Literary Figures: Novelists

Novelist Rita Mae Brown's newest novel "Sudden Death" is set in the world of women's professional tennis. Brown herself was a tennis player before becoming a writer. The novel also deals with the issue of lesbian athletes in the sport. Brown joins the show to discuss the novel and the sport.

Margaret Atwood is a novelist and poet whose female protagonists have attracted women readers. Atwood considers herself a feminist writer and joins the show to discuss her life, career, and the women's movement. Her latest work is a collection of short stories titled "Dancing Girls."

"Seaview" is Toby Olson's second novel, and has been nominated for a Penn/Faulkner Award. The novel follows a golf hustler and dying woman who travel across the U. S. Olson is also well known as a poet, especially in the Philadelphia where he is an active member of the "poetry scene." Olson teaches at Temple University where he is developing a Master's degree program in creative writing.

Seymour Shubin is a novelist whose previous work "Anyone's My Name," was a best seller. Shubin is the former managing editor of Official Detective Stories, and has written for medical and psychological journalists. His new novel, "The Captain," is a suspense story that explores the anger and resentment a retired detective living in a nursing home feels towards the nurses, doctors, and the family members who put him there. The novel has been nominated for an Edgar Award.

Marge Piercy is a novelist. Her new book is titled "Braided Lives." She joins the show to discuss looking back on one's past, feminism, and her involvement in leftist politics.

Novelist Edmund White's newest work, "A Boy's Own Story," follows a young gay man growing up in the midwest in the 1950s. The novel has some autobiographical elements. White joins the show to discuss his life, growing up as a homosexual person, and his novel.

Thomas Keneally recently won the prestigious Booker prize for his novel "Schindler's List." The novel tells the story of German Industrialist Oskar Schindler who, in World War II, created "benign" work and concentration camps. The Australian novelist has published several novels, including "The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith," which has been made into a film.

Fresh Air broadcasts a lecture delivered by the legendary science fiction novelist. He opines on the role of technology in learning and the future progress of human civilization.

The novelist has a new novel set in Alabama which features, among other characters, two memorable prostitutes. Brown has also started writing for television. She talks about the increasing presence of gay people in mass media, and her own experiences as an out lesbian.

The author has a new novel called Mosquito Coast, which he describes as a family adventure novel in the tradition of Treasure Island. In fiction and real life, he is interested in the impulse to leave one's home country, either as a traveler or an immigrant.