Exclusive Author Interviews with Bookclubs

Updated: Aug 30, 2023

Author

Carrie Thornbrugh

Discussing a book with your club reaches a whole new level when you get to hear the author’s first-hand perspective, and maybe even ask them a question of your own! Join the Bookclubs Author Chats book club to access virtual author interviews hosted on Instagram Live.

We’re thrilled to announce that Bookclubs will be hosting an exciting lineup of exclusive Instagram Live author interviews this year! Bookclubs Author Chats is a free, monthly interview series book club with featured buzzworthy authors and online book discussions. Members of the Bookclubs team will interview one (sometimes two) talented novelists each month via Instagram Live. Tune in to the interview and then share your thoughts on the message board. If you miss the interview, no problem–links to recordings of all interviews can be found in the past meeting’s notes.

Summer & Fall Author Chat lineup:

April: Danielle Friedman, author of Let's Get Physical, AND Matt Higgins, author of Burn The Boats
May: Costanza Casati, author of Clytemnestra, AND Meredith Bagby, author of The New Guys
June: Geena Rocero, author of Horse Barbie, AND Shelley Read, author of Go As A River
July: Crystal Smith Paul, author of Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?, AND Pamela Kelley, author of The Bookshop by the Bay.
August: Amanda Montell, author of Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
September: Katherine Morgan Schafler, author of The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control
October: Rachel Louise Snyder, author of Women We Buried, Women We Burned
November: Kathleen B. Jones, author of Cities of Women

October Author Chat

On Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at 7 pm ET via Instagram Live, Bookclubs chats with award-winning journalist Rachel Louise Snyder, who has spent her career reporting on abuse and violence around the globe. Now, in Women We Buried, Women We Burned, Snyder offers her own origin story of loss and survival after her mother’s early death, and the drastic changes that followed alter the course of her life forever. With honesty and lyricism, this astonishing new memoir illuminates the collective nature of grief, faith, and love, with Snyder offering an eternal nod to the social issues that have become her life’s work.

September Author Chat TBC: Katherine Morgan Schafler, author of The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control

August Author Chat

For those of you who missed the live chat on 8/15, you can watch the full recording here.

On Tuesday, August 15, 2023, at 7 pm ET via Instagram Live, Bookclubs chats with author, linguist, and podcaster, Amanda Montell, about all things CULTISH: her critically acclaimed non-fiction book, Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and hit podcast, Sounds Like A Cult, where she analyzes the curious social science of cultish influence and the use of language as the ultimate form power. Montell provides an incisive and funny take that will make you hear the fanatical language of "cultish" everywhere.

July Author Chats

For those of you who missed the live chat on 7/19, you can watch the full recording here.

On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at 7 pm ET via Instagram Live, join book blogger and Bookstagrammer Julia Readus as she chats with author Crystal Smith Paul about her debut novel and Reese's Book Club Pick for May, Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?, a multi-generational saga that traverses the glamour of old Hollywood and the seductive draw of modern-day showbiz. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is a sprawling rake that explores the burdens that celebrity places on women and the power that family secrets have to erode and complicate the lives of future generations. Join Bookclubs Author Chats book club here!

For those of you who missed the live chat on 7/19, you can watch the full recording here.

author chat flyer for July 26 with Pamela Kelley

On Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at 6 pm ET via Instagram Live, Bookclubs Co-Founder Nancy Brown interviews best-selling author, Pamela Kelley to discuss her prolific literary career and newest release, The Bookshop by the Bay, "a wonderful multigenerational story about mothers, daughters, and friendship set in a quaint, seaside town on Cape Cod. If you love talk of bookstores, delicious food, and coffee shops, this one is for you!."--Rachel Henna, author of the South Carolina Sunset series.

June Author Chats

For those of you who missed the live chat on 6/1, you can watch the full recording here.

On Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 1 pm ET via Instagram Live, join us for a special AAPI + Pride Month Author Chat interview with model-turned-producer, Geena Rocero about her debut memoir, Horse Barbie, which publishes in the US on May 30th. In Horse Barbie, Rocero pens a heartfelt memoir of her life as a prominent and successful trans pageant queen from the Philippines who went back into the closet to model in New York City — until she realized she felt most powerful living her truth as the iconoclast she’d always been. When she moved to the United States, Rocero was able to change her name and gender marker on her documents, but in order to survive, she hid her trans identity, gaining one type of freedom and truth at the expense of another. The tenuous double life finally led Geena to a breaking point when she had to decide how to reclaim her power and truth. It's a radiant testimony from an icon who sits at the center of transgender history.

For those of you who missed the live chat on 6/28, you can watch the full recording here.

Next up on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, at 7pm ET, Bookclubs Co-Founder Nancy Brown will chat with author Shelley Read about her best-selling debut novel, Go As A River, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a resilient young woman whose life is changed forever by one chance encounter. Fans of Where The Crawdads Sing won't want to miss this tragic yet uplifting novel about love and loss, family and survival, and most of all—hope.

May Author Chats

For those of you who missed the live chat, you can watch the full recording here.

Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at 4 pm ET via Instagram Live, Bookclubs partner and Bookstagrammer, Natalie Meagan, host of the Weirdo Book Club is chatting with author Costanza Casati about her debut novel, Clytemnestra, set in the world of Ancient Greece, this is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies, of hatred, love, and an unforgettable Queen who fiercely dealt out death to those who wronged her. Fans of Jennifer Saint, Natalie Haynes, and Madeline Miller won't want to miss this interview!

For those of you who missed the live chat, you can watch the full recording here.

Next up on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 7pm ET, we're honored to be interviewing author Meredith Bagby AND retired NASA astronaut, Rhea Seddon, about Bagby's new book and Seddon's lived experiences in The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space Travel.

April Author Chats

graphic with photo of author Matt Higgens and book cover of his book, Burn the Boats.

Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at 11am ET Bookclubs Co-Founder & CEO is interviewing entrepreneur and Harvard Business School fellow, Matt Higgins about his new book, Burn the Boats: Toss Plan B Overboard and Unleash Your Full Potential. In Burn the Boats, Higgins draws from experiences in his own rags-to-riches life and the lessons he’s learned from those who have triumphed in business, sports, politics, and the arts to offer a template for anyone who aspires to achieve.

For those of you who missed the live chat, you can watch the full recording here.

On Wednesday, Apr 19, 2023, at 7pm ET, we sat down via Instagram Live with award-winning journalist and author, Danielle Friedman about her New Yorker Best Book of 2023, Let’s Get Physical, which reveals the fascinating hidden history of contemporary women’s fitness culture, chronicling in vivid, cinematic prose how exercise evolved from a beauty tool pitched almost exclusively as a way to “reduce” into one that millions of women have harnessed as a path to mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Book clubs can enjoy this incredibly interesting and fun Book Club Kit with a discussion guide!

March Author Chats

For Women's History Month, we're honoring women storytellers who have used their craft to reflect women's experiences. We can think of no better way to celebrate women storytellers than with an interview with author, Diane Marie Brown on March 23, 2023, at 6pm EST via Instagram Live. Brown will be in conversation with Bookclubs partner and Bookstagrammer, Morgan Menzies, who also leads her own public book club on Bookclubs. Brown's newly-released novel, Black Candle Women, was just selected as the March pick for the Read With Jenna Book Club. Black Candle Women is a warm and wry family drama with a magical twist about four generations of Black women, a family curse, and one very complicated year of heartache, miscommunication, and learning to let go.

For those of you who missed the live chat, you can watch the full recording here.

February Author Chats

Monday, February 27, 2023, at 7pm EST Bookclubs Co-Founder, Nancy Brown is interviewing De'Shawn Charles Winslow, the award-winning author of Decent People and In West Mills. Winslow’s new release, Decent People, is set in 1976 in the town of West Mills, N.C., Dr. Marian Harmon, the only Black physician in town, has been found shot to death alongside her brother Laz and her sister Marva in their home. Many suspect Olympus Seymore, known as Lymp, the half-brother who lived next door. But white authorities in town don't seem much interested. And it falls to Jo Wright, who's just moved back, to ask some hard questions and look for the killer.

For those of you who missed the live chat, you can watch the full recording here.

Tuesday, February 28, 2023, at 7pm EST Julia Readus, book blogger, and Bookstagrammer is chatting with journalist and author, Danielle Prescod, about her new book, Token Black Girl. Part memoir, part narrative nonfiction, Token Black Girl, is an exploration of the ways that modern media can influence one’s self-esteem. Prescod grew up Black in an elite and overwhelmingly white community, her identity made more invisible by the whitewashed movies, television, magazines, and books she and her classmates voraciously consumed. After decades of burying her emotions, resentment, and true self, Danielle turned a critical eye inward and confronted the factors that motivated her self-destructive behaviors. Sharp-witted and bracingly candid, Token Black Girl unpacks the adverse effects of insidious white supremacy in the media--both unconscious and strategic--to tell a personal story about recovery from damaging concepts of perfection, celebrating identity, and demolishing social conditioning.

For those of you who missed the live chat, you can watch the full recording here.

This is a unique opportunity to get to know the author behind the words and learn more about their writing process, inspirations, and upcoming projects. During their interviews, the authors will share insights on their journey as writers, including the challenges and triumphs along the way. They will also discuss their latest work and provide a sneak peek into what readers can expect in the future.

Whether you're a fan of Brown, Winslow, or Prescod or just curious about their writing, these interviews promise to be a fascinating and insightful experience. You'll have the chance to ask questions and interact with the author directly, making it a truly special event.

So mark your calendars and join us for these exclusive interviews on March 23, 2023, at 6pm ET with Diane Marie Brown, February 27, 2023, at 7pm ET with De'Shawn Charles Winslow and February 28, 2023, at 7pm ET with Danielle Prescod.

Follow us on Instagram and join our free Bookclubs Author Chats book club for more details on how to participate and make the most of this opportunity to connect with a talented author and fellow book lovers. Join us for monthly interviews with featured authors and online book discussions. Members of the Bookclubs team will interview one (sometimes two!) amazing novelists each month via Instagram live. Tune in to the interview and then share your thoughts on the message board. If you miss the interview, no problem! Links to recordings of all interviews can be found in the past meeting’s notes.

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