Join us in the fall for more in-depth exploration of the work of diverse and emerging authors.
Host Rachel Barenbaum and her guests go beyond the pages of each book, discussing not only the characters and themes, but the writing process itself—from finding writing groups to navigating the evolving world of publishing.
Check out the show page for each episode to discover downloadable PDF discussion questions for readers and book clubs.
Check This Out is proud to partner with The PEN/Faulkner Foundation to champion new voices in literature.
Listen to all the back episodes on NHPR.org or download the show as a podcast!
-
A debut novel about missing teenage boy, cases of fluid and mistaken identity, and the transformative power of boxing. "The Slip" tackles race, gender and questions of identity with a mix of the absurd and the sublime. -
A coming-of-middle-age novel full of humor and grief. When Abe Jacobs is faced with an unthinkable diagnosis, he follows his fragile hope for a cure to the Mohawk rez where he grew up. -
A young Stanford graduate caught between worlds of race and class, glamour and tragedy, a friend’s mysterious death and his own arrest. Pulled into the court system and mandated treatment, he finds himself in an absurd but dangerous situation: his class protects him, but his race does not. -
Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. We follow her journey across a transformed city as she walks and reflects on life and hopes for the future. -
An exploration of family bonds in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore. Two estranged sisters must weigh the value of ambition versus familial love and home. -
A coming-of-age novel set in the schoolyards, nightclubs, and alleyways of a gritty, post-industrial town in Yorkshire, England. Three girls are inseparable, but as they grow up and away from one another, a long-festering secret threatens to rip the trio apart. -
Three star players on a high school football team are accused of violence by another student. Their secrets, and the secrets of their parents, threaten to shatter the community in a novel of race, class, and privilege. -
Based on a true story of murder for hire, this novel examines the extent to which one family will go in order to protect their own. -
A tightly-bound Nigerian family living in Florida and their struggle with the trauma of war as it ripples through the generations. -
Two brothers in dire straits, living on the edge of Yellowstone, agree to a desperate act of survival.
You make NHPR possible.
NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.
Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.