Author Amina Gautier discusses her award-winning short story collection, The Best That You Can Do, writing during the pandemic, and how her free-range childhood propelled her career.

Jennifer Maritza McCauley discusses her short story collection, When Trying to Return Home, the writers she adores, and how a close family member has influenced her work.

Author Jonathan Escoffery discusses his award-winning, debut, short story collection If I Survive You, the perils of writing about identity, and the question he's so tired of answering.

Children's book author Alice Faye Duncan discusses her latest book, Coretta's Journey: The Life and Times of Coretta Scott King, how King was shaped by her unconventional upbringing, and why she encourages parents to take their children to community libraries.

Awarding winning author Natalia Sylvester discusses her YA novel, Breathe and Count Back From Ten, what it was like to write a book she's been dreaming about her whole life, and whether she'll be going back to writing for adults.

Author Jennifer Rosner discusses her novel, Once We Were Home, which is about children stolen during or immediately after WWII, what sparked her interest in this topic, and how her work was influenced by being the hearing parent of deaf children.

Author Lisa Williamson Rosenberg discusses her debut novel, Embers on the Wind, how her job as a psychotherapist influences her work, and why she doesn't matter that much if a book doesn't include Black characters.

Author Celeste Mohammed discusses her critically acclaimed novel-in-stories, Pleasantview, commonly held myths about Caribbean cultures, and how her former career as an attorney shapes her writing.

Author Leila Mottley discusses her critically acclaimed debut novel, Nightcrawling, which she wrote at 17, why she feels like her age was an advantage in telling this story, and why she's not sweating that she's never read The Great Gatsby.

Author Rasheed Newson discusses his critically acclaimed debut novel, My Government Means to Kill Me, why he wants it to be a guide of sorts for young people, and why he initially called it "an aggressive act of homosexuality."