KQED: The Writers' Block

Irvine Welsh, the man behind the best-selling phenomenon TRAINSPOTTING, reads a passage from its prequel, SKAGBOYS.

Robin Sloane reads a passage from MR. PENUMBRA'S 24-HOUR BOOKSTORE, a gleeful tale of global conspiracy, young love, and rollicking adventure.

Megan Mayhew Bergman reads a passage from her debut collection, BIRDS OF A LESSER PARADISE.

Scott Hutchins, a former Truman Capote Fellow in the Wallace Stegner Program at Stanford, reads a passage from his debut, A WORKING THEORY OF LOVE.

Ian Frazier reads a passage from THE CURSING MOMMY'S BOOK OF DAYS, a comic novel based on his widely read columns for The New Yorker.

Margaret Talbot, staff writer for The New Yorker, reads a passage from THE ENTERTAINER about her Hollywood actor father and his relationship with Ed Wood.

Marcus Samuelsson, James Beard Award recipient and winner of Top Chef Masters, reads a passage from his memoir, YES, CHEF.

Cassie J. Sneider reads "Homegrown," a story from her hilarious collection FINE FINE MUSIC about Jersey, the importance of having a car antenna, and violent monkeys.

Sam Sax, the first ever Bay Area Unified Grand Slam Champion, reads a selection of his poems.

Colin Meloy, also known as the lead singer of The Decemberists, reads from UNDER WILDWOOD, the second book in the Wildwood series.

William Gibson, author of NEUROMANCER and father of the cyberpunk subgenre of science fiction, reads the introduction from his new collection of essays, DISTRUST THAT PARTICULAR FLAVOR.

Paul Auster, author of hits such as THE NEW YORK TRILOGY and SUNSET PARK, reads a passage from his latest, WINTER JOURNAL.

Nate Waggoner, one of the five writers taking part in The Writers' Block Lit Crawl event "New Kids on the Block" on October 13th, reads a piece called "April 3rd, 2012."

Diana Salier, one of the five writers taking part in The Writers' Block Lit Crawl event "New Kids on the Block" on October 13th, reads selected poems from LETTERS FROM ROBOTS.

D.W. Lichtenberg, one of the five writers taking part in The Writers' Block Lit Crawl event "New Kids on the Block" on October 13th, reads "Our Generation is One of Moving Back in with Your Mother."

Alli Warren, one of the five writers taking part in The Writers' Block Lit Crawl event "New Kids on the Block" on October 13th, reads a collection of poems.

Andrea Kneeland, one of the five writers taking part in The Writers' Block Litcrawl event "New Kids on the Block" on October 13th, reads from her short story "People Who Are Good People."

Molly Ringwald, everyone's favorite redhead from movies like Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, and The Breakfast Club, reads from her first novel, WHEN IT HAPPENS TO YOU.

Cassie J. Sneider reads "Sugar Sugar," a story from her hilarious collection FINE FINE MUSIC about the hazardous effects of being forced to wear a sexy wizard costume for Halloween at the age of 10.

John Brandon, author of the much acclaimed CITRUS COUNTY, reads a passage from his latest, A MILLION HEAVENS.

Acclaimed humorist David Rakoff died last week, but his acerbically witty writing lives on. Before you run out to buy all his books, listen to this episode from our archives, in which Rakoff reads from his final book of essays, HALF EMPTY.

Rob Reid reads a passage from YEAR ZERO, his novel that takes a headlong journey through the outer reaches of the universe and the inner workings of our absurdly dysfunctional music industry.

Cheryl Strayed reads two passages from TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS, a collection of advice columns she wrote under the pseudonym Dear Sugar for The Rumpus.

Karen Thompson Walker reads a passage from THE AGE OF MIRACLES, the story of what happens when the rotation of the earth suddenly begins to slow.

Chuck Palahniuk, best-selling author of FIGHT CLUB, reads a passage from INVISIBLE MONSTERS REMIX, his updated 1999 daring satire on beauty and the fashion industry.

Bill Clegg reads a passage from NINETY DAYS, which begins where PORTRAIT OF AN ADDICT AS A YOUNG MAN ends and tells the wrenching story of Clegg's battle to reclaim his life from addiction.

Sapphire, the author whose novel, PUSH, was adapted into the Oscar-nominated film PRECIOUS, reads a passage from THE KID, a sequel that follows the life of Precious' son.

Rosecrans Baldwin reads a passage from PARIS, I LOVE YOU BUT YOU'RE BRINGING ME DOWN, his new book that explores living in the Paris of Sarkozy, text-message romances, smoking bans, and a McDonald's beneath the Louvre.

Joan Frank reads a passage from MAKE IT STAY, the story of what happens after a mysterious catastrophe hits the tree-nestled Northern California town of Mira Flores.

Wendy McClure reads a passage from THE WILDER LIFE, a hilarious chronicle of her attempt to immerse herself in all things Little House on the Prairie.

Jenny Lawson, also known as the Bloggess, reads a hilarious passage from LET'S PRETEND THIS NEVER HAPPENED, about the time her father brought home a magic squirrel.

Delia Ephron, the woman behind such films as YOU'VE GOT MAIL, HANGING UP, and THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS, reads a passage from THE LION IS IN, her new novel about three women who flee their lives and encounter the unlikeliest of companions, a lion named Marcel.

In honor of the Golden Gate Bridge's 75th Anniversary, we pulled this reading by Jim Nisbet from the archives to get you in the mood to celebrate San Francisco's favorite piece of infrastructure.

Eric Erlandson, founding member of the band Hole, reads a passage from LETTERS TO KURT, an anguished, angry, and tender meditation on the octane and ether of rock and roll.

Alison Bechdel, author of the wildly successful FUN HOME, reads a passage from her latest graphic memoir, ARE YOU MY MOTHER? An enhanced version of this podcast is available at kqed.org/writersblock. It's pretty cool. Check it out. Seriously.

Miranda Mellis reads a passage from NONE OF THIS IS REAL, her collection that imagines a not-too-alternate reality of philosophical children, reincarnating chimeras, mutant matriarchies, and kind seers adapting to affliction.

Doug Mack reads a passage from EUROPE ON 5 WRONG TURNS A DAY, about being mistaken for a Diane Keaton groupie on a trip to Paris.

Moshe Kasher reads a passage from KASHER IN THE RYE, the true tale of a white boy from Oakland who became a drug addict, criminal, mental patient, and then turned 16.

Ramona Ausubel reads a passage from NO ONE IS HERE EXCEPT ALL OF US, about a Romanian village that tries to save itself from the horrors of World War II through the sheer force of imagination.

Martha Grover reads "Swedish Massage," a story from her new collection, ONE MORE FOR THE PEOPLE.

Matt Ruff reads a passage from THE MIRAGE, a mind-bending novel in which an alternate history of 9/11 and its aftermath uncovers startling truths about America and the Middle East.

Ellen Ullman reads a passage from her latest novel, BY BLOOD, about a disgraced professor who becomes enraptured by the troubles of his psychologist neighbor's patient.

Trinie Dalton reads "Escape Mushroom Style," a story from her latest collection, BABY GEISHA.

Krys Lee reads a passage from DRIFTING HOUSE about a South Korean woman who goes to America in search of her daughter whom she believes has been kidnapped.

Martha Grover reads "Fifteen Things I'm Not Putting on My OkCupid Profile," a story from her new collection, ONE MORE FOR THE PEOPLE.

Nathan Englander reads a passage from his latest story collection, WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ANNE FRANK.

Blake Nelson reads a passage from DREAM SCHOOL, the sequel to his beloved 1994 novel GIRL.

Ryan Boudinot reads a passage from BLUEPRINTS OF THE AFTERLIFE about the aftermath of a sentient glacier wiping out most of North America.

Leigh Stein reads a passage from her debut novel, THE FALLBACK PLAN, about what happens when you graduate college without a fallback plan.

Ellis Avery reads a passage from THE LAST NUDE, her new novel about an artist and her most famous muse in Paris between the world wars.