On this episode, Ron Block & Patti Callahan Henry welcome author Victoria Benton Frank to discuss THE VIOLET HOUR, her heartwarming and empowering new novel about thriving after tragedy. Victoria was born in New York City and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, but considers herself to have dual residency in the Lowcountry. A graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute, Victoria worked in restaurants in New York before returning to Charleston, South Carolina, which she now calls home. According to Ann Patchett, Victoria’s 2023 debut novel MY MAGNOLIA SUMMER cemented her as “the rightful heir to the crown of summertime storytellers.” Victoria joins us to discuss her second novel, out August 12th from Gallery Books, which our own Patti Callahan Henry praises as “enchanting, hilarious, and insightful.”

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome TWO debut novelists! We love the discovery of new voices on F&F, so this week we are thrilled to bring you two first-time authors—Laura Dickerman whose Hot Desk will hit stores on September 2nd, and Morgan Pager whose The Art of Vanishing came out on July 1st. With an MA in English from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School, Laura Dickerman has taught high school English at the Hopkins School, the Collegiate School, and Germantown Friends. She joins us from her home in Atlanta to discuss her rollicking, sparkling, and funny novel that spans decades and generations of a family in the publishing industry. A fresh take on the workplace rom-com, Hot Desk is described as Younger meets Writers & Lovers. Morgan Pager is a publishing professional and the content creator behind NYC Book Girl. A graduate of Duke University, Pager joins us from her home on the Upper West Side to discuss her “wildly inventive” (Jodi Picoult) debut The Art of Vanishing. This stunningly original love story between a museum employee and the man in a masterpiece hanging on the walls is a breathtaking debut about time, art, and the enduring power of love. We are excited to introduce you to both of these first-time novelists!

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcome #1 NYT-bestselling author Susan Wiggs to discuss her wrenching but life-affirming new novel, Wayward Girls, based on a true story of survival, friendship, and redemption set in the turbulent Vietnam era in Buffalo, New York. Susan Wiggs is the author of more than fifty novels, including the beloved Lakeshore Chronicles series and the recent New York Times bestsellers The Lost and Found Bookshop, The Oysterville Sewing Circle, and Family Tree. Her award-winning books have been translated into two dozen languages. She joins us from her home in Washington State’s Puget Sound to discuss Wayward Girls, her haunting and thrilling new tale of six teens condemned to forced labor in the dark and secretive Good Shepherd Catholic reform school controlled by Sisters of Charity nuns. Called “a gut-wrenching story of survival, friendship, and justice,” by Robert Dugoni, and “a page-turner, replete with mystery and suspense,” by Adriana Trigiani, this novel is a bold leap in a new direction for Susan and we are so excited to talk to her all about it.