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In this Service95 Book Club interview hosted by Dua Lipa, Margaret Atwood talks about the research she conducted in order to imagine the Republic of Gilead in The Handmaid’s Tale (Houghton Mifflin, 1986) while writing the novel in Berlin during the Cold War and how the current political landscape is reflective of the themes in her book.
A human skull, eleven boxes full of used corks, a reel of an old cycling race, an eighteenth-century textbook—these are some of the real items discovered in attics from an article published in the Guardian. What’s hidden in your home? Write a short story that revolves around a character who has just moved into a new place, or is exploring a previously unexamined part of their home, and makes a startling discovery in an attic, basement, shed, or crawl space. Does your character attempt to formulate a story around the findings or locate the original owners of the home? Is there a creative, monetary, or emotional value to be found in the object?
In this New Yorker Festival event, George Saunders and Zadie Smith speak about their respective careers in writing and dissect some of their New Yorker stories in a conversation with the magazine’s fiction editor Deborah Treisman.
“I think the creative process is unboundaried.” —Sarah Hall, author of Helm
“My maker told his tale. And I will tell you mine.” Watch the new trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz. The film is in select theaters for a limited run and will debut on Netflix on November 7.
In this Books Are Magic event, Jaquira Díaz reads from her debut novel, This Is the Only Kingdom (Algonquin Books, 2025), and discusses what inspired her to write a queer coming-of-age story in a conversation with Lupita Aquino and Angie Cruz. Díaz’s novel is featured in Page One in the November/December issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Character names in stories do more than identify—they can resonate, offer foreshadowing, and sometimes mislead. The name Hester traces its origins to the ancient Greek language, where it acquired the meaning of “star,” and in Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne shines bright with strength and resilience amid public shaming and condemnation. The cold-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol became so well-known that his name is synonymous for someone who is a miser and uncharitable. Remus Lupin of the Harry Potter series takes his name from the Latin word “lupus” meaning “wolf,” a nod to his werewolf heritage. Write a story in which you name a character with intention. Let the name echo inner conflict, irony, or destiny.
In this Politics and Prose event, Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo reads from her debut novel, The Tiny Things Are Heavier (Bloomsbury, 2025), and talks about how writing a coming-of-age story helped her understand her own experiences in migrating to the United States from Nigeria in a conversation with Gbenga Adesina.
“How can we reach a higher truth in storytelling and art?” —Brandon Hobson, author of The Devil Is a Southpaw
In this CBS Mornings segment with cohost Gayle King, Oprah Winfrey announces her latest book club pick, A Guardian and a Thief (Knopf, 2025), and speaks with author Megha Majumbar about the themes of her novel and how becoming a parent changed how she viewed her characters. Read Majumbar’s installment of our Ten Questions series.
