Books & Co. is an Arizona PBS original production made possible by the Department of English at Arizona State University.
David Sedaris is a comedian, author and radio contributor.
Edgar Cantero is a writer and cartoonist from Barcelona working in Catalan, Spanish and English.
Cristina Alger is a graduate of Harvard College and New York University Law School who worked as a financial analyst and corporate attorney before becoming a writer.
A third generation native Arizonan, Kelly deVos can tell you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about cactus, cattle and climate, as she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.
Cara Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of 17 books in the Private Investigator Aimée Leduc series, which is set in Paris.
With more than 20 years as a stand-up comedian, Tom Papa is one of the top comedic voices in the country finding success in film, TV, radio and podcasts as well as on the live stage.
Laird Barron, an expat Alaskan, is the author of several books, including "The Imago Sequence and Other Stories," "Swift to Chase" and his newest, "Blood Standard."
Charles Soule is a Brooklyn, New York-based novelist, comic book writer, musician and attorney.
Peng was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where she rode horses and trained in classical ballet.
K Arsenault Rivera moved to the United States from Puerto Rico at a very young age and learned English through reading books.
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio.
Kristin Hannah is the New York Times bestselling author of more than 20 novels including Night Road, Firefly Lane, True Colors and Winter Garden.
Patterson grew up in Newburgh, New York, and began casually writing at the age of nineteen.
Known for his surrealistic and divergent sharp comedy, Eddie Izzard is a world-renowned British stand-up comedian, actor and political activist. Eddie is known for his roles in many television series, in addition to starring in many films and worked as a voice actor for many others. He is also remembered for the incredible challenge he undertook in 2009, where he performed 43 marathons in 51 days, undeterred by the fact that he has no long-distance running experience. Eddie Izzard has received many awards including a Primetime Emmy Award, Yahoo People’s Choice Award and a Webby Award.
Stephen Hunter is the 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic for Distinguished Criticism. He is also the author of many bestselling novels, including New York Times bestsellers Havana, Pale Horse Coming, and Hot Springs. His 1993 novel Point of Impact was turned into the electrifying movie Shooter, which received good reviews. Hunter graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in journalism, and worked most of his life for the Washington Post as their film critic for decades. Hunter writes both fiction and non-fiction works, and currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
Radha Vatsal is the author of the Kitty Weeks mystery series, A Front Page Affair (2016) and her new novel Murder Between the Lines (2017). Her fascination with the 1910s began when she studied women filmmakers and action-film heroines of silent cinema at Duke University, where she earned her Ph.D. from the English Department. Vatsal is also a co-editor of the Women Film Pioneers Project. She was born in India and spent her childhood in Mumbai, and now lives in New York with her husband and two children.
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, journalist and activist whose most recent work includes the adult novel Walkaway, the young adult graphic novel In Real Life and the nonfiction business book Information Doesn’t Want to Be Free. He is the co-editor of Boing Boing and a contributor to many magazines, websites and newspapers. Doctorow works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is an MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles.
Megan Miranda is the New York Times best-selling author of The Missing Girls, her first novel for adults. Her second novel of psychological suspense is The Perfect Stranger, and she has also written several books for young adults. Miranda grew up in New Jersey, and graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Megan is a former high school teacher and lives in North Carolina with her husband and two children.
Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize and many other prestigious awards for his fiction work The Sympathizer, Nguyen is one of the most promising writers in the modern literature landscape, and represents a voice for Vietnamese Americans. A Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, Nguyen has also written many non-fiction books in his academic career. His latest book The Refugees is a collection of short stories promising to capture the reader and make them think about migration, identity, love, and family.
New York Times best-selling author Lisa See has written books ranging from mystery to historical fiction to a memoir of her Chinese American family. On Gold Mountain, the memoir, became a national bestseller that inspired a 2000-2001 exhibition at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage and a 2000 production by the Los Angeles Opera, for which See wrote the libretto. She was then awarded the title of National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women in 2001, and in 2003 was the recipient of the Chinese American Museum’s History Makers Award. See has also designed a walking tour of Los Angeles’ Chinatown. She will receive the Golden Spike Award from the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California in 2017.
Steve Berry is a New York Times international best seller, with 21 million copies of his books sold in 51 countries and translated to 40 languages. Steve worked as an attorney for 30 years and held public office for over a decade. His love for history – which is unmistakable throughout his novels – led him to launch History Matters, a foundation focusing on the preservation of historical treasures. The Georgia native has won many awards and has been recognized by different honorary bodies. In 2010, an NPR survey placed his book The Templar Legacy among the 100 best thrillers ever written.
In this memoir, Peter Selgin outlines the beginning of his passion for writing. As the child of an inventor and a twin, Peter always felt he had to compete for his parents’ attention. At the beginning of eighth grade, Peter meets a young teacher who took him under his wing: the two spend hours at the teacher’s cottage, drinking tea, playing chess and discussing books. They become inseparable – until the teacher resigns. Although they meet occasionally and correspond constantly, it is only after the teacher’s death that Peter learns he had completely invented his own past. At home, Peter realizes his father has done the same – as, after a fashion, so do we all.
On a trip to Mexico in 1988, Valdez falls in love with a man from a rural Mexican village – her future husband, Sixto Valdez. So begins their modern-day love story: he illegally crosses the border to be with her and they are married soon after. As they each learn to love and understand the other’s family and culture, they are also faced with the challenges of the immigration system. This is a story of two people who bring their worlds together, triumphing over hard times through love.
Mourner’s Bench tells the story of brave, bold women who led the civil rights movement in the Arkansas Delta. Set in 1964, the story unfolds from the perspective of eight-year-old Sarah White, a serious child who feels ready to get baptized, but increasingly finds herself torn between the traditions of her community and her church and her mother’s progressive and feminist views. When the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee comes to town, the reverend considers them “the evil among us,” while Sarah’s mother and her friends seem determined to push the town toward integration. With vibrant characters and setting, Mourner’s Bench explores the conflict between progress and tradition as Sarah navigates her place in her family and community.
Taskforce operators Pike Logan and Jennifer Cahill return in this gripping thriller that revolves around the release of the Panama Papers. The leak panics a defense contractor who had bribed a Saudi businessman fifteen years before: exposing his illegal activities could be his undoing. The data leak threatens the secrecy and operations of the Taskforce as well.
Bestselling author Yann Martel has traveled the world. He was born in Salamanca, Spain in 1963, but his childhood also encompassed Costa Rica, France, Mexico and Canada. As an adult he traveled extensively, visiting places such as Iran, Turkey and India. Currently, he lives mainly in Montreal. He held a variety of odd jobs, including tree planter and dishwasher, before making writing his career at age 27. He won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction for Life of Pi, his second novel. The book became a critically acclaimed film in 2012. Now Martel has released his latest piece, The High Mountains of Portugal.
News correspondent for ABC News’ “Nightline” John Donvan is most known for his war reporting. He has built a reputation throughout his television career reporting from places such as Jerusalem, Europe, the Middle East and Africa since 1982. He has contributed to news outlets including ABC Radio, ABC television, CNN and ABC News’ magazine programs, “World News Tonight” and “Good Morning America.” He has been awarded two Emmys, several Overseas Press Club Awards, two Cine Golden Eagles, been honored by the National Association of Black Journalists and the Committee of 100 and the Media Action Network for Asian-Americans. Emmy-nominated journalist and ABC television producer Caren Zucker is known for her coverage of 9/11, presidential campaigns, social trends and the Olympic games – but she changed the direction of her reporting when her oldest son was diagnosed with autism. She now works alongside Donvan to inform audiences and give them a better understanding of the realities of autism. As a team, Donvan and Zucker have been collaborating on autism stories since 2000. They created the ABC series “Echoes of Autism,” and Zucker produced the series “Autism Now” for PBS NewsHour.
Owen Laukkanen started his writing career in the University of British Columbia's creative writing program. He then spent three years as a professional poker player before returning to fiction. His debut novel, The Professionals, received rave reviews from New York Times bestseller John Sandford. Kirkus Reviews named The Professionals one of the top 100 novels of the year.
Her latest novel, The Passenger, is about a woman on the move who takes on different identities, hoping to escape a dark past. During her journey across the country, Tanya Dubois meets Blue, a bartender intrigued by Dubois’ adventure. Blue and Dubois take a wild ride of thrilling escapes, tests of loyalty and an ongoing series of aliases, with hopes of never looking back.
Silverman recounts her story of raising a child with Down syndrome in a book that is part memoir, part investigative reporting, and part parenting manual, My Heart Can’t Even Believe It: A Story of Science, Love and Down Syndrome.
First-time novelist Jessica Knoll has an extensive background in magazine writing. She has been a senior editor for Cosmopolitan and the articles editor at SELF. This Philadelphia native graduated from The Shipley School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. She and her husband currently reside in New York City.
Boston PI Spenser faces a hot case and a personal crisis in the latest adventure in the iconic New York Times–bestselling series from author Ace Atkins. The fire at a boarded-up Catholic church raged hot and fast, lighting up Boston’s South End and killing three firefighters who were trapped in the inferno. Boston firefighter Jack McGee, who lost his best friend in the blaze, suspects arson.
Amy Goodman is an acclaimed journalist and author. Currently, she is the host and executive producer of 'Democracy Now!,' an award-winning news program. Goodman has co-authored five New York Times bestsellers, three of which were co-written with her brother, David Goodman. She has remained versatile in the media field and has been recognized for her achievements as a journalist in radio, print and television. Goodman has received recognition from the Associated Press, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, to name just a few.