Friends & Fiction

On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcome prominent American literary critic and journalist Ron Charles, best known for his long tenure as the editor of Washington Post Book World. After more than a decade teaching American literature, Ron served for seven years as the book review editor and staff critic for The Christian Science Monitor. He was hired by The Washington Post in 2005, where he spent 21 years working as a book reviewer and the editor for Book World, becoming a leading voice in contemporary literary culture. After The Washington Post eliminated its book section in early 2026, Ron transitioned to independent journalism on Substack where he has quickly amassed nearly 40,000 subscribers. We are eager to talk to Ron about the rapidly shifting environment of books coverage and the future of how readers will discover new books in this changing landscape.

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On this episode, Kristin Harmel, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcome the multi-million copy bestselling author of The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger to discuss our October 2026 Pick of the Month, Life Out of Order, her exhilarating new speculative story set in a dystopian future where virtual reality and real life converge. Audrey Niffenegger is a visual artist and writer whose book art, prints, and paintings are included in the collections of the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Newberry Library, and the Library of Congress. A former Professor at Columbia College, she helped found their Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts, and also founded Artists Book House, a non-profit center for the literary and book arts. She has published eight books, including the novels The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry, as well as the graphic novels Raven Girl and The Night Bookmobile. A modern classic that has captivated readers worldwide, The Time Traveler's Wife has been adapted into a film, an HBO series, and a West End stage musical. We are eager to talk to her about Life Out of Order, an epic genre-bending tale told through a kaleidoscope of perspectives, that moves through a boundless, unfolding universe of virtual reality, and skims the wildest reaches of technology and the natural world.

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On this episode, Ron Block & Kristin Harmel welcome Bonnie Garmus, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the global sensation Lessons in Chemistry, to discuss Peck & Peck, her irresistible, delightful, and tender new literary novel set in the publishing world of 1980s New York City about a young man whose life turns upside down when he is hired by the most prestigious, secretive, and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world. Bonnie is a coffee-dependent American novelist whose debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, a Goodreads Choice Best Book of the Year, spent nearly two years on the NYT bestseller list and was named by Times readers as one of the top 100 books of the 21st century. Translated into over forty languages, Lessons in Chemistry was honored with sixteen international literary awards and made into an Apple TV limited series. We are so excited to talk to Bonnie about her second novel, Peck & Peck, which Kristin Hannah praises as “charming, uplifting, soulful, and original,” and LitHub says will “fill a void in all our hearts with a needed dash of wit and poignancy.”

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On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristin Harmel welcome bestselling, award-winning author Annie Hartnett to discuss her darkly comic and warm-hearted national bestseller, The Road to Tender Hearts, about an old man on a cross-country mission to reunite with his high school crush—bringing together his adult daughter, two orphaned kids, and a cat who can predict death. Annie is the award-winning author of two previous novels Rabbit Cake and Unlikely Animals. Released in its trade paperback edition in April, The Road to Tender Hearts, won the 2025 New England Book Award for fiction, was longlisted for the Massachusetts Book Award, was named a best book of 2025 by NPR, LitHub, and Southern Living, and has been translated into nineteen languages. We are so excited to have Annie join us from her home in Massachusetts to talk about this word-of-mouth sensation that is beloved by book clubs and which John Irving calls, “a miraculous novel—an actual and spiritual road trip you won’t forget.”

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On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcome #1 bestselling author Lucy Foley to discuss her brand-new novel, Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel, the first fully authorized Miss Marple mystery in fifty years featuring Agatha Christie’s iconic detective. Lucy is a #1 Sunday Times, Irish Times, and New York Times bestselling author with more than 10-million copies of her books in print worldwide and several currently being adapted for the screen. She is a Waterstones Thriller of the Month author, a three-time nominee at the British Book Awards, and The Guest List was a Reese’s Book Club selection and winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller. As a life-long Agatha Christie fan, Lucy has drawn immeasurable inspiration from the Queen of Crime. In Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel, she was inspired to transport Miss Marple – her favorite Christie creation – to the glamorous post-war setting of the Swiss Alps, in a mystery that feels gloriously escapist yet utterly relevant to our times.

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On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristin Harmel welcome New York Times bestselling author Ariel Lawhon to discuss her brand-new instant NYT-bestselling novel, The Pirate Queen, a sweeping historical adventure inspired by the life of Grace O’Malley, the legendary Irish folk heroine who risked everything to defend her people. Ariel is an award-winning, critically acclaimed, bestselling author of seven works of historical fiction including Code Name Hélène, The Wife the Maid and the Mistress, and I Was Anastasia. Her 2023 novel, The Frozen River was a Good Morning America Book Club pick and an NPR Book of the Year that has sold more than a million copies and spent more than 40 total cumulative weeks on the NYT bestseller list, with film rights optioned by Trudie Styler’s Maven Screen Media. Ariel’s books have been translated into more than 40 languages. We can’t wait to venture onto the high seas with Ariel to chat about this keenly observed, action-packed novel that channels the untamed beauty and harsh realities of sixteenth-century Ireland as seen through the eyes of an unforgettable heroine.

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On this episode, Ron Block & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome award-winning, NYT-bestselling author Chloe Benjamin to discuss her new novel and this month’s Good Morning America Book Club pick, Under Story, an intimate yet epic love story that’s also a sweeping odyssey of scientific discovery. Chloe is the author of The Anatomy of Dreams and The Immortalists which was a New York Times bestseller, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, a LibraryReads favorite, a #1 Indie Next pick, and a best book of 2018 according to NPR and The Washington Post among others. Chloe joins us from her home in the San Francisco Bay Area to discuss her eagerly anticipated new novel that invites us to consider the promise of this life, what might lie beyond it, and how far we would go for more time with the people we love. Already met with wall-to-wall incredible reviews, this novel cements Chloe’s place among our best and most lasting storytellers and we cannot wait to chat with her.

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On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to celebrate this month’s F&F Featured Author, our very own Kristy Woodson Harvey, to discuss our August 2026 Pick of the Month, Falling for Peachtree Bluff, the fifth installment in Kristy’s fan-favorite series that reunites the Murphy crew just in time for pumpkin spice season. Kristy is the New York Times, USA TODAY, and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of fourteen novels, including Summer State of Mind, Beach House Rules, A Happier Life, and The Wedding Veil. Many of her novels are in various stages of option or development for film and television. Around here she is most adored for her role as one of F&F’s co-founders and co-hosts. Readers have flocked to Kristy’s beloved Peachtree Bluff series for a reason: it’s a cozy coastal town where family secrets refuse to be washed away by the tide and close-knit community is everything. We agree with Susan Mallery who says, "Peachtree Bluff is my happy place!” Go there with us on this LIVE show as we welcome Fall the best way we know how—with a brand-new book perfect for the season and all the fun, laughs, and warm-hearted insights you’ve come to expect from our live launch episodes!

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On this episode, we are airing an “Ask Us Anything” episode where F&F’s Managing Director Meg Walker leads our hosts & founders — Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Patti Callahan Henry in answering questions that were submitted by our community. The Fab Four wanted to know what those of you out there might be wondering about. So we solicited your questions and we were amazed by the response! We received more than 50 questions! So, we recorded a casual, informal chat where we got to as many of them as possible. One thing is clear—we will definitely need to do this again to get to more of them! But for now, join us as we discuss all manner of things from writing process, reading habits, and recent favorite reads, to book touring, guest booking, and the relationships between our four hosts.

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This episode is a re-airing of one of our favorite episodes from the vault! Join us as Kristy, Kristin & Mary Kay talk to #1 NYT-bestselling novelist Elin Hilderbrand along with her daughter Shelby Cunningham, to discuss their 2025 bestselling co-written novel, The Academy, the deliciously scandalous story of one drama-filled year at a New England boarding school. Now is the perfect time to re-air this episode as Elin & Shelby’s eagerly anticipated follow-up, The Thoroughbreds, is set to release on September 15th. Class will soon be back in session for senior year at Tiffin Academy promising loads of high-stakes drama, tension, and intrigue—and the big reveal of what was in Cinnamon’s email. Tune in for this fun chat with this dynamic mother-daughter author duo—now with a brand-new intro from Kristy Woodson Harvey—as we discuss Elin & Shelby’s fresh, buzzy take on boarding school life which took one of America's most satisfying and popular storytellers in a thrilling new direction.

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On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the #1 New York Times bestseller Karin Slaughter to discuss The Secrets We Hide, the next thrilling mystery in her new North Falls series featuring Sheriff Emmy Clifton, which is our August 2026 Pick of the Month! Karin is the #1 NYT-bestselling author of more than 25 novels, including the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and standalone novels Pretty Girls and False Witness. An international bestseller, Slaughter is published in 120 countries with more than 40-million copies sold across the globe. Pieces of Her, based on her novel, debuted at #1 worldwide on Netflix as an original series in 2022. Her bestselling Will Trent series is now a television and streaming sensation in its 4th season. Karin joins us to give an update on all her projects currently in development for film/TV, her work with Save the Libraries, and, of course, her pulse-pounding new thriller, The Secrets We Hide, about which Booklist said this in a starred review: “themes of motherhood, betrayal, and redemption are tied up in the final twist in Slaughter's gripping portrait of a painfully human small town.”

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On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Kristin Harmel welcome New York Times bestselling author duo Christina Lauren to discuss their brand-new instant NYT-bestseller The Romance Revival, in which a fateful accident erases a troubled marriage from memory and a scientific breakthrough gives love one extraordinary do-over. Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA Today, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series plus more than 20 other novels including The Unhoneymooners and The Paradise Problem. They join us to discuss The Romance Revival, their delightful new twist on second-chance romance which Ali Hazelwood calls, “unexpected, ridiculously charming, and romantic enough to short-circuit my last brain cell.”

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On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Ron Block welcome bestselling author, podcast creator, and award-winning journalist Jo Piazza to discuss her new novel, The Parisian Heist, a propulsive dual-timeline mystery drenched in art-world intrigue and brimming with family secrets, betrayal, and the intoxicating lure of power. Jo is the internationally bestselling author of thirteen books, including Everyone Is Lying to You, The Sicilian Inheritance, and the Good Morning America Book Club pick We Are Not Like Them co-written with Christine Pride. She’s also the host of the critically acclaimed Under the Influence podcast. Her work has been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications. She joins us to discuss her new suspense novel, The Parisian Heist, about an all-female art heist at Paris’s Musée d'Orsay, the legacy of Vincent van Gogh, and two daring women generations apart who refuse to be written out of history no matter the cost. Kristin Harmel calls the book “absolutely riveting and delicious,” Fiona Davis says it “has everything I’ve ever wanted in a novel,” and Kate Quinn says it’s “twisty, satisfying, and atmospheric.”

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On this episode, Kristy Woodson Harvey & Kristin Harmel chat with three three of their Gallery Books pub house sisters all with new contemporary summer romance novels out. Released on July 7th, Natalie Messier’s debut novel Every Version of You is for fans of The Love of My Afterlife and The Seven Year Slip. This heartfelt contemporary romance follows a woman who gets a second chance at a formative time in her adult life—this time to win the “one that got away.” Natalie is a Reese’s Book Club LitUp Fellow and Los Angeles-based screenwriter. Released on June 23rd, Kyleigh Leddy’s debut novel, Worse Than Strangers, is for fans of Jane Austen, Elin Hilderbrand, and Gilmore Girls. This beachy retelling of Austen’s Persuasion set in a modern-day Nantucket cottage is about finding romance, second chances, and a new path in life. Kyleigh penned the memoir, The Perfect Other, based on her NYT Modern Love essay, “Years Ago, My Sister Vanished. I See Her Whenever I Want.” Released on April 14th, USA Today bestselling author Chloe Liese’s Happy Ending is a clever and heartwarming rom-com perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Annabel Monaghan about two best friends who must fake a relationship for their exes. Chloe believes that everyone deserves a love story and is the author of two romantic family sagas, the Bergman Brothers and Wilmot Sisters.

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On this episode, the full F&F family gathers to celebrate the launch of our very own NYT-bestselling author Kristin Harmel’s captivating new novel, Meet Me In Paris about several intertwined stories of love, loss, courage, and redemption set over the course of one magical week in Paris, which is, of course, our July Pick of the Month! One of F&F’s co-founders and co-hosts, Kristin Harmel is the New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau, The Paris Daughter, The Forest of Vanishing Stars, and The Book of Lost Names. She is published in more than thirty languages. She joins us before heading out on book tour to chat about her new contemporary novel, Meet Me In Paris, which is described as Love Actually meets The Notebook. We can’t wait to celebrate this tale of love, loss, and finding your way home set during one life-changing week in Paris in grand F&F style complete with musical performances and a signature cocktail!

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On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristin Harmel welcome debut novelist Ben Reeves to discuss his super buzzy new book, Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt, an astonishing, deeply moving story about finding beauty in the brevity of life, as narrated by the one who knows it best: Death. When Ben Reeves is not writing, he paints, makes music, and works as a web designer for a book printing company in Peterborough, UK. An early draft of Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt won the international 2024 Bath Novel Award. Perfect for fans of Fredrik Backman and Virginia Evans, the book has been named a Most Anticipated Book of the Summer by People, BuzzFeed, and Goodreads. We are excited to talk to Ben about the book that NYT-bestselling author Graeme Simsion (The Rosie Project) calls “one of the most original, riveting, and moving books I’ve read in a long while.

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On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Patti Callahan Henry welcome NYT-bestselling author John Searles to discuss his infectious and utterly charming new novel, Single Girls, which is a fictionalization of the iconic Helen Gurley Brown’s early years at the helm of Cosmopolitan, and the intrepid group of women she took under her wing to create one of the most talked about magazines of all time. John is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of four atmospheric thrillers including Strange But True which was adapted as a major motion picture starring Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Brian Cox, Blythe Danner, and Margaret Qualley. He appears regularly on the Today show to discuss his favorite book selections and has written for The New York Times, Oprah Daily, and The Washington Post. He spent more than two decades as a top editor at Cosmopolitan. He joins us to chat about Single Girls which has been named a Best Book of Summer by Oprah Daily, Harper’s Bazaar, and The Boston Globe, and been praised as “an irresistibly fun, sparkling novel that you'll want to binge in one night” by Kevin Kwan, and “a poignant and rollicking good time” by Wally Lamb.

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On this episode, Ron Block & Mary Kay Andrews welcome #1 NYT-bestselling author Lisa Jewell to discuss her "deliciously dark, devilishly addictive" (Alice Feeney) new novel It Could Have Been Her, in which two women's lives converge in a house containing devastating secrets that refuse to stay buried. Lisa is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 24 novels, including Don’t Let Him In, None of This Is True, The Family Upstairs, and Then She Was Gone. Her novels have sold more than 15-million copies internationally, and her work has been translated into more than 30 languages. She joins us from her home in London before embarking on her US tour to chat about her new psychological thriller, It Could Have Been Her, which Riley Sager calls “twisty, twisted and oh so dark,” and Publishers Weekly calls a “pitch-black spine-tingler."

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On this episode, Kristin Harmel & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome beloved New York Times bestselling author Lisa See to discuss her new novel, Daughters of the Sun and Moon, the story of three Chinese women whose unexpected friendship helps them survive and, despite the odds, thrive, in the turmoil of post-Civil War Los Angeles. Lisa is the NYT-bestselling author of a dozen novels including Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, The Island of Sea Women, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. She is also the author of the memoir, On Gold Mountain, which tells the story of her Chinese American family’s settlement in Los Angeles. See was the recipient of the Golden Spike Award from the Chinese Historical Association of Southern California and the Historymaker’s Award from the Chinese American Museum and was named National Woman of the Year by the Organization of Chinese American Women. She joins us to discuss her new book, Daughters of the Sun and Moon, which Library Journal called “a stunning piece of historical fiction based in truth” in a starred review.

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On tis episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristin Harmel welcome #1 New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett to discuss her new Katie Couric and Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick, Whistler, a moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time. Ann Patchett is the author of ten novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, five works of nonfiction, and three children's books whose work has been translated into more than thirty languages. A winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Women's Prize for Fiction, and the Book Sense Book of the Year, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine, and was awarded the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture by President Biden. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She joins us from her home in Nashville—where she is the owner of Parnassus Books—to discuss her new novel Whistler, which has earned a trifecta of starred reviews from Booklist (“entrancing, radiant, and heart-seizing”), Publishers Weekly (“beautiful and generous”), and Kirkus (“death-defying, heart-opening”).

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