Terry Gross

Laurents, best known for writing the books for the landmark musicals Gypsy and West Side Story, died Thursday. Fresh Air remembers the writer and director with excerpts from a 1990 interview.

Stewart O'Nan's moodily comic novel, Emily, Alone, follows an 80-year-old woman as she navigates the minutia of everyday life. O'Nan explains how he got inside Emily's head -- and why he wanted to write about the daily indignities of getting older.

The veteran journalist's new novel takes place in an old-school print newsroom, not unlike the one where he worked. Hamill, a longtime columnist, reflects on changes in the news industry, and explains how columnists of his day differed from today's media bloggers.