Terry Gross

Eberts' company, Goldcrest Films produced both hits and flops. He helped fund movies like Chariots of Fire, Ghandi, and The Killing Fields. He formed his own firm in 1985, Allied Films, which produced Driving Miss Diasy. A new book about his career is called My Indecision is Final.

Author Anne Rice created the character Lestat, the antihero in her Vampire Chronicles novels. Rice switches her focus to witches in her new book, The Witching Hour.

Sportswriter Robert Peterson's new book is called Cages to Jump Shots. It's a history of the early years of basketball.

Village Voice rock critic Robert Christgau has a new guide to the best records of the 80s. He's also a fan of African music and rap, both of which he sees having a strong influence on new American music.

Arkoff co-founded American International Pictures, the company that churned out the great low-budget teen movies of the 50s, 60s, and 70s like "I Was a Teenage Werewolf," and "Blackula." The Film Forum in New York City is running a retrospective of AIP movies.

At 29, Brown decided to become an author, and taught himself fiction writing. He wrote five novels before one was finally published -- his debut, Dirty Work. He has a new collection of short stories, called Big Bad Love.

Medical writer Ann Giudici Fettner was celebrated by the gay community for her reporting on the AIDS crisis. She has a new book about other viral diseases called Viruses: Agents of Change.

Writer and editor Victor Navasky has been with The Nation since 1978. Now the magazine -- a "journal of commentary and dissent" -- is celebrating its 125th anniversary with a new anthology. Navasky talks about the Nation's editorial stand on the Gulf crisis and how the peace movement is responding to events.

Arias advocates for writers who dissent against repressive governments. He lives in the United States, but occasionally returns to his home country. His newest novel, After the Bombs, about a young boy growing up in a politically unstable Guatemala City, has just been published in English.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the adaptation of Mario Vargas Llosa's novel Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. The film was directed by Jon Amiel, and is set in New Orleans. Schiff says it's lost all the charm and complexity of its source material.