As part of a fundraising effort to help Chicago independent bookstore Volumes Bookcafe during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, Rebecca Makkai enlisted over two dozen writers—including Kristen Arnett, Alexander Chee, Garth Greenwell, Andrew Sean Greer, Lauren Groff, Mira Jacob, Mitchell S. Jackson, R. O. Kwon, Victor LaValle, and Susan Orlean—to participate in a collective performance of the dance scene from John Hughes’s classic 1985 high school film, The Breakfast Club.  

In this video from the New York Public Library, 2018 National Book Awards finalists, including Rebecca Makkai, Hanne Ørstavik, and Jeffrey C. Stewart, sit down to answer questions about their favorite books and which fictional character they’d want to hang out with.

“You’re writing in total isolation. It’s like getting dressed in the dark, the complete dark, and then you have to go out on stage.” On Late Night With Seth Meyers, Rebecca Makkai discusses what it feels like to publish a book, the research behind her new novel, The Great Believers (Viking, 2018), and why she enjoys teaching MFA students. The Great Believers is longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award in fiction.