Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy best seller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work....

The recipient of multiple Peabody and Murrow awards, Clarissa Ward is a world-renowned conflict reporter. In this strange age of crisis where there really is no front line, she has moved from one hot zone to the next....

From Oahu to Detroit, “Little Saigon” to Brooklyn, authors from all walks of life take us to the real worlds that inspired their works. Hosted by reporters Amy Standen and Michael Epstein....

You'll be wincing in recognition and scratching your head in incredulity, but like Marian herself you won't be able to stop laughing at the sheer delightful absurdity that is modern life....

When his mother passed away at the age of 78, Sherman Alexie responded the only way he knew how: He wrote....

Rachel Maddow has beaten the odds in a way that's novel in today's America: She uses her brain. In a world of banal and opinionated soundbites, she regularly crushes Sean Hannity's ratings thanks to her deeply researched reports.... 

From the bestselling author of Jurassic Park, Timeline, and Sphere, comes a deeply personal memoir full of fascinating adventures as he travels everywhere....

David Sedaris' new collection of essays - including live recordings! - tells a most unconventional life story. It begins with a North Carolina childhood filled with speech-therapy classes...

When Barbara Kingsolver and her family move from suburban Arizona to rural Appalachia, they take on a new challenge: to spend a year on a locally-produced diet....

We’ve all read - and loved - the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends in the Wizarding World....

Manderley Forever is a vividly compelling portrait and celebration of an intriguing, hugely popular and (at the time) critically underrated writer....

The Madwoman and the Roomba chronicles a roller coaster year for Loh, her partner, and her two teenage daughters in their ramshackle quasi-Craftsman. Her daughters are spending more time online than off; her partner has become a Hindu, bringing in a household of monks....  

Eminent Victorians, Lytton Strachey's wonderfully witty and Wildean quartet of biographies, stands out as one of the most radical and groundbreaking works of its genre. With relentless precision, Strachey explores the lives of four exemplars of the Victorian age: Cardinal Manning, Florence Nightingale, Thomas Arnold and General Gordon, irreverently bringing to light the flaws, strengths, ambitions and hypocrisies of these treasured legends. 

The history of the press gallery is rich in anecdotes about the people on Parliament Hill who have covered 23 prime ministers and 42 elections in the past 150 years. Mining the archives and his own interviews, Robert Lewis turns the spotlight on the watchers, including reporters who got too close to power and others who kept their distance.

Rembrandt's life has always been an enigma. How did a miller's son from a provincial Dutch town become the greatest artist in the world? To find out, Onno Blom immersed himself in the world, the country, the city, and the house in which Rembrandt was born in 1606 and where he spent the first 25 years of his life. The result is a fascinating portrait of the artist as a young man, rich in local and biographical detail, and restless in its efforts to seek out the roots of his genius.

Sexism in Narnia? Or Screwtape? Or amongst the Inklings? Many critics have labelled C.S. Lewis a sexist, even a misogynist. The younger Lewis was criticized for a mysterious living arrangement with a woman, but his later marriage to an American poet, Joy Davidman, became a celebrated love story. As a writer he, along with J.R.R. Tolkien, formed a legendary literary group, the Inklings - but without women. In this collection of short essays, opinion pieces, and interviews, academics and writers come together to investigate these accusations. 

Born in 1909 in Jackson, Mississippi, Eudora Welty shares details of her upbringing that show us how her family and her surroundings contributed to the shaping not only of her personality but of her writing as well. Everyday sights, sounds, and objects resonate with the emotions of recollection.

The life of Sir Harry Perry Robinson (1859-1930) unfolds like a Boy's Own adventure. Born in India and educated at Oxford, Harry fled to the United States to make his name and fortune. After a stint in the gold mines of the American West, he became a major force in the railroad industry and helped to elect a US president. Returning to England, Harry had a celebrated career as a book publisher and as a journalist for the Times, serving as the oldest correspondent during the First World War and going on to have one of the scoops of the century.