Caitlin Garing.
THE BEES by Laline Paull
May 05, 2014 00:00 - 20 minutes - 28.8 MBLaline Paull discusses her new book THE BEES (HarperCollins, May 2014) with Erin Wicks, Producer @HarperAudio_US. Flora 717 is a sanitation worker, a member of the lowest caste in her orchard hive, where work and sacrifice are the highest virtues and worship of the beloved Queen the only religion. But Flora is not like other bees. With circumstances threatening the hive's survival, her curiosity is regarded as a dangerous flaw, but her courage and strength are assets. She is allowed to feed ...
LOVERS AT THE CHAMELEON CLUB, PARIS 1932 by Francine Prose
April 21, 2014 00:00 - 21 minutes - 28.9 MBFrancine Prose discusses her new book LOVERS AT THE CHAMELEON CLUB, PARIS 1932 (HarperCollins, April 2014) with Erin Wicks, Producer @HarperAudio_US. A richly imagined and stunningly inventive literary masterpiece of love, art, and betrayal, exploring the genesis of evil, the unforeseen consequences of love, and the ultimate unreliability of storytelling itself Paris in the 1920s. It is a city of intoxicating ambition, passion, art, and discontent, where louche jazz venues like the Chameleo...
OWN IT! by TABATHA COFFEY
April 14, 2014 00:00 - 22 minutes - 30.9 MBTabatha Coffey, author of OWN IT! (HarperCollins, April 2014), shares her secrets of business success in her trademark no-nonsense style. The interview is conducted by Karen Dziekonski, Executive Producer @HarperAudio_US. Tabatha is back to share her secrets of business success . . . With her characteristic savvy expertise and no-nonsense advice, the perfectly coiffed celebrity hairstylist, Tabatha Coffey, returns with her second book, teaching readers that the secret of success is taking c...
PAUL STANLEY
April 07, 2014 00:00 - 9 minutes - 13.6 MBPaul Stanley discusses the writing and narration of his memoir, FACE THE MUSIC (on-sale 4-8-14). This episode also includes an excerpt from the prologue. "People say I was brave to write such a revealing book, but I wrote it because I needed to personally reflect on my own life. I know everyone will see themselves somewhere in this book, and where my story might take them is why I'm sharing it." Well known for his onstage persona, the "Starchild," Paul Stanley has written a memoir with a gr...
You Are Not Special by David McCullough Jr.
February 10, 2014 19:03 - 24 minutes - 33 MBAn interview with David McCullough Jr., author of You Are Not Special (HarperCollins, April 2014). The interview is conducted by Karen Dziekonski, Executive Producer @HarperAudio_US. A profound expansion of David McCullough, Jr.'s popular commencement speech—a call to arms against a prevailing, narrow, conception of success viewed by millions on YouTube—You Are (Not) Special is a love letter to students and parents as well as a guide to a truly fulfilling, happy life. Children today, says D...
THE FREE by Willy Vlautin
February 03, 2014 00:00 - 27 minutes - 37.8 MBWilly Vlautin is an author, a musician, and the narrator of his book THE FREE. This interview with Willy is conducted by his editor at HarperCollins, Amy Baker. Listen to an excerpt from the audiobook @HarperAudio_US In his heartbreaking yet hopeful fourth novel, award-winning author Willy Vlautin demonstrates his extraordinary talent for illuminating the disquiet of modern American life, captured in the experiences of three memorable characters looking for meaning in distressing times. S...
All Joy and No Fun by Jennifer Senior
January 21, 2014 20:36 - 15 minutes - 21.8 MBAn interview with Jennifer Senior, author of All Joy and No Fun (HarperCollins, January 2014). The interview is conducted by Karen Dziekonski, Executive Producer @HarperAudio_US. Thousands of books have examined the effects of parents on their children. But almost none have thought to ask: What are the effects of children on their parents? In All Joy and No Fun, award-winning journalist Jennifer Senior tries to tackle this question, isolating and analyzing the many ways in which children re...
The Wind Is Not a River by Brian Payton
January 06, 2014 17:14 - 22 minutes - 30.8 MBAn interview with Brian Payton, author of The Wind Is Not a River (HarperCollins, January 2014). The interview is conducted by Erin Wicks, producer Soundcloud.com/HarperAudio_US. A gripping tale of survival and an epic love story in which a husband and wife–separated by the only battle of World War II to take place on American soil–fight to reunite in Alaska's starkly beautiful Aleutian Islands Following the death of his younger brother in Europe, journalist John Easley is determined to fin...