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In this essay, author Malka Older reflects on her time as a humanitarian aid worker in Darfur and how it influenced her near-future political thriller series, The Centenal Cycle. Null States, the follow-up to her groundbreaking debut Infomocracy, is out this month.
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In this essay, author Max Winter (Exes) reflects on his mother's career as a painter, why she inexplicably stopped painting when he was a child, and how his own writing was impacted by her experience.
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Some Things (and People)
Fiona Maazel give us a peek into the creative process for her latest book, A Little More Human, in this post. She discusses some of the unusual inspirations for her novel including an aging athlete, a guilty pleasure TV show, and a whole country!
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We asked First Novel Prize finalist Kaitlyn Greenidge to talk about some of the unusual influences behind her fantastic novel We Love You, Charlie Freeman. Here, she discusses how a powerful nonfiction book, a country music song, a holiday movie, and a little corner of Boston all contributed to her debut novel.
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The Influence of Journalism in Fiction
Fallujah, Aleppo, Gaziantep. These are all cities that we hear about in the news, but we don't think about the stories contained within them. In this essay, former Marine and writer Elliot Ackerman reflects on his life as a journalist, and how his news stories have made their way into his new novel, Dark at the Crossing.
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In this post, Claudia Casper, author of the new book The Mercy Journals, shares how General Roméo Dallaire, the Canadian general who led the UN Peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, inspired her to write about genocide and its ramifications on individuals and society.
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Five Surprising Influences on You Will Know Me
We asked Megan Abbott to talk about some of the influences behind her new hit book You Will Know Me. Here she discusses how a television show about football, movies about ballet, and a book on parenting helped shape her novel centered on gymnastics.
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What Else Would a Young Film Star Wear?
In this essay, Maggie O'Farrell, author of the new novel This Must Be the Place, writes about how an unforgettable object found its way into her fiction.
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About
The Story of the Book
In this feature we ask some of your favorite authors to give insight into their books. Find out what's behind the pages!