Poets & Writers Theater
Every day we share a new clip of interest to creative writers—author readings, book trailers, publishing panels, craft talks, and more. So grab some popcorn, filter the theater tags by keyword or genre, and explore our sizable archive of literary videos.
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“She wasn’t sure if we were real, but nothing about us felt false.” Akwaeke Emezi, a 2018 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree nominated by Carmen Maria Machado, reads from their debut novel, Freshwater (Grove Press, 2018). The novel has been longlisted for the 2019 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction.
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“Then, before you’re gone, you know that all that’s ever been will still be, even if there are no tomorrows.” Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, a 2018 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree nominated by Colson Whitehead, reads the last page of his story “Through the Flash” from his debut story collection, Friday Black (Mariner Books, 2018).
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“Mom always went up the mountain and down the valley so I decide that’s what we’ll do too.” Lydia Kiesling, a 2018 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree, reads from her debut novel, The Golden State (MCD, 2018), for the ZYZZYVA series at Green Apple Books on the Park in San Francisco.
Tags: Fiction | Lydia Kiesling | The Golden State | MCD | 2018 | reading | ZYZZYVA | Green Apple Books | National Book Foundation | 5 Under 35 -
Weike Wang speaks with Mary Laura Philpott of A Word on Words about her debut novel, Chemistry (Knopf, 2017), and why her main character doesn’t have a name. Wang is a 2017 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree and a recipient of a 2018 Whiting Award in fiction.
Tags: Fiction | Weike Wang | Chemistry | Knopf | 2017 | A Word on Words | 5 Under 35 | National Book Foundation | Whiting Award -
In this video, Halle Butler reads her short story “The Restaurant Business” alongside her illustrations at the Brain Frame performative comics and zine series in Chicago. Butler is the author of the debut novel, Jillian (Curbside Splendor, 2015), and a 2017 National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 honoree.
Tags: Fiction | Halle Butler | The Restaurant Business | Jillian | Curbside Splendor | 2015 | 2017 | National Book Foundation | 5 Under 35 -
Angela Flournoy reads from her debut novel, The Turner House (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015), and speaks about family, food, and her writing process for Well-Read Black Girl. Flournoy is one of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 for 2015.
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Megan Kruse reads from her debut novel, Call Me Home (Hawthorne Books, 2015), for the Burnt Tongue reading series in Portland, Oregon. Kruse is one of the honorees for the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 for 2015.
Tags: 2015 | reading | 5 Under 35 | Hawthorne Books | Megan Kruse | Call Me Home | Burnt Tongue | Fiction -
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi reads from her novel Fra Keeler (Dorothy, 2012) at an event for the BONK! performance series in Racine, Wisconsin. The author is one of the honorees for the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 for 2015.
Tags: reading | 2012 | 5 Under 35 | Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi | Fra Keeler | Dorothy, a Publishing Project | Fiction -
"As readers we can't simply witness or observe a book from afar—we have to live inside it, we have to go through it, and every time we do, we expand a version of our own lives." Carrie Brownstein talks about the relationship between readers, books, and writers in her introduction to the 2013 National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 ceremony. Brownstein's debut memoir, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl (Riverhead Books, 2015), is featured in Page One in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
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Tracy O'Neill's debut novel, published by Ig Publishing, explores the life of a sixteen-year-old ice skating prodigy after a traumatic injury. O'Neill is one of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 for 2015.
Tags: 2015 | Tracy O'Neill | Ig Publishing | The Hopeful | book trailer | 5 Under 35 | Fiction -
Valeria Luiselli talks about the inspiration for her books Sidewalks and Faces in the Crowd, both translated from Spanish by Christina MacSweeney and published earlier this year by Coffee House Press. Luiselli was recently named one of the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 for 2014.
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Phil Klay, a former U.S. Marine, reads from his debut book, Redeployment (Penguin, 2014), a collection of stories whose characters are veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The book is on the longlist for the 2014 National Book Award in Fiction.
Tags: 2014 | National Book Award | Penguin | 5 Under 35 | OPB | Redeployment | Phil Klay | short story | Fiction -
The debut author, who is interviewed by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Paul Harding as part of "First Fiction 2013" in the current issue, talks about her first novel, We Need New Names, which was published in May by Reagan Arthur Books. Read an excerpt from the novel in our 2013 First Fiction Sampler.
Tags: interview | 5 Under 35 | 2013 | July/August 2013 | First Fiction 2013 | Reagan Arthur Books | NoViolet Bulawayo | We Need New Names | Fiction -
This trailer for Alex Gilvarry's From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant, forthcoming from VIking in January, has a little fun with the debut novel's rather long (and memorable?) title.
Tags: Viking | book trailer | 2012 | 5 Under 35 | Alex Gilvarry | From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant | Fiction