Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey

As the popularity of E.L. James’s smoldering, taboo-shattering fiction Fifty Shades of Grey continues to percolate amidst workplace water coolers and book clubs worldwide, longtime literary agent and erotica editor Lori Perkins has also fully embraced the sensation. Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey, her masterfully creative assemblage of 50 unique, outspoken writers is, in itself, a landmark work of fluid sexual expressiveness and kinky exposition. Contributors run the gamut from publisher and talk show host Judith Regan to a BDSM master and a marriage attorney to a self-described “sensual sadist” and the vice-president of an adult ...

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'Astray': Emma Donoghue Writes with Wanderlust

Following on the heels of 2010’s gripping international best-seller Room, Emma Donoghue straddles genres once again to produce Astray, a seamless collection of 14 tales populated by far-flung wanderers in search of true meaning. Donoghue, an Irish emigrant now residing in Canada and known for her brilliant historical fiction, discusses the allure of the aimless, the short story process, how history molds her themes and how “Room” still gets mistakenly compared to several gruesome kidnapping cases of the past. With delightful amity and a cheery brogue, Donoghue chatted with Kirkus about what fuels the continued mastery of her craft ...

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‘Read This!’: Top Picks From America's Indie Bookstores

As co-owner of Micawber’s Books in St. Paul, Minn., editor Hans Weyandt knows firsthand about the power of selling books to customers. Weyandt puts his sales experience and expansive knowledge of everything books to good use in Read This!: Handpicked Favorites from America's Indie Bookstores, a finely assembled collection of top 50 lists from independent booksellers nationwide.

We talked to Weyandt about his new project, the bookstore customer experience, and how shopping offline has evolved in the fast-moving digital age.    

Do you consider bookselling a lost art form?

No, I wouldn’t say it’s a lost art ...

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Going for 'Gold' with Chris Cleave

After auspicious beginnings with his debut, Incendiary, London author Chris Cleave blew audiences away with his resonant sophomore effort, Little Bee, which became a literary sensation in Britain and in America.

Read more top fiction picks for July.

His latest, Gold, is an Olympic-themed show-stopper, is a testament to the power of family, courage, athletic drive and determination. Cleave marries the theme of personal endurance with familial sacrifice and solidifies his place as one of the literary world’s finest and truest chroniclers of the human condition.

We caught up with Cleave prior to BEA and found him eager to ...

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Augusten Burroughs, Telling It Like It Is

A decade after the publication of his debut memoir Running with Scissors, Augusten Burroughs has produced a tough-love take on the self-help genre with his recent book of advice, This is How.

Read more new and notable nonfiction this May.

It’s somewhat of a format departure for the acclaimed author. Here, Burroughs offers welcoming hugs, positive reinforcement and a sharp slap in the face for readers eager to comprehend and process the machinations of excessive drinking, suicide, regret, overeating, finding love, realizing your dreams, getting a job or exuding confidence.

Burroughs talks to us about this shrewd combination of ...

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‘After Camelot’: Profiling America’s Royal Family

From his comprehensive biographies of glossy celebrities like Diana Ross, Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson, New York Times bestselling author J. Randy Taraborrelli has become the literary world’s consummate Hollywood chronicler.

Check out more books on the Kennedys? 

In the very first interview Taraborrelli has given on his latest work, After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family 1968 to the Present, a continuation of the Kennedy family profile after 2000’s Jackie, Ethel, Joan, the author spoke to us about an affinity for the icons he profiles, his exacting writing process, why he won ...

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Bram's History Lesson in Great Gay Lit

From an early age, esteemed prolific novelist Christopher Bram incrementally became aware of the lives and works of influential gay authors. He brings forth this wealth of knowledge in his latest book, Eminent Outlaws, which, decade by decade, charts the rise of gay writers, and how each of them contributed to the education, the enlightenment and the social culture of the American homosexual movement.

Read more new and notable nonfiction. 

Here, Bram fondly elaborates on the course of this gay literary history lesson, his opinions on small presses, relationships and marriage, some thoughts on James Baldwin, Truman Capote and others ...

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Richard Seaver and 'Publishing’s Golden Age'

Richard Seaver’s exemplary literary life has been beautifully captured in his just-published chronicle The Tender Hour of Twilight: Paris in the ’50s, New York in the ’60s: A Memoir of Publishing’s Golden Age.

Read more new and notable nonfiction in January.

While his memoir has been published posthumously (he died in 2009), we spoke to Jeannette Seaver, the distinguished author’s widow, who was also the editor responsible for the scrupulous abridgement of Seaver’s substantial original manuscript. Mrs. Seaver provided a unique and intimate perspective on her late husband’s life and work, and on the labor ...

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Prime Time: A New Look at Middle Age

What does it really mean to be “middle aged”? And why are so many of the connotations associated with this category so disparagingly negative? This question and many more are answered in New York Times’ reporter Patricia Cohen’s erudite examination of the stigma of midlife and aging in America, In Our Prime.

Read more new and notable fiction books this January.

We caught up with the author in between deadlines at the Gray Lady to assess her personal views on the general perceptions of a maturing population, what surprised her most during her research and some personal thoughts on ...

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Gregory Maguire Gets ‘Out of Oz’

Gregory Maguire’s accomplished literary career is the stuff that writers dream about. His creatively revisionist, bestselling novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West proved a tantalizing launch pad for its Tony Award-winning Broadway theatrical adaptation that captivated the hearts and imaginations of adults and children alike.

Maguire was grateful, sentimental but also forthright when he recently spoke to us about this fourth and final entry in the series, Out of Oz. He talked about his influences, his life and his excitement and ambivalence about what the literary road has in store. We won ...

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Reliving ‘Dog Days’ with Dave Ihlenfeld

Done with college, disillusioned and at a crossroads as to what direction to take next, Dave Ihlenfeld discovered a job ad seeking cross-country drivers for the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile. After careful screening process and weeks of intensive training, Ihlenfeld, along with 15 other successful candidates, set off on a yearlong tour of key locations in the United States and Europe, passing out whistles, serving up wieners, marching in parades and surviving breakdowns in the desert and PETA protests.

Read more new and notable nonfiction titles for July.

Today, a successful TV writer for Family Guy and Nickelodeon’s Supah Ninjas ...

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The Complete Guide to LGBT Manners

Whether coming out, looking for love, getting married, starting a family, planning an engagement party or a dinner party, there are plenty of pitfalls to avoid. Petrow, ever the gracious host, shows us how to make it all politely possible with grace, style, and sophistication.

Do you ...

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Oprah's Health Guru Bob Greene Takes on Aging

We all want to look and feel younger, but what’s the secret? Veteran health and wellness expert Bob Greene has held an interest in the betterment of himself and those around him since he was a child. He's parlayed this interest into a series of books on feeling, looking and becoming more youthful, healthy and vibrant from the inside out. 20 Years Younger, Greene’s seventh book, details a program designed to maximize the benefits and capitalize on the choices made when applied to four key lifestyle components: regular exercise, a healthful diet, revitalizing skin care and restorative ...

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Inside Google with 'In the Plex'

Technology writer Steven Levy spent over two years chronicling the rise of Google, including a summer spent interviewing current and former employees on the company’s Mountain View, Calif., campus. His book, In the Plex, is a multifaceted analysis of the popular search engine’s rise to power, an ascent that was not without its share of fumbles and eyebrow-raising missteps. We spoke to the esteemed author about his personal experiences tracing the history of this Internet behemoth.

Read more Best of 2011 Nonfiction.

How difficult was it to convince co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin to allow you access ...

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