Podcast appearances and mentions of nicole dennis benn

Today we discuss Nicole Dennis-Benn's novel Patsy, which won the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction. Content warning: brief mentions of miscarriage, sexual and physical assaults, abusive relationships Our next book discussion will be Wild Geese by Soula Emmanuel. You can find it at your local bookstore or library and read along with us. If you want to read along with The Bookstore Challenge 2024, you can join us on The StoryGraph to see what others are reading for each month and get ideas for your TBR: The Bookstore Challenge 2025. Get two audiobook credits for the price of one at Libro.fm when you sign up using the code BOOKSTOREPOD. Website | Patreon

Pack your bags and let's take a trip with the Keep It Fictional librarians to Rwanda, Jamaica, Prague, and Turkey. Books mentioned on this episode: Sister Deborah by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated by Mark Polizzotti, Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, and Cold Nights of Childhood by Tezer Özlü, translated by Maureen Freely.

No penúltimo episódio do Clube de Leitura 30:MIN 2024, Arthur Marchetto, Cecilia Garcia Marcon, Vilto Reis e AJ Oliveira discutem o livro "Bem-vindos ao paraíso", de Nicole Dennis-Benn. Eles falaram sobre o patoá jamaicano, a construção de línguas crioulas, a estrutura do livro e os desenvolvimentos e lutas dos personagens. Aperta o play, vem com a gente e não esqueça do próximo livro do clube: "Flores para Algernon", de Daniel Keyes. -- Links ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apoie o 30:MIN⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Siga a gente nas redes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Já apoia? Acesse suas recompensas⁠⁠⁠⁠

10 Things I Learned from Junot Diaz: 1. “Unless it's breaking you, why would anyone else care?” 2. Give readers a chance to interact with the work - don't chew it up and put it in their mouths. Let them come to different conclusions. Give them choices to let them decide what to think.  3. Writers cannot be "in cahoots" with the story - safeguard a space for the reader in the story. The story shouldn't be dictated by the author. 4. Memory is contained and not dangerous. Memory work disrupts the immersion of the story because the character is not immersed in remembering 5. 1st POV should not try to discharge the function of 3rd POV 6. Withholding information is not developing character or plot. Non-information creates disinterest. 7. With characters, take away the one thing you think is important and see what you have left. Allow them to interact with others to let the reader see who they really are. Scaling with at least 2 others allows you to triangulate. 8. We look away to spare ourselves from feeling the pain and hope the reader will do the work for us. By taking the reader into our pain, we can be seen. 9. Always Be Building Character 10. Tend to your wound. Integrate it and write from there. Balance the person and the artist. Tend to your personhood so that if you never write again, you'll still love yourself. Mentions: - A Midsummer Night's Dream - https://www.instagram.com/p/ChxVmTbpG_V/ - Mysterious Galaxy - https://www.mystgalaxy.com/ - DJ Reads Books IG live - https://www.instagram.com/p/ChlNnAiFEyq/ - Scrivener - https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview - Storyist - https://www.storyist.com/ - Patricia C. Wrede Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions - https://pcwrede.com/pcw-wp/fantasy-worldbuilding-questions/ - Holly Black on Magic Systems - https://www.penandstory.com/2011/04/17/holly-black-on-creating-working-magic/ - VONA/Voices writers workshop - https://www.vonavoices.org/ - Junot Diaz - http://www.junotdiaz.com/ - Hurston Wright Foundation - https://www.hurstonwright.org/ - Dolen Perkins-Valdez - https://dolenperkinsvaldez.com/ - Writers mentioned: Kacen Callender, Ines Johnson, Shanae Johnson, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Daniel Jose Older, Lesley Nneka Arimah    The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a weekly, behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing. Join fantasy and paranormal romance author L. Penelope as she shares insights on the writing life, creativity, inspiration, and this week's best thing. Subscribe and view show notes at: https://lpenelope.com/podcast | Get the Footnotes newsletter - http://lpen.co/footnotes Support the show - http://frolic.media/podcasts! Stay in touch with me! Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook Music credit: Say Good Night by Joakim Karud https://soundcloud.com/joakimkarud Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/SZkVShypKgM Affiliate Disclosure: I may receive compensation for links to products on this site either directly or indirectly via affiliate links. Heartspell Media, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

The Commonwealth is an association of 54 countries from across the world. It's home to a third of the world's population including from Australia, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Kenya to the UK, Canada and many island nations in between. The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition is the world's oldest international writing competition for schools. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall talks to Tina Daheley about the competition. She also shares her passion for books and how her father instilled in her a love of reading. The Duchess is also joined by two competition winners, Ethan Charles Mufuma from Uganda, Hiya Chowdhury from India. We hear from Nigerian novelist Chigozie Obioma, author of The Fishermen and An Orchestra of Minorities. He's in conversation with the Jamaican writer of Here comes the Sun, and Patsy, Nicole Dennis-Benn. Both novelists explore the peoples and culture of their respective countries in their work and encourage the next generation of writers. Shehan Karunatilaka is a Sri Lankan writer best known for his cricketing novel Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, which won the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize and was recently chosen by the BBC as one of its Big Jubilee Reads, celebrating 70 books from across the Commonwealth. He told us about the work of art that has inspired him - the 1985 track 'Russians' by UK popstar Sting, about the Cold War threat of nuclear attack, a song that continues to carry a very human message. Producer: Andrea Kidd

I'm not crying, YOU'RE CRYING. Okay, we're all crying. WHEW this book got us right in the heart. in this episode, we cover the last section of The School for Good Mothers. We are then joined by the author Jessamine Chan to talk about the themes of this book! Follow us on Instagram: @booktok_podcast Follow us on TikTok: @booktokpodcast Shop our Bookshop.org storefront: https://bookshop.org/shop/booktok --- Other books, articles, and an influencer mentioned in this episode: Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Mosfegh New Yorker Article: Where is your Mother by Rachel Aviv New York Times Article: Foster Care as Punishment: The New Reality of ‘Jane Crow' by Stephanie Clifford and Jessica Silver-Greenberg Motherhood by Sheila Heti Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear by Kim Brooks Man v. Nature by Diane Cook Vladimir by Julia May Jonas Motherhood So White by Nefertiti Austin The Rock Eaters by Brenda Peynado Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron AlliePal - Subscribe to her newsletter! Girlhood by Melissa Febos There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn

In our fifth episode, PEN SA Vice President Yewande Omotoso asks author Nicole Dennis-Benn about the meaning of nationality, immigration, navigating multiple identities, coming out, her novels (Here Comes the Sun and Patsy) and the search for a sense of belonging. In this episode we stand in solidarity with writer and prominent human-rights defender Ales Bialiatski. He is currently in pre-trial detention in Belarus. You can read more about his case here: https://pen-international.org/news/belarus-free-writer-and-human-rights-defender-ales-bialiatski This podcast series is funded by a grant from the U.S. Embassy in South Africa.

In conversation with Nicole Dennis-Benn Asali Solomon is the author of Disgruntled, ''a smart, philosophical, coming-of-age'' (San Francisco Chronicle) novel about the double-binds of race in late 1980s Philadelphia. Her other work includes the short story collection Get Down, as well as stories published in a wide array of periodicals, including McSweeney's, Essence, and O, The Oprah Magazine. A professor of fiction writing and literature of the African diaspora at Haverford College, Solomon is the recipient of a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award and the National Book Foundation's ''5 Under 35'' honor. The Days of Afrekete follows two women who reconnect years after their college days and rediscover themselves amidst the questions asked at middle age. Nicole Dennis-Benn is the author of Patsy and Here Comes the Sun, a New York Times Notable Book and winner of the Lambda Literary Award. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she teaches at Princeton and lives with her wife in Brooklyn, New York. (recorded 10/20/2021)

The world puts you in a box -- geography, social class, family dynamics, gender, all things you’re born into with no say in the matter.  But life gets really interesting when you’re finally able to make choices to fix what feels wrong.  In Nicole Dennis-Benn's novel Patsy she writes about one woman’s journey to live a life that’s in congruence with her values, even at a steep cost to others. About the AuthorNicole Dennis-Benn is the author of Here Comes the Sun, a New York Times Notable Book and winner of the Lambda Literary Award. Born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, she teaches at Princeton and lives with her wife in Brooklyn, New York. Episode Credits:This episode was produced by Andrew Dunn and Amanda Stern. It was edited, mixed and sound-designed by Andrew Dunn who also created Bookable's chill vibe.  Our host is Amanda Stern. Beau Friedlander is Bookable's executive producer and editor in chief of Loud Tree Media.  Music:"Books That Bounce" by Rufus Canis, "Uni Swing Vox" by Rufus Canis, "Hear Me Hear Me" by Davy Era, "Heavy Eyelids" by Lullatone, "Night Stroll" by Podium, "Get Away" by Rawsrvnt, "You and Me" by Keen Collective.

Greenlight celebrates the re-opening of its stores with a star-studded evening with many of our favorite authors, MC'ed by poet Saeed Jones!  Listen to Jia Tolentino read a nonfiction piece about her unborn child; Nathan Englander read from the beginning of his novel kaddish.com; Min Jin Lee read from an essay about public speaking from the New York Times; Jonathan Lethem surprise us by reading his poetry; Nicole Dennis-Benn read from her novel Patsy; Colson Whitehead read from his not-yet-published next novel Harlem Shuffle; Lev Grossman read from his forthcoming children's novel The Silver Arrow; Ann Patchett read from her piece about running an indie bookstore in a pandemic; Ta-Nehisi Coates read Richard Wright's poem "Between the World and Me"; Valeria Luiselli read a piece about listening to sirens with her ten-year-old; and Jennifer Egan read from her novel The Keep. (Recorded July 2, 2020)

Author of incredible novels ‘Here Comes the Sun’ and ‘Patsy’, Jamacian born writer Nicole Dennis Benn joins us this week to discuss colourism. A topic that she’s previously explored in both of her novels, Nicole reads an extract from an article she wrote on the colourism she was exposed to as a child. Having been witness to the glorification of skin bleaching in Jamaica, Nicole speaks on the long lasting impact of absorbing negative views about dark-skin, how writing has helped her heal and her hopes for dark-skinned black girls growing up today. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You know the end of Ari Lennox' 'Chicago Boy' where she asks everyone who is not her friend needs to leave? That's how this episode feels. Ashley, Jherane and Kristina have an intimate conversation about their experiences with churches, mental health, and of course books. A 20+ min bonus episode on the books we turn to when we're in a bad mental place is available to our patron members, become a member to get access to our private podcast stream: rebelwomenlit.com/join Books Mentioned: The Mothers by Brit Bennett Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams PATSY by Nicole Dennis Benn The Last Warner Woman by Kei Miller Augustown by Kei Miller Become a Patreon member of our book club: rebelwomenlit.com/join Shop books and merch: rebelwomenlit.com/store Follow us on Instagram and Twitter

From the award-winning novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn, Patsy is the brave and stirring saga of a Jamaican woman who upends her life for a new start in America, leaving her young child behind. Fellow author Alexander Chee calls Pasty a “stunningly powerful intergenerational novel about the price – the ransom really – women must pay to choose themselves, their lives, their value, their humanity”. Nicole joins Santilla Chingaipe to discuss her portrait of a queer black woman grasping for self-determination. A passionate and fiercely urgent story, Paty traces the silent threads of love that stretch across years and oceans. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm still on Cloud Nine after chatting with THE Nicole Dennis-Benn. This episode was one of the greatest milestones of my life and if you love 'Here Comes the Sun' and 'Patsy' as much as I do, you'll totally understand why. Nicole and her books are beloved by readers and aspiring and established writers around the world. And I love connecting with other readers who feel as passionately about these books as I do. Both books have received multiple awards, been on thousands of 'best books of 2016 and 2019' lists, and appear across social media literally every single day. It's such a beautiful thing to be a part of. Whether you started with 'Here Comes the Sun,' which was published in 2016, or 'Patsy,' which was published last June, you will absolutely fall in love with Nicole's beautiful ability to create worlds and characters that stay with you a very long time. In 'Here Comes the Sun,' we are transported to Montego Bay, Jamaica. The beautiful beaches and blue seas of Jamaica are present in this beautiful novel but it’s the four central characters - Margot, Thandi, Delores and Verdene - who live and work so hard to contribute to their community outside of ‘Paradise’ - that stay with you long after you close the book. During the day, Margot works at the front desk at the Palm Star Resort and at night, she sleeps with the hotel’s wealthiest guests. In Margot’s selfless effort to shield her 15-year-old sister, Thandi, from this life, she agrees to take on an opportunity for financial independence and freedom but also the chance to finally commit to Verdene, who she’s loved in secret for a long time. A secret Margot has kept from so many people, including her mother, Delores, who makes it very clear - through her words and actions - that she strongly disapproves of Margot’s choices. The journeys that these four women ultimately take are equal parts heartbreaking and beautiful. And Nicole’s second book, 'Patsy,' is another beautiful story about family, sacrifices, love and belonging. The book begins in Jamaica where we meet Patsy, who has just received her long-awaited American visa - her ticket and opportunity to leave Jamaica and join her friend, Cicely, who has been writing letters to Patsy from New York. These letters contain promises of a happier life, memories of young love, and glimpses of how they could spend this new life together. However, Patsy’s yearning for this new life with Cicely means that she will leave her five-year-old daughter, Tru behind. And while this isn’t an easy decision for Patsy, it’s her determination to love who she wants to on her own terms that ultimately helps her board the plane to America. But she arrives in Brooklyn to find that the promises from Cicely were merely words and so Patsy now has to work a variety of jobs to pay for a life she didn’t sign up for. I loved absolutely everything about this book, particularly the chapters from Tru’s perspective. Across 10+ years, we have the privilege of seeing Tru grow up, build a relationship with her father, Roy, and come to terms with her sexuality and identity. Both Patsy and Tru’s journeys are bittersweet - on the one hand, you want them to reunite but on the other hand, it is so beautiful to see them become the people they were always meant to be. Both books have a special place in my heart and it was an absolute honour to chat with Nicole about her books, her strong beautiful female characters and the importance of having Patsy’s name on a book cover. Buy Nicole's books here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/patsy/nicole-dennis-benn/9781786077103 https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/fiction-poetry/here-comes-the-sun,nicole-dennisbenn-9781786072399 https://www.greenlightbookstore.com/book/9781631492945 https://www.greenlightbookstore.com/book/9781631497896

In this award-winning novel, Jamaican author Nicole Dennis-Benn explores the lives of two sisters who are fifteen years apart, with eldest sister Margot working to help make a better life for the youngest by becoming a sex worker. Thandi, the younger sister battles with what's expected of her versus what she really wants for her life moving forward. The sisters' tales intertwine with the story of their abusive mother, Delores. This novel deals with the intricacies of love, race, colorism, wealth inequality, and the tourism industry on the beautiful island of Jamaica. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/sweetdreams_radio)

Author and professor Imani Perry interviews novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn for the paperback launch of her novel Patsy, in an evening that grapples with intergenerational trauma as well as embracing Black joy.  The energetic and inspiring conversation delves into Black women's identity, oppression, and power; post-colonialism and racism; mental health and its stigmas; sexual identity and freedom; the intersection of language and class; literary influences; and much more. (Recorded May 28, 2020)

Jenny welcomes Andrew to discuss books, and we discuss myth and folk tale retellings, classics, and reading around the world. Andrew finishes every book he starts and has been in the same book group for 20 years. Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 194: Squirreling Books Away Subscribe to the podcast via this link: FeedburnerOr subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: SubscribeOr listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Or listen via StitcherOr listen through Spotify New! Listen through Google Podcasts Books discussed: Middlemarch by George EliotThese Ghosts are Family by Maisy CardOld School by Tobias WolffThe Book of Longings by Sue Monk KiddSwansong by Kerry Andrew Other mentions:The Corpse Washer by Sinan AntoonThomas HardyD.H. LawrenceThe Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne BrontëShirley by Charlotte BronteJane AustenBBC Radio 4 - In Our Time podcastLiterary Disco PodcastSilas Marner by George EliotThe Mill on the Floss by George EliotThe Sound and the Fury by William FaulknerAs I Lay Dying by William FaulknerUlysses by James JoyceUlysses dramatisationWar and Peace by Leo TolstoyThe Eighth Life by Nino HarataschwiliSolar Bones by Mike McCormackMilkman by Anna BurnsThe Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Age 13 3/4 by Sue TownsendPatsy by Nicole Dennis-BennThe Shadow King by Maaza MengisteAn Untamed State by Roxane GayThe Secret History by Donna TarttRobert FrostAyn RandErnest HemingwayNew Yorker Podcast - Tobias WolffThe other Tobias WolfeMarian KeyesThe Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk KiddThe Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk KiddThe Gnostic Gospels by Elaine PagelsThe Da Vinci Code by Dan BrownMolly BrownFolk on Foot PodcastEverything Under by Daisy Johnson (and it's Oedipus, not Hansel and Gretel!)Country by Michael HughesThe Silence of the Girls by Pat BarkerA Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes The Prince of West End Avenue by Alan Isler (not available in USA)IraqiGirl: the Diary of a Teenage Girl in Iraq Related episodes:Episode 099 - Readalong: The Secret HistoryEpisode 176 - Best of 2019Episode 182 - Reading Slump with Eleanor Thoele Episode 192 - Sly Milieu with Thomas Stalk us online:Jenny at GoodreadsJenny on TwitterJenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and LitsyAndrew at GoodreadsAndrew is @andrew61 on Litsy

Welcome to another nostalgia-heavy episode of Books and the City! Today we're chatting all things TikTok, but mainly how we feel ATTACKED by the young people making their cool dance videos and ripping on millennials in the comments. If anyone can tell us where the youth's awkward phases went, that would be great. Stay tuned for some extremely exciting announcements, including exclusive Books and the City merch!! Plus, a shiny new website and our official hashtag as voted by our listeners. Then of course, the main event: we're talking all books Pride on this episode, to celebrate the final Monday of June's Pride Month. Read on for links, and check out bookshop.org/shop/booksandthecity to shop the books we’ve discussed on this episode, and all past episodes! Remember to check out our website at www.booksandthecitypod.com to order your merch (available through July 12, hurry!) If you want to drop us a line about the books we talked about in episode 14 or anything else, send a note to booksandthecitypod@gmail.com-------------> Emily just read: Real Life by Brandon Taylor (16:34-28:58) https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/594502/real-life-by-brandon-taylor/ Up next for Emily: The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta Becky just read: Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey (28:59-38:49) https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/572795/under-the-rainbow-by-celia-laskey/ Up next for Becky: This is Major by Shayla Lawson Libby just read:Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn (38:50-53:00) https://wwnorton.com/books/9781631492945 Up next for Libby: Hunger by Roxane Gay Kayla just read: Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins (53:01-59:15) https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/552378/her-royal-highness-by-rachel-hawkins/ Up next for Kayla: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black Merch: https://www.bonfire.com/store/books-and-the-city-pod/ Black Art Futures Fund: http://blackartfutures.org/ Music by EpidemicSound, logo art by @niczollos, all opinions our own.

On Nicole Dennis-Benn's Patsy, Ingrid Persaud's Love after Love and Sujata Massey's A Murder at Malabar Hill

Episode One Hundred Three Show Notes KEY: CW = Chris Wolak and EF = Emily Fine– Currently Reading –Chris dnf’d The Keep – Jennifer Egan (CW)Resurrection Bay (Caleb Zelic #1) – Emma Viskic (EF)Friends and Strangers – J. Courtney Sullivan (EF) release date June 30, 2020The Sun and the Moon: The Remarkable True Account of Hoaxers, Showmen, Dueling Journalists, and Lunar Man-Bats in Nineteenth-Century New York – Matthew Goodman (CW)A Biography of Loneliness: The History of an Emotion – Fay Bound Alberti (CW) (audio)– Just Read –Relish: My Life in the Kitchen – Lucy Knisley (EF)Redhead by the Side of the Road – Anne Tyler (EF)Three-Fifths – John Vercher (EF)– Lucky 13th Readalong discussion– Go, Went, Gone – Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Susan Bernofsky)The Goodreads discussion thread can be found HERE.James Wood’s review can be read here.Jenny Erpenbeck and Claire Messud in conversation.– (Couch) Biblio Adventures –We hosted our own biblio adventure, a virtual readalong discussion of Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck. If you would like to join us for future discussions please subscribe to our newsletter.Emily attended a Zoom event via RJ Julia Bookseller’s talking with Anna Solomon about her new novel The Book of V.Chris attended two virtual events: A Q&A with Jennifer Egan and Johnny Temple about her novel The Keep, you can watch it here. A conversation with Tim Gunn and Stacy Schiff about her book Cleopatra.– Upcoming Jaunts –Emily will be attending a virtual event via the Center for Fiction: Roxane Gay in conversation with Nicole Dennis-Benn about the paperback release of her novel Patsy.Roxane Gay is offering a free digital care package – check it out here.Chris will be attending the 65th Annual Willa Cather spring conference: Untethered Cather on the Cusp of the 1920’s on June 4-6, 2020. The focus is on Cather’s book of short stories Youth and the Bright Medusa.– Upcoming Reads –Chris is joining in The Sandy Point Correspondence Club and will be reading O Pioneers! by Willa CatherMemorial Drive: A Daughter’s Memoir – Natasha Trethewey (EF) release date 7/28/20Dear Emmie Blue – Lia Louis (EF) release date 7/14/20Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close – Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman (EF) release date 7/14/20– Author Spotlight with Emma Viskic –Emma is the author of the Caleb Zelic series: Resurrection Bay, And Fire Came Down, and Darkness for Light You can learn more about Emma Viskic HERE.Emma toured the United States with fellow Aussie writers: Jock Serong, Sulari Gentill, Robert Gott– Also Mentioned –Also by Jennifer Egan: A Visit from the Goon Squad and Manhattan BeachAlso by J. Courtney Sullivan: Maine, Saints for All Occasions, The Engagements, CommencementTwilight – Stephenie MeyerWuthering Heights – Emily BronteClaire MessudThe Trial – Kafka FranzCall Your Girlfriend PodcastAmerican Writers MuseumAustralian Women Writers ChallengePurchase Book Cougars Swag on Zazzle!We are an affiliate of Bank Square Books and Savoy Bookstore & Café. Please purchase books from them and support us at the same time. Click HERE to start shopping.If you’d like to help financially support the Book Cougars, please consider becoming a Patreon member. You can DONATE HERE. If you would prefer to donate directly to us, please email bookcougars@gmail.com for instructions.Join our Goodreads Group!We have a BookTube Channel – please check it out here, and be sure to subscribe!Please subscribe to our email newsletter here.

This week, Khadieme and Robert take a look at a transnational work of literature that combines a host of characters that love pure mix up and blend blend, and a plot with a queer twist. of course, we’re talking about none other than Nicole Dennis-Benn's novel, Patsy. Special Bonus: Stush an' Bush will giveaway a paperback version of Patsy, which Is releasing this May 2020! Share a clip and tag us your Instagram story for a chance to win the paperback version of Patsy! CW/TW: Sexual assault 1:05:00-1:10:00

Is it ok to “feel a way” when a Caribbean author doesn’t use our language and our culture in their work? We love reading novels and poetry from the Caribbean, especially ones written by Jamaican authors, but are we demanding in our expectations? Also, wtf is magical realism? Become a Patreon member of our book club: patreon.com/rebelwomenlit  Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter: tinyletter.com/rebelwomenlit Follow us on IG & Twitter: @RebelWomenLit  Books Mentioned in This Episode: Augustown by Kei Miller The Cartographer Tries To Map a Way to Zion by Kei Miller The Book of Night Women by Marlon James  John Crow's Devil by Marlon James A Tall History of Sugar by Curdella Forbes The Sun is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon  PATSY by Nicole Dennis Benn  Here Comes The Sun by Nicole Dennis Benn

Home is that place we are either running to or running away from. This conversation is with the esteemed, multi-award winning Jamaican novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn. Nicole is the multi-award winning author of Here Comes the Sun (2016) and Patsy (2019). We met-up in a cafe in Kingston, Jamaica to discuss life and the role of home in shaping each of our identities as well as the identities of her captivating fictional characters. When we sat down in February and chatted though, we could not have anticipated all of the ways that home would become more complicated, especially for women. We are presently in a time of pandemic, such that staying home could save your life. And despite the "modern times," the majority of the home and house work duties still fall on the shoulders of women. So, in honor of the poets in the kitchen who do the housework — both the paid and the unpaid — I dedicate this episode to Patsy, Paule Marshall, and all the women in between. This is For Posterity.

Kala returns and this time she just started a new book club, so we chat about that before moving on to other reads we've experienced lately. A little romance, a little comedy, a little history, a little reading in translation.Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 184: Theme Night at Book Club with KalaSubscribe to the podcast via this link: FeedburnerOr subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: SubscribeOr listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Listen via StitcherNEW! Listen through Spotify Books discussed: If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlaneTruth or Beard by Penny ReidThese Ghosts are Family by Maisy Cardb, Book, and Me by Kim Sagwa, translated by Sunhee JeongDon't Put the Boats Away by Ames SheldonOther mentions:Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur JaswalPatsy by Nicole Dennis-BennSugar in the Blood by Andrea StuartThe Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara CollinsWashington Black by Esi EdugyanMina by Kim Sagwa The Island of Sea Women by Lisa SeeThe Vanishing Half by Brit BennettThe Mothers by Brit BennettLoving Donovan by Bernice McFaddenThe Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn JoukhadarThe Last Taxi Driver by Lee DurkeeKnitting the Fog by Claudia D. Hernandez   Stalk us online:Jenny at GoodreadsKala on TwitterJenny on TwitterKala on FacebookKala's blog, Reader then Blogger Kala is @ReaderthenBlogger on InstagramJenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and Litsy

Jessica and I are superfans of the Morning News Tournament of Books, and have participated as readers for several years. We are not official partners of the Tournament, nor does it belong to us, but we are hopeful that all involved will take this as a fancast and that readers who haven't heard of it will participate next time. Both of us have encountered books through the Tournament we would never have read otherwise. In this bonus episode, we focus on the books from this year's Tournament (both the long and shortlist) but also end up talking about some highlights from previous years. Ready your brackets, this is the only madness happening in March!Download or listen via this link: Reading Envy 183: Birthing Rabbits with Jessica.Subscribe to the podcast via this link: FeedburnerOr subscribe via Apple Podcasts by clicking: SubscribeOr listen through TuneIn Or listen on Google Play Listen via StitcherListen through Spotify Books discussed:Most books will be best viewed here on the Tournament of Books site2020 bracketToB 2020 ShortlistToB 2020 Longlist (this is your 2020 reading list!)Other mentions:Cantoras by Carolina di RobertisThe Museum of Modern Love by Heather RoseCity of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth GilbertA Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer EganThe Orphan Master's Son by Adam JohnsonThe Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWittWhite Tears by Hari KunzruMay We Be Forgiven by A.M. HomesHill William by Scott McClanahanCrapalachia by Scott McClanahanThe Sarah Book by Scott McClanahanExit West by Mohsin HamidStephen Florida by Gabe HabashThe Nickel Boys by Colson WhiteheadRed at the Bone by Jacqueline WoodsonBangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya SudbanthadA Girl Returned by Donatella di PietrantonioSabrina & Corina: Stories by Kaji Fajardo-AnstineOlive Kitteridge by Elizabeth StroutOlive, Again by Elizabeth StroutMy Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth StroutVery Nice by Marcy DermanskyPatsy by Nicole Dennis-BennDucks, Newburyport by Lucy EllmanA Woman is No Man by Etaf RumSave Me the Plums by Ruth ReichlThe Sympathizer by Viet Thanh NguyenThe Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine ArdenThe Dutch House by Ann Patchett Related episodes:Episode 110 - The Accidental Love Episode with Casey StepaniukEpisode 150 - Rife with Storytelling with SaraEpisode 163 - Fainting Goats with LaurenEpisode 166 - On Brand with KarenEpisode 167 - Book Pendulum with ReggieEpisode 175 - Reading on Impulse with Marion HillEpisode 178 - Precarious Pile with Ruth(iella)Stalk us online:Jenny at GoodreadsJessica at Goodreads Jenny on TwitterJenny is @readingenvy on Instagram and LitsyJessica is @the bluestocking on Litsy

"I’ve noticed that there is a strange hierarchy of handholding that dictates who gets to express physical affection without repercussions," Nicole Dennis-Benn writes in this week's Modern Love story. It's read by 15-time Grammy Award winning artist Alicia Keys, whose new single is called "Show Me Love."

“Just two years shy of thirty, Patsy has nothing to show for it besides the flimsy brown envelope that she uses to shade herself from the white-hot glare of the sun. the envelope contains all her papers — from birth certificate to vaccination records. But most importantly, it carries her dream, a dream every Jamaican of a certain social ranking shares: boarding an airplane to America. For the destination, and for the ability to fly.” – Nicole Dennis-Benn Patsy is a book that chronicles the life of the protagonist Patsy, who leaves Jamaica to chase the America dream. Her leaving for ‘green pastures' means leaving her daughter behind. This shock is a wonderful plot device as it forces readers to examine their socialised understanding of motherhood and what ideal mothering looks like. Throughout the story, we were taken on a haunting journey that both answers and asks questions about those who make the pilgrimage for a better life and those who stay. This is an immigrant story but not for the western gaze. In a true reflection of her prodigious talent, Nicole confronts difficult themes with grace and humanity asking the readers to push themselves beyond their ideas of what it takes to make a difficult decision. In a poignant, thoughtful and exciting podcast, The Cheeky Natives sat with the brilliant Nicole Dennis-Benn to explore the themes of isolation, abandonment, immigration, the ‘American dream', racism, homophobia and the challenges of being Black, alive and queer in any space. In some parts, this conversation was an exploration of the weight it takes to be a difficult woman making selfish decisions and in many other parts, it was excavation on the intersection of race, sexuality, immigration and the weight of becoming. Nicole Dennis-Benn is a brilliant writer giving voice and documenting the untold stories of the ‘undocumented'. In this conversation, The Cheeky Natives excavated her politics, writing and what it means to hold the weight of an entire community's expectation. Her previous debut was ‘Here comes the sun' which was heralded as exploitation of racism, sexuality and other difficult themes. She continues to do the important work in her sophomore novel. Fresh off her second visit to Open Book Festival in Cape Town, The Cheeky Natives were thrilled to have this conversation before the launch of her latest work in Johannesburg. A review in the New York Times affirms that “You'll come to know Nicole Dennis-Benn's characters as intimately as you would a lover. They are refined in their humanity and depth.”

In this episode, Nicole Dennis-Benn and Dr. Jen Gunter each recommend a personal favorite read. This episode is sponsored by The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett and Circe by Madeline Miller. You can subscribe to Recommended in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your podcast player of choice. The show can also be found on Stitcher. A transcript of this episode is available here. BOOKS Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn The Yellow House by Sarah Broom Heavy by Kiese Laymon Toni Morrison Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout Zora Neale Hurston The Vagina Bible by Dr. Jen Gunter Watership Down by Richard Adams The Plague Dogs and Shardik Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Here at The Weekly Reader, we are big fans of literature, no matter how you choose to consume it. On this edition of the show, our book critic Marion Winik previews two new novels that sound as good as they read: Nicole Dennis-Benn's Patsy, and Curtis Sutterfeld's You Think It, I'll Say It. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We discuss Watch Us Rise by Renée Watson and Ellen Hagan. Molly spends the middle of the episode embodying the character Chelsea. Molly suggests The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer, Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)by Lev AC Rosen, I Kill The Mockingbird by Paul Acampora, and How I Resist: Activism and Hope for a New Generation by Maureen Johnson Lindsey suggests The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart, Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu. Cash Money suggests Can We All Be Feminists?: New Writing from Brit Bennett, Nicole Dennis-Benn, and 15 Others on Intersectionality, Identity, and the Way Forward for Feminism edited by June Eric-Udorie, and the show Chambers on Netflix.

In a special segment recorded live at Austin Central Public Library, Clay interviews pioneering novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn about writing women’s lives and the inspiration for her powerful sophomore novel, Patsy, “a profound book about sexuality, gender, race, and immigration that speaks to the contemporary moment” (starred review). Then our editors offer their reading recommendations for the week, with books by Brian Floca, Sam Quinones, Jim Ottaviani (ill. Leland Myrick), and Colson Whitehead.

Author Nicole Dennis-Benn discusses her latest novel, Patsy, why she initially judged her title character and what fascinates her about women who make unpopular choices.

We're back at the Book Expo America for a live panel filled with candid conversation. Will sits down with authors Aarti Shahani, Stephen Chbosky and Nicole Dennis-Benn to discuss a book that changed their lives, as well as their own works. For more great stories from Macmillan Podcasts, subscribe to our newsletter at http://bit.ly/mpnnewsletter.  -- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicole Dennis-Benn reads from her novel Patsy, published in June by Liveright.

Here Comes the Sun, Nicole Dennis-Benn's debut novel about a young Jamaican struggling to protect her sister and village as she experiences feelings for another woman, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the New York Public Library's Young Lions Fiction Award and was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, among other honors. Her new novel, Patsy, follows an undocumented Jamaican immigrant's travails in Brooklyn. Rebecca Makkai's books include The Borrower, Music for Wartime, and The Hundred-Year House, which won a Book of the Year Award from the Chicago Writers Association. Her stories have appeared in Harper's, Tin House, and The Best American Short Stories, among other publications. Shortlisted for the National Book Award and winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal, Makkai's latest novel interweaves fine art, the tragedy of the 1980s and '90s AIDS crisis, and the tumult of the contemporary world. (recorded 6/6/2019)

Nicole Dennis-Benn is a Lambda Literary Award winner and New York Foundation for the Arts Artist Fellowship recipient. She's also a finalist for the 2016 John Leonard Prize National Book Critics Circle Award, the 2016 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and the 2017 Young Lions Fiction Award for her debut novel, Here Comes the Sun— a New York Times Notable Book of the year, an NPR, Amazon, Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2016. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Elle, Electric Literature, Ebony, and the Feminist Wire. She was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica, and lives with her wife in Brooklyn, New York. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Liberty discusses a few great older books, including The Zigzag Girl. This episode is sponsored by Libro.fm.  Subscribe to All the Books! using RSS or Apple Podcasts and never miss a beat book. Sign up for the weekly New Books! newsletter for even more new book news. Books discussed on the show: Dealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera The Education of Margo Sanchez by Lilliam Rivera The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths The Zigzag Girl by Elly Griffiths The River by Peter Heller Celine by Peter Heller The Last Woman in the Forest by Diane Les Becquets Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn Patsy by Nicole Dennis-Benn

Weed is now legal in St. Vincent, homosexuality is decriminalized in Angola, and the American government still in shambles. This shut down has causes flights to be delayed, cancelled, and rerouted. Florida is contemplating passing a bill to determine what women should do with their bodies, and men are still being pervy. Big up to the women doing amazing things in the world; Christina Chang, Nicole Dennis-Benn, and Latin America’s first black female Vice President Epsy Campbell Barr, to name a few. TVJ nightly news says goodbye to Dorraine Samuels as she retires after nearly 40 years in broadcasting. On this episode the poem “When a Nigga Calls You a Faggot” by Jay Dodd was read, from Nepantla. To help rebuild “Rainbow House” Equality Youth JA headquarters, send donations to https://www.gofundme.com/rebuildingjflag For donations to support purchasing beds for Kingston Public & Jubilee Hospital in Jamaica visit https://www.gofundme.com/Jamaicans4Jamaica Send questions, suggestions, concerns, short stories, and poems to: AskPointlesss@gmail.com Visit us on www.flyaffairnation.net/pointlessstalkspodcast Follow, like, and subscribe to listen on Google Play Music, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, Tune In Radio, and Spotify, by typing “Pointlesss Talks” into the search bar. We can be found on twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @PointlesssTalks.

Discussion Notes: Here Comes the Sun In August we read Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn. Next month we will read Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan. Rated: Explicit This week the bookclub makes due with just Gerald and Anais! In spite of scheduling conflicts and the hurricane in Hawaii, the discussion  went on! Our two... The post Here Comes the Sun | Nicole Dennis-Benn | Literary Roadhouse Bookclub Ep 19 appeared first on Literary Roadhouse.

Wrapping up June with more Pride talk, including the first ever NYC LGBTQ Homeless Shelter. Protect the youth, why are so many involved in violence? We still need to educate people on racism and rape? Name drops include Capleton, Nicole Dennis-Benn, Mavado, Xxxtentacion, Nicki Minaj, & Hood Celebrityy.

Women and Words Overview 7-13 April 2018 Andi was outta control last week at ClexaCon and she’s totally sorry that she just couldn’t get it together to do a podcast last week. SO HERE’S THIS ONE! You guys, Jove finished her latest novel! WOOO! It’s on its way to a beta read. And Women and Wordster Val got accepted to 2 universities, including Columbia! WOOO! And Jove and Andi got up on soapboxes about things that will totally make some people uncomfortable, but it’s stuff that we all need to talk about.   7 April: Women and  Wordster Ann Etter joined us with a list of funny books as she slogs through tax season. Women and Words link HERE   8 April: Author Randi Triant stopped by to chat a bit about her debut novel, The Treehouse, but also  to chat about another author whose work she admires. Women and Words link HERE Randi Triant’s website   9 April: Author and Women and Wordster Jessie Chandler brings a tale of something icky that happened at a coffee house, but it’s inspired her to keep telling stories. Women and Words link HERE Jessie Chandler’s website   10 April: Life coach and Women and Wordster Angela Grace reminds us to get active and walking is a great way to do it. Especially at Disney World. Women and Words link HERE Find Angela here   11 April: Writer and Women and Wordster Val Agab reminds us that genre fiction is LEGIT. Women and Words link HERE Find Val on Tumblr   12 April: Author and Women and Wordster Fiona Zedde notes that not many white LGBTQ women will read books with black lesbian characters. Also, in the years RWA has been going, a black writer has never won a RITA. We need to fix that, people. Women and Words link HERE Fiona Zedde’s website   13 April:  Author and Women and Wordster Andi Marquette fangirled over ClexaCon, but also noticed something that dovetails with what Fiona said the day before. Women and Words link HERE Andi Marquette’s website Find Andi on Tumblr and Twitter   Also, in keeping with Andi and Jove’s exhortations to read outside your bubbles, Jove highly recommends the Lambda-winning novel Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis Benn and Andi suggests you check out this database of LGBTQ people of color romance writers. Let’s share the luv, y’all, and build more community!

Claire Fuller started writing to compete in a local short story slam. Then she started to win. Soon after, she earned an MA and has since written two novels, OUR ENDLESS NUMBERED DAYS and SWIMMING LESSONS. She and James talk about the torture of writing new material, the joy of editing, the reader response theory, and the practice of listening to music while writing. Plus, year-end reading recommendations from some of 2017's guests!    Claire Fuller: https://clairefuller.co.uk/ Claire and James discuss: Penguin Books  Tin House Books  Masie Cochran  Fuzzy Felt Green  WE HAVE ALWAYS LIVED IN THE CASTLE by Shirley Jackson  THE THINGS THEY CARRIED by Tim O'Brien  THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER by Carson McCullers  HOUSEKEEPING by Marilynne Robinson  LEGEND OF A SUICIDE by David Vann  Iron & Wine  Sam Beam  Townes van Zandt  TURN OUT THE LIGHTS (album) by Julien Baker  Margot Livesey  SOY SAUCE FOR BEGINNERS by Kirstin Chen NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (dir by Coens) THERE WILL BE BLOOD (dir by PT Anderson)  MICHAEL CLAYTON (dir by Tony Gilroy)  ZODIAC (dir by David Fincher)  IDAHO by Emily Ruskovich   A SEPARATION by Katie Kitamura  - Year-End Recommendations from: Annie Hartnett, author of RABBIT CAKE:  THE HISTORY OF WOLVES by Emily Fridlund THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY by Hannah Tinti  BORNE by Jeff VanderMeer  MOTHERIST by Kristen Iskandrian  THE MOTHERS by Brit Bennett  PERFECT LITTLE WORLD by Kevin Wilson  GOD, THE MOON, AND OTHER MEGAFAUNA by Kellie Wells  ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy    Anne Valente, author of OUR HEARTS WILL BURN US DOWN: THE ANIMATORS by Kayla Rae Whitaker SING, UNBURIED, SING by Jesmyn Ward  THE HOUR OF LAND by Terry Tempest Williams    Tim Weed, author of A FIELD GUIDE TO MURDER AND FLY FISHING: ANNA KARENINA by Leo Tolstoy  HAVANA GOLD by Leonardo Pedura    Robert Repino, author of D'ARC: THE ART OF COMIC BOOK WRITING by Mark Kneece  THE NEST by Kenneth Oppel    Amy P. Knight, author of LOST, ALMOST:  STEPHEN, FLORIDA by Gabe Habash THE GOLDFINCH by Donna Tartt  OUTLINE by Rachel Kusk    Rachel Cantor, author of GOOD ON PAPER: WE THE DROWNED by Carsten Jensen  THE LONG DRY by Cynan Jones  HOMESICK FOR ANOTHER WORLD by Ottessa Moshfegh  THE OLD FILTH TRILOGY by Jane Gardham TUESDAY NIGHTS IN 1980 by Molly Prentiss  STORIES OF YOUR LIFE by Ted Chiang  THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY by Hannah Tinti  MEMOIR OF A POLAR BEAR by Yoko Tawada    Michael Farris Smith, author of DESPERATION ROAD:  STONER by John Williams  THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD dir by Andrew Dominik   Kelly J. Ford, author of COTTONMOUTHS:  THE FACT OF A BODY by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich  HERE COMES THE SUN by Nicole Dennis-Benn  A SEAT AT THE TABLE (album) by Solange    Daniel Wallace, author of EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES: HEATING & COOLING: 52 MICRO-MEMOIRS by Beth Ann Fennelly THE BOOK OF RESTING PLACES: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF WHERE WE LAY THE DEAD by Thomas Mira y Lopez  - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/

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Maryalice and Julia talk to Nicole Dennis-Benn about her debut novel, Here Comes the Sun. The book follows the lives of a mother and her two daughters in Montego Bay, Jamaica and exposes challenges involving race, class, and the tourism industry. Plus some historical chatter featuring an unsung hero of the American Revolution!

Nicole Dennis-Benn discusses her debut novel, Here Comes the Sun, and why she wanted to show the Jamaica that tourists rarely see. She also explains the meaning of the title, which has nothing to do with the Beatles.

As he prepares to follow up his novels A LAND MORE KIND THAN HOME and THIS DARK ROAD TO MERCY, Wiley Cash tells James how touring, independent booksellers, and sales reps worked together to make him a success. They talk about Southern fiction, writing about place, and the subject of his next book, due out Fall 2017. Then, past guests give recommendations for 2016.     Wiley and James discuss: The Odyssey Bookshop BEAUTIFUL RUINS by Jess Walter  BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK by Ben Fountain  BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH CHE GUEVARA by Ben Fountain  Thomas Wolfe  Charles Chesnutt  Nat Sobel (agent)  CRAB ORCHARD REVIEW  ELLEN FOSTER by Kaye Gibbons  TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee  I AM ONE OF YOU FOREVER by Fred Chappell  Ernest Gaines  Clyde Edgerton  Jill McCorkle  Woody Guthrie  Ella May Wiggins  Pete Seeger  James Fenimore Cooper  Frank Norris  - Sarah Domet Recommends:  SHOUTING WON'T HELP by Katherine Bouton  THE NIX by Nathan Hill  THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS by Laurie Frankel  - Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes Recommends:  QUEEN OF THE NIGHT by Alexander Chee  HERE COMES THE SUN by Nicole Dennis-Benn  THE WINTERLINGS by Cristina Sanchez-Andrade  LAND OF LOVE AND RUINS by Oddny Eir  MARGARET THE FIRST by Danielle Dutton  -  Jesse Donaldson Recommends:  THE FAR EMPTY by J. Todd Scott BUTCHER'S CROSSING by John Williams LONESOME DOVE by Larry McMurtry  HOMEGOING by Yaa Gyasi BORN TO RUN by Bruce Springsteen  THE GIFT by Lewis Hyde  - Howard Axelrod Recommends:  MOBY DICK by Herman Melville  THE WEST WING (tv show)  - Laura van den Berg Recommends:  WHAT IS YOURS IS NOT YOURS by Helen Oyeyemi  WE SHOW WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED by Clare Beams  THE UNFINISHED WORLD by Amber Sparks  - Mona Awad Recommends:  HAGSEED by Margaret Atwood  IN-BETWEEN DAYS by Teva Harrison  THE VEGETARIAN by Han Kang  - Daniel Torday Recommends:  Rebecca Curtis's short stories including "The Christmas Miracle"  GET IN TROUBLE by Kelly Link  FOR THE TIME BEING by Annie Dillard  - http://tkpod.com / tkwithjs@gmail.com / Twitter: @JamesScottTK Instagram: tkwithjs / Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tkwithjs/  

First Draft interview with Nicole Dennis-Benn

Nicole Dennis-Benn is the author of the highly acclaimed debut novel, Here Comes the Sun, a New York Times Editors' Choice, which has received a starred Kirkus Review and is deemed one of the best books to read this summer and beyond by New York Times, NPR, BBC, BuzzFeed, Book Riot, Bookish, Miami Herald, Elle, O Magazine, Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly, Flavorwire, After Ellen, BookPage, Cosmopolitan, Brooklyn Magazine, among others. Dennis-Benn has also been shortlisted for the 2016 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicole Dennis-Benn is the guest. Her debut novel Here Comes the Sun is available now from Liveright. It is the official September pick of The Nervous Breakdown Book Club. In today's monologue, I talk about my novel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Epigraph Episode nine has finally dropped! We speak with the lovely and talented Benjamin Rybeck, Marketing Director and Events Coordinator at Brazos Bookstore and author of The Sadness.   Introduction   [0:30] In Which Emma and Kim Have a Sponsor and Make Terrible Puns, Plus Ben Invents the Phrase “Page Turner” Currently drinking: screwdirvers with Stolichnaya, inspired by Sabbath’s Theater by Philip Roth This episode is actually brought to you by a sponsor! Books & Whatnot is an excellent and informative newsletter for booksellers; it’s quick to read and filled with tips! Brought to you by Beth Golay. Check out the newsletter archive here. Follow on Twitter at @booksandwhatnot. Ben is reading: Nick Flynn’s memoirs, Maggie Nelson, The Other Side by Lacy Johnson, and Madeline E. by Gabriel Blackwell Shout-out to cool indie publisher: Outpost 19! Emma is reading: … spreadsheets? No, but seriously, she finally started Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel—but also the apocalypse causes her some anxiety, so she might have put it down. Kim is reading: Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Shrill by Lindy West When Kim started reading Uprooted, Emma was like Kim recalls possibly the best customer interaction ever, in which a male teacher from an all-girls school requests recs for a primer on feminism; Shrill by Lindy West, We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozie Adiche, and Rad American Women A-Z by Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl (illus.) are among her recs. New & Forthcoming Books We’re Excited About Underground Airlines by Ben Winters (pubs July 5 2016) The Well-Stocked and Gilded Cage by Lawrence Lenhart (pubs Aug 2 2016) Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn (pubs July 19 2016) The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan (pubs July 19 2016) Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty by Ramona Ausubel The Crimson Skew by S.E. Grove (pubs July 12 2016) Collections: Birds Bones and Butterflies by Leah Sobsey (pubs July 12 2016) What do you do when a customer asks for a happy read?  Emma tries to make them into a romance reader and, if that fails, recommends Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. Kim recommends graphica (though Emma’s first three thoughts when she says graphica are Watchmen, Persepolis, and Fun Home—not the happiest of reads…) Chapter I   [21:21] In Which Ben Walks Into a Bookstore and Receives a Job, Coins the term “litizen,” and Says the Word Smartypants a Lot. Plus Emma Freaks Out About Events Coordinators/Drunk Booksellers’ Guests Not Reading Harry Potter Longfellow Books of Portland, Maine was Ben’s childhood bookstore. We discuss the joy of bookstores, record stores, and video stores—half-retail and half-cultural places where you go to meet friends and discover gems. Ben’s advice for getting a job at a bookstore? Walk into said bookstore with no intention of getting a job (it worked for him!) Learn more about Brazos Bookstore here. They do “down and dirty highbrow” bookselling. In Houston this summer? Here are a couple fun things going on: Houston Shakespeare Festival Summer of Kubrick Have you heard about this new Harry Potter book coming out? Kim imagines that it will be mostly about ennui of adulthood, and compares it to Ben’s book The Sadness.  Chapter II   [37:46] In Which Ben Pitches His Book Succinctly—It’s a Book About Film and Failure— and We Discuss Adulting “Booksellers as adults is a strange thing; you’re asking people to become adults and go out into the world where their primary relationship to anything in their lives has been sitting alone in a room…that’s not going to end well.” Chapter III   [44:34] In Which We Speculate Alice Munroe’s Drinking Habits, Declare Adult Connect-the-Dots as The Next Big Thing, And Bring Up the Fact That Ben Hasn’t Read Harry Potter Again Ben wants to drink with John Updike to see if he’s as insufferable a person as Ben finds him as a writer. Kim mocks his reasoning. His second choice is Alice Munroe (who may or may not listen to this podcast? We’re pretty sure she doesn’t. But we can dream.) Ben’s bookseller confession is he doesn’t keep up with trends—but it’s ok, Emma and Kim haven’t read Knausgaard or Ferrante either. Ben’s Station Eleven/Wild/Desert Island Books 2666 by Roberto Bolaño Collected Stories of Joy Williams How to Read a Film by James Monaco Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace ALL the Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling Go-to Handsells Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson Faces in the Crowd, The Story of My Teeth, and Sidewalks by Valeria Luiselli Impossible Handsells Thrown by Kerry Howley (shout-out to the awesome small press,Sarabande Books) Don’t Suck, Don’t Die by Kristin Hersh  Chapter IV   [1:01:12] In Which We Talk About Where We Can Be Found On the Internets & Remind You of Our Awesome Sponsor (Books & Whatnot) Shout out to Kramer Books in Washington, DC Hey, remember Books & Whatnot? Ben subscribes, we subscribe, and you should subscribe too! Check out Ben on twitter at @BenjaminRybeck or give him a shout atben@brazosbookstore.com. Don’t forget to read his book, The Sadness, which has been compared to the new Harry Potter book (by Kim, on this episode). Did you know you can enjoy our wit and charm on Twitter? Follow us at @drunkbookseller. Kim also occasionally tweets from @finaleofseem. Emma can be found at @thebibliot and also on Book Riot, where she writes articles which are both nerdy and informative! If you know a bookseller who would love to spend a few hours drinking and chatting with us, have them shoot us an email at drunkbooksellers@gmail.com. Finally, if you like the show, you can rate/review us on iTunes & subscribe using your favorite podcatcher.