April’s SHELF TALKING celebrates National Poetry Month with three fantastic poets!Recorded live at Literati:–John McCarthy reads poems from his sophomore collection Scared Violent Like Horses.–Tracy Zeman reads a pair of long poems from her

Episode 30 – Grace Talusan and Alexander Weinstein (03/06/2020)

Mar 6th, 2020 55m 36s

Spring forward with an all-new SHELF TALKING!Recorded live at Literati:–Grace Talusan shares an excerpt from her memoir The Body Papers. –Alexander Weinstein reads the story “Infinite Realities” from his collection Universal Love. Shelf T

Episode 29 - Kiley Reid And Kate Wisel (02/07/2020)

Feb 7th, 2020 47m 57s

Been seeking great fiction for February? SHELF TALKING’s got you covered!Recorded live at Literati:–Kiley Reid chats with fellow novelist Julie Buntin about her New York Times-bestselling debut Such a Fun Age. –Kate Wisel reads two stories

Episode 28 - Aaron Hamburger, Dr. Tia Powell, and Ayelet Tsabari (01/03/2020)

Jan 3rd, 2020 57m 33s

*Headphones recommended!*SHELF TALKING rings in the new year with three terrific writers!Recorded live at Literati:–Aaron Hamburger reads from his novel Nirvana Is Here. –Dr. Tia Powell shares excerpts from her book Dementia Reimagined.

Episode 27 - Ben Lerner and Leah Plunkett (12/06/2019)

Dec 6th, 2019 51m 53s

*Headphones recommended!*Bid 2019 adieu with the final SHELF TALKING of the year!Recorded live at Literati:–Ben Lerner discusses his acclaimed novel The Topeka School with poet Raymond McDaniel. –Leah Plunkett unpacks the core arguments o

Episode 26 – Eileen Pollack, Jac Jemc, and Michael Dickman (11/01/2019)

Nov 1st, 2019 50m 34s

Start your November off right with an all-new SHELF TALKING!Recorded live at Literati:–Eileen Pollack discusses her novel The Professor of Immortality with writer Natalie Bakopoulos.–Jac Jemc shares a story from her collection False Bingo.

Episode 25 - The State of Things (10/04/2019)

Oct 4th, 2019 54m 43s

*Headphones Recommended*This month’s SHELF TALKING gathers three writers who write unflinchingly about our politics, our environment, and the difficulties of our everyday livesRecorded live at Literati:–Alexandra Minna Stern discusses Prou

Episode 24 - Back to School (09/06/2019)

Sep 6th, 2019 56m 15s

*Headphones Recommended*Sharpen some pencils and load up your knapsack––SHELF TALKING’s heading back to school!Recorded live at Literati:–Catherine Chung shares scenes––plus a math problem!––from her latest novel The Tenth Muse.–Rachel De

Episode 23 - Paperback Preview (08/02/2019)

Aug 2nd, 2019 56m 48s

*Headphones Recommended*Look ahead to some fantastic paperback releases with this month’s SHELF TALKING!Recorded live at Literati:–Nick Dybek shares excerpts from his WWI-era novel The Verdun Affair.–Leif Enger recounts the long road that

Episode 22 – A Literary Eurail (07/05/2019)

Jul 5th, 2019 55m 57s

Climb aboard SHELF TALKING’s literary Eurail, with stops in Tuscany, Paris, Berlin (by way of Athens), and London!Recorded live at Literati:–Christina Lynch reads from her debut novel The Italian Party. –Brooks Rexroat performs an excerpt f

Episode 21 - Genre Benders (06/07/2019)

Jun 7th, 2019 52m 15s

This month’s SHELF TALKING blends the fantastic, the speculative, and the literary with a trio of genre-defying writers!Recorded live at Literati:–Julia Fine shares an excerpt from her debut novel What Should Be Wild.–Franny Choi performs p

Episode 20 - National Short Story Month (05/03/2019)

May 3rd, 2019 53m

*Headphones Recommended!*This month’s SHELF TALKING celebrates National Short Story Month with a tremendous pair of readings!Recorded live at Literati:–Maryse Meijer reads“The Shut-In” from her collection Rag.–Polly Rosenwaike reads “Grow

Episode 19.5 - Make 'Em Laugh Re-Release (04/02/2019)

Apr 2nd, 2019 56m 50s

Still smarting from all those April Fool’s Day tricks? Let this Shelf Talking re-release ease your pain with some prank-free laughs!Recorded live at Literati: -Richard Russo discusses his essay collection The Destiny Thief with Sam Krowchen

Episode 19 – Codes and Capone (03/19/2019)

Mar 19th, 2019 49m 4s

*Headphones Recommended!*Psst. Do you know the password for today’s gangster-, spy-, and code-filled SHELF TALKING? Blink once for no, twice for yes….Recorded live at Literati:–Jason Fagone chronicles the life of cryptology pioneer Elizebe

Episode 18 - I Wanna Rock! (03/05/2019)

Mar 5th, 2019 56m 6s

Been a long time since you rock and rolled? Today's SHELF TALKING is here to help!Recorded live at Literati:–Michael Zadoorian shares passages from his latest novel Beautiful Music.–Jas Obrecht chronicles Jimi Hendrix's rise to fame in Ston

Episode 17.5 - Literati Goes to the Movies Re-Release (02/19/2019)

Feb 19th, 2019 58m 20s

With the Oscars just around the corner, we present an episode about adapting books into movies, movies into books, and everything in between! Recorded live at Literati: –Kevin Smokler, author of Brat Pack America, discusses growing up at the

Episode 17 - Kristen Roupenian and Chloe Benjamin (02/05/2019)

Feb 5th, 2019 48m 47s

*Headphones Recommended!*For our first episode of 2019, SHELF TALKING presents a pair of conversations with two rising stars of American fiction.Recorded live at Literati:–Kristen Roupenian discusses her debut collection You Know You Want

Episode 16 – A Poetry Pause (12/14/2018)

Dec 11th, 2018 53m 18s

Need a break from the hectic holiday season? Look no further than this poetry-packed episode of SHELF TALKING!Recorded live at Literati:–Phillip Crymble reads from his debut volume Not Even Laughter.–Susanna Lang shares work from her latest

Episode 15 – Literati Leftovers (11/27/2018)

Nov 27th, 2018 55m 12s

In the spirit of post-Thanksgiving eats, SHELF TALKING digs into its own leftovers with some of the show’s best left-on-the-cutting-room-floor moments!Recorded live at Literati:–John Scalzi (Episode 13––Actors, Accessories, and Aliens) implo

Episode 14 – Shakespeare and Shaker Heights (11/13/2018)

Nov 13th, 2018 52m 11s

Looking for the fastest route from Stratford to Shaker Heights? Look no further than today’s brand-new SHELF TALKING!Recorded live at Literati:–Julie Schumacher reads from her novel The Shakespeare Requirement–Callie Feyen discusses her mem

Episode 13.5 – Murder, Zombies, Politics Re-Release (10/30/2018)

Oct 30th, 2018 55m 25s

Get into the Halloween spirit with this fright-filled SHELF TALKING from 2017. Recorded live at Literati:–Host Sam Krowchenko speaks with Dan Chaon about his novel Ill Will–Anne Elizabeth Moore shares an essay from her collection Body Horro

Episode 13 – Actors, Accessories, and Aliens (10/16/2018)

Oct 16th, 2018 52m 29s

Today’s brand-new SHELF TALKING is brought to you by the letter A!Record live at Literati:–Leah Stewart discusses her novel What You Don't Know About Charlie Outlaw with Eileen Pollack.–Lauren Friedman, author of 50 Ways to Wear Accessories

Episode 12 – Sports! (10/3/2018)

Oct 3rd, 2018 57m 49s

Grab some Gatorade and lace up your cleats––it’s time for a sports–centric Shelf Talking!Recorded live at Literati:–Robert W. Turner II describes life after the NFL in his book Not For Long.–Erica Westly recounts the fascinating story of so

Episode 11 – Boys and Girls (9/18/2018)

Sep 18th, 2018 54m 5s

Dive into the complicated, urgent conundrums of masculinity and femininity with this week’s SHELF TALKING.Recorded live at Literati: events manager John Ganiard talks to Daniel Magariel about his debut novel One of the Boys; Chris McCormick r

Episode 10 - Local Authors (9/4/2018)

Sep 4th, 2018 51m 32s

As students and game days return to Ann Arbor, we’re celebrating something else that makes this city great: local authors! Recorded live at Literati: Raymond McDaniel launches his latest collection The Cataracts; Eric Smith shares a scene fro