Book recommendations from avid readers and your favorite writers. <br/><br/><a href="https://fictionmatters.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">fictionmatters.substack.com</a>
FictionMatters
Claim This Podcastby Sara Hildreth
5.0(4 reviews)
22 episodes
Updated Daily
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Podcast Overview
Book recommendations from avid readers and your favorite writers. <br/><br/><a href="https://fictionmatters.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">fictionmatters.substack.com</a>
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Publishing Since
11/28/2023
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Recent Episodes
July 6, 2026
Books That Matter: Shannon Sanders on JAZZ by Toni Morrison
<p>Welcome to the FictionMatters Podcast. I’m your host Sara Hildreth and this is Books That Matter. In this series, I’ll speak with writers I admire to learn about their lives as readers and deep dive into a book that matters to them.</p><p>Shannon Sanders is the author of <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781250421678">The Great Wherever </a>(Holt, July 2026) and the linked short story collection <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781644453179">Company</a> (Graywolf, 2023), which won the 2024 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes’ Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction, was named one of the best books of 2023 by Publishers Weekly and Debutiful, and was shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including One Story, The Sewanee Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, and Electric Literature, and has received a PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband and three sons.</p><p>In today’s episode, Shannon joins me to talk about <strong>Toni Morrison’s </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781400076215"><strong>Jazz</strong></a>, and I felt honored to unpack this complicated and beautifully rendered novel with her. Then we dive into Shannon’s new novel The Great Wherever, which is out Tuesday, July 7th, and yes that is <strong>tomorrow</strong> if you’re listening to this episode the day it drops. I had the great privilege of reading an early copy of The Great Wherever and I have to say it’s one of the best family novels I’ve read in a long time and I loved the originality Shannon brings to the narrative structure. While we do get into some specifics about Jazz, we don’t include any spoilers for The Great Wherever and you can listen to the episode without yet having read either book.</p><p><strong>You can find </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781250421678"><strong>The Great Wherever</strong></a><strong> in your favorite bookshop on July 7th.</strong> I also have to give a strong push for <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781644453179">Company</a>, Shannon’s linked short story collection which was one of my favorite books of 2023. Aubrey’s family appears in Company as well so if you fall in love with them, you need to pick a copy of that as well!</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781250421678"><strong>The Great Wherever</strong></a><strong> </strong>by Shannon Sanders</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780142401200"><strong>The Westing Game</strong></a> by Ellen Raskin</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780063092099"><strong>The Wayside School Series </strong></a>by Louis Sachar</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780440414803"><strong>Holes</strong></a> by Louis Sachar</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780545459068"><strong>The Babysitters Club</strong></a> by Ann M. Martin</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10006.Mary_Downing_Hahn"><strong>Mary Downing Hahn</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780593201060"><strong>The Great Gatsby</strong></a><strong> </strong>by F. Scott Fitzgerald</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780399501487"><strong>Lord of the Flies</strong></a> by William Golding</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/genres/toni-morrison"><strong>Toni Morrison</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/29535.Octavia_E_Butler?from_search=true&from_srp=true"><strong>Octavia Butler</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8051.Chinua_Achebe?from_search=true&from_srp=true"><strong>Chinua Achebe</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/123715.Agatha_Christie?from_search=true&from_srp=true"><strong>Agatha Christie</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780593418925"><strong>The God of the Woods</strong></a> by Liz Moore</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/138825.Tana_French?from_search=true&from_srp=true"><strong>Tana French</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781644453179"><strong>Company</strong></a><strong> </strong>by Shannon Sanders</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17270487.Jamel_Brinkley?from_search=true&from_srp=true"><strong>Jamel Brinkley</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6475405.Deesha_Philyaw?from_search=true&from_srp=true"><strong>Deesha Philyaw</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55481212._Pemi_Aguda?from_search=true&from_srp=true"><strong>Pemi Aguda</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781451642308"><strong>Three Women</strong></a> by Lisa Taddeo</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781982122195"><strong>Ghost Lover </strong></a>by Lisa Taddeo</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781982140175"><strong>The Final Revival of Opal and Nev</strong></a> by Donnie Walton</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781101971062"><strong>Homegoing</strong></a> by Yaa Gyasi</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780307588371"><strong>Gone Girl </strong></a>by Gillian Flynn</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7136914.Ann_Patchett?from_search=true&from_srp=true"><strong>Ann Patchett</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2578.Jonathan_Franzen?from_search=true&from_srp=true"><strong>Jonathan Franzen</strong></a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781400076215"><strong>Jazz </strong></a>by Toni Morrison</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781400033416"><strong>Beloved </strong></a>by Toni Morrison</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780804169882"><strong>Paradise</strong></a> by Toni Morrison</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780593732915"><strong>On Morrison </strong></a>by Namwali Serpell</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780307278449"><strong>The Bluest Eye </strong></a>by Toni Morrison</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780807061091"><strong>Corregidora </strong></a>by Gayl Jones</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780807083697"><strong>Kindred</strong></a> by Octavia E. Butler</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780374609337"><strong>Dominion </strong></a>by Addie E. Citchens</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780062942951"><strong>The Love Songs of W. E. B. Du Bois</strong></a> by Honoree Fannone Jeffers</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781631497889"><strong>The World Doesn’t Require You </strong></a>by Rion Amilcar Scott</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780316575171"><strong>The Devil Three Times</strong></a> by Rickey Fayne</p><p><strong>*This post contains affiliate links.</strong></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe</a>
June 22, 2026
🎉📚Best Books of 2026 (so far) with Liz Hein
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit <a href="https://fictionmatters.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7">fictionmatters.substack.com</a><br/><br/><p></p><p>Welcome to the FictionMatters podcast. Today I’m talking about the best books of the year (so far) with my co-host Liz Hein. This year’s reading has been strange for me, but I feel very excited about the books Liz and I are sharing as well as the books we have to look forward to in the back half of the year.</p><p>As always, I would love to hear your favorite books of the year so far! Drop your favorites in the comments below!</p>
April 27, 2026
Books That Matter: Rob Franklin on CRUSH by Richard Siken
<p>Welcome to the FictionMatters Podcast. I’m your host Sara Hildreth and this is Books That Matter. In this series, I’ll speak with writers I admire to learn about their lives as readers and deep dive into a book that matters to them.Today, I’m joined by Rob Franklin. </p><p>Rob Franklin is the author of <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781668077436">Great Black Hope</a>, which was published in June 2025. A national bestseller, his debut novel was nominated for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Barnes and Noble Discover Prize, the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence — it was named a “Best Book of the Year” by TIME, Vogue, NPR, and Vanity Fair, among others. A co-founder of Art for Black Lives, Franklin holds a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from NYU’s Creative Writing program. He teaches writing at School of Visual Arts and edits fiction for Joyland. He lives in New York.</p><p>In this episode, Rob and I discuss Richard Siken’s debut poetry collection, <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780300288698">Crush</a>. Not only was this my first time reading Crush, I had never even heard of it before Rob’s recommendation. I found this collection to be urgent and astonishing. I’m so grateful to Rob for bringing it to my attention and for this fascinating discussion about poetic language, the development of taste, and the interplay between writer, reader, and text. I hope you love this conversation and that getting to know Rob as a reader encourages you to go pick up Great Black Hope–it’s an excellent summer read!</p><p><strong>Books and Links</strong></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780300246308">Crush</a> by Richard Siken</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780671027346">The Perks of being a Wallflower </a>by Stephen Chbosky</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://claudiarankine.com/">Claudia Rankine</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781555976903">Citizen</a> by Claudia Rankine</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mark-doty">Mark Doty</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/terrance-hayes">Terrance Hayes</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780143116967">Lighthead</a> by Terrance Hayes</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/ben-lerner">Ben Lerner</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://zadiesmith.com/">Zadie Smith</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.katiekitamura.com/">Katie Kitamura</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19238247.Raven_Leilani?from_search=true&from_srp=true">Raven Leilani</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780374618599">Transcription</a> by Ben Lerner</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780812980097">Open City </a>by Teju Cole</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8719.Donna_Tartt">Donna Tartt</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.joandidion.org/">Joan Didion</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hiltonals.com/">Hilton Als</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780143134756">White Girls</a> by Hilton Als</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781933517407">Bluets</a> by Maggie Nelson</p><p>* “<a target="_blank" href="https://genius.com/Richard-siken-you-are-jeff-annotated">You Are Jeff</a>” by Richard Siken</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781428193772-true-grit?srsltid=AfmBOoqnyx1rK0e22Cd09tI8bVv85wS2Sr2Ymnq2KDePSyRh0-jc6uKR">True Grit </a>by Charles Portis (Audiobook read by Donna Tartt)</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9781400031702">The Secret History </a>by Donna Tartt</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://edmundwhite.com/">Edmund White</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780593852323">Audition </a>by Katie Kitamura</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/mary-oliver">Mary Oliver</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/w-h-auden">W.H. Auden</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1994/11/07/chloe-sevigny-profile-jay-mcinerney">Chloe’s Scene by Jay McInerney</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/12/magazine/taylor-swift-eras-tour.html">What I Saw at Taylor Swift’s Delirious Eras Tour</a> by Taffy Brodesser-Akner</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/25/magazine/big-business-gwyneth-paltrow-wellness.html">How Goop’s Haters Made Gwyneth Paltrow Company Worth $250 Million</a> by Taffy Brodesser-Akner</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/a/1173/9780679744719">Another Country</a> by James Baldwin</p><p>*This post contains affiliate links.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2">fictionmatters.substack.com/subscribe</a>
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