Writers on a New England Stage

As the author of Ragtime, Billy Bathgate and The March, E.L. Doctorow is considered one of America's preeminent writers. On Wednesday, Doctorow stopped by the Music Hall in Portsmouth for the next installment of Writers on a New England Stage. He discussed his new novel, Homer and Langley, and his career with NHPR's Laura Knoy.

For almost her entire professional life Ruth Reichl has been able to combine her two loves, food and writing. A long time restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, Reichl became editor of Gourmet Magazine in 1999. Her books book have also been a combination of memoir and food, but in her latest offering, Not Becoming My Mother, Reichl looks back at her mother’s life through almost a century of letters and how her challenges influenced her daughter’s career.

The best-selling and critically lauded novelist is back with The Hour I First Believed, his first new work in nine years. It follows the story of a couple relocating from Colorado to Connecticut after the wife survives the 1999 murders at Columbine High School. At the latest Writers on a New England Stage event, Lamb talked about his books and his career with NHPR's Laura Knoy. Today we bring you that event.

Massachusetts-born writer Anita Shreve is the author of 14 books, including The Pilot’s Wife, chosen as an Oprah Book Club Selection, and The Weight of Water, a murder mystery set on the Isles of Shoals. Her latest offering, Testimony, opens the door to a sex scandal at a New England boarding school that starts with a video tape and ripples out into an entire community. This week Anita Shreve traveled to The Music Hall in Portsmouth to be a part of our Writers on a New England Stage series.

She's been called the "first lady of American journalism," known for her talent as a news anchor and for her historic interviews of leading newsmakers. In her new memoir, Audition, Barbara Walters shares her own story, reflecting on her professional and personal lives and sharing both the challenges and successes she's had in a life in the news.

Best known for her portrayals of the complex, intertwined history of Native and White Americans, a heritage the author herself shares, Louise Erdrich came to The Music Hall in Portsmouth to talk about her new book “The Plague of Doves” and take questions from the audience and Exchange host Laura Knoy. Today we bring you part of that performance.

NPR's contributing senior news analyst Cokie Roberts is one of the most recognizable women political reporters today. In 2004 she penned “Founding Mothers” about America's early revolutionary women; her new book, “Ladies of Liberty,” picks up where “Founding Mothers” left off. Last week, Cokie Roberts came to Portsmouth to talk about her new book in the latest installment of our Writers on a New England Stage series. Today we play back for you part of that performance.

On Monday, award-winning documentary film maker Ken Burns addressed a live audience at the Music Hall in Portsmouth as part of our Writers on a New England Stage Series. Burns’s latest documentary, called “The War”, details the stories of soldiers, families and loved one in four American cities during the four years of American involvement in World War II. Burns' companion book to his documentary is called “The War: An Intimate History 1941-1945”. Today we play back for you part of Monday night’s event.

Richard Russo won the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for his novel Empire Falls, which the Christian Science Monitor described as "[possibly] the last great novel of the 20th Century." Russo was on hand at The Music Hall in Portsmouth to talk about his new novel, Bridge of Sighs, for the latest installment of Writers on a New England Stage.

Today we play back for you the latest in our Writers on a New England Stage series, with celebrated crime novelist Elmore "Dutch" Leonard. Called the "Dickens of Detroit", Leonard is author of books such favorites as 'Get Shorty' and 'Mr. Paradise.' Last Friday, Leonard entertained a live audience at the Music Hall in Portsmouth with tales from his latest book 'Up In Honey's Room' and thoughts about writing and his illustrious career which spans a half-century.

We play back for you the latest in our "Writers on a New England Stage" series, with Diamant on her new book "The Last Days of Dogtown". It's historical fiction set in post-colonial Massachussetts, an account of a real community that slowly died out. The show is an edited-for-broadcast version of last Thursday night's event at the Music Hall in Portsmouth.

Best-selling author Mitch Albom gained international fame with his book Tuesdays with Morrie. Now he's back with a new work, called For One More Day that raises similar issues: the lessons that death can teach us about life. Mitch Albom came to the Music Hall in Portsmouth on Friday as part of our Writers on a New England Stage series, where he talked about his book then host Laura Knoy joined him on stage for a few questions of her own and from the live audience.

Although born in Pennsylvania, legendary author John Updike has been a New England writing institution since he moved to Massachusetts North Shore in 1957. Author of the classic book "The Witches of Eastwick" and his famous "Rabbit" series of novels, his compelling new work of fiction is called, "Terrorist". "Terrorist" tells the story of Ahmad Ashmawy Mulloy, half Irish American, half Egyptian, Ahmad struggles throughout the book between his newly found Islamic beliefs and the materialistic, hedonistic society he sees around him in his working class home town of New Prospect, New Jersey.

Dan Brown, author of one of the most popular and controversial books of the last century, The Da Vinci Code, spoke on Sunday, April 23rd in Portsmouth as part of our Writers on a New England Stage series. Brown talked about his famous book, its adaptation to a new film and the controversy surrounding both. In the second part of the show, host Laura Knoy joined him onstage for a few questions of her own. Today we broadcast some of that performance. (Note: This show is an edited version of the performance.)