Literary Figures: Novelists

Writer Sarah Waters is the author of three novels which she calls "lesbo-Victorian romps." The lesbian-themed books are: Tipping the Velvet (about "a sort of Moll Flanders in drag"); Affinity (a historical book set in a Victorian women's prison); and Fingersmith (a gothic melodrama). Fingersmith was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Tipping the Velvet was made into a BBC miniseries and it will be shown on BBC America, beginning Friday, May 23.

She is the author of Crescent, a new book about a single Arab-American woman chef in Los Angeles. Her previous novel Arabian Jazz won the Oregon Book Award. Abu-Jaber grew up in America in a traditional Jordanian household. Abu-Jaber is a writer-in-residence at Portland State University.

This week he won his second Pulitzer Prize (the first was in 1999). He was cited for his "perceptive cartoons executed with a distinctive style and sense of humor." Many of the cartoons that earned him this recent prize poked fun at Bush administration policies. When he won the prize in 1999 many of his cartoons lampooned the Lewinsky-Clinton scandal. He has been the The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's editorial cartoonist since 1979. Horsey has four collections of his cartoons, the most recent is One Man Show.

We remember Cecile de Brunhoff, who died April 7 at the age of 99. It was the bedtime story she made up and told her sons in 1930 that became the basis for the world-famous Babar the Elephant stories. Her husband, Laurent de Brunhoff, wrote down the story and provided the illustrations. Terry talked with their son, author and illustrator Laurent de Brunhoff, who followed in his father's footsteps, and has written and drawn the continuing adventures of Babar the Elephant for the past 40 years. This interview first aired Feb. 28, 1990.

Novelist Scott Spencer. His newest book is "A Ship Made of Paper," and it's receiving critical acclaim. Our book critic, Maureen Corrigan, describes Spencer as a brilliant storyteller. Spencer is the author of seven previous novels, including "Endless Love" which sold over 2 million copies. He's also written for Rolling Stone, the New York Times and The New Yorker.

The author of 25th Hour. His book, about a former drug dealer in New York City out on the town on the eve of being sent to a penitentiary. It's the basis of the new Spike Lee film of the same name.

He is the author of the best-selling novels Clockers, about life in the inner-city world of drug dealing, and Freedomland. Price's new book Samaritan is about a man who returns as a teacher to the New Jersey town where he was raised, and the bad consequences of his good intentions. Price also is a screenwriter of such films as Sea of Love, Ransom and The Color of Money.

He is the author of the bestseller Boy Still Missing, which is now available in paperback. He relates the saga of getting his photograph taken.

He is one of New York's most notable spoken-word artists.

Czech writer Arnost Lustig is considered one of the country's most prominent writers. His new novel, Lovely Green Eyes, is the story of a 15-year-old girl in Auschwitz and the compromises she makes in order to stay alive. Lustig himself survived Theresienstadt, Auschwitz and Buchenwald camps. His family died in the gas chambers. Lustig teaches at American University in Washington, D.C. He is also featured in the new documentary Fighter, in which he and long-time friend Jan Wiener retrace wartime memories.