Hey, Open Book fans! As a bonus, we’re giving you a special preview clip of our new podcast series, Glass Half Full with Craig Melvin. In this episode, Shonda Rhimes joins Craig for a revealing conversation that begins with a decision she made to confront her lifelong shyness. She opens up about her inner world and the shock of becoming a writer suddenly in ... Show More
Yesterday
Judy Blume on Inspiring Generations of Readers and Building Her Legacy (May 2025)
Judy Blume is one of the most beloved and influential authors of the last century, whose books, including Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., Forever, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing and Summer Sisters, have helped generations of readers navigate growing up. In this conversati ... Show More
37m 1s
Mar 5
Colleen Hoover on ‘It Ends with Us,’ Her Health Journey and What Comes Next
After self-publishing her first novel in 2012, Colleen Hoover has become one of the most widely read authors in the world, selling more than 75 million copies of her New York Times bestselling novels including It Ends with Us, Reminders of Him and Verity. Hoover joins Jenna Bush ... Show More
32m 38s
Feb 26
Jay Ellis on Creativity, Belonging, and the Stories That Shape Us (October 2025)
Jay Ellis is an actor, producer, and author who earned a NAACP Image Award nomination for his role in Peacock’s All Her Fault. In this conversation from October 2025, Ellis sits down with Jenna Bush Hager to talk about his memoir Did Everyone Have an Imaginary Friend (or Just Me) ... Show More
39m 35s
Dec 2024
Behind the Pages: The Journey of Anna-Maria Athanasiou
Send a textAnna-Maria Athanasiou, a Greek Cypriot author from Leeds, began her writing journey in secret, jotting down her first stories on napkins. Her debut novel, Waiting for Summer, grew from these humble beginnings into a 900-page best-seller, eventually becoming the first b ... Show More
40m 34s
Aug 2024
The Vision of Novelist Zadie Smith (‘The Fraud’)
Last fall, Zadie Smith published her prescient historical novel The Fraud. We return to our conversation with the beloved author this week, on the heels of our latest sit-down with writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner. At the top, Smith details her most recent book (7:48), her instinctiv ... Show More
1h 8m
Sep 2024
Jacqueline Wilson, JRR Tolkien poetry, BBC TV thriller Nightsleeper
Dame Jacqueline Wilson talks about Think Again, the long-awaited adult novel which is the sequel to her much-loved Girls series of books. Actors Alexandra Roach and Joe Cole discuss their roles in BBC One's latest Sunday night drama series Nightsleeper, a thriller in which a nigh ... Show More
42m 26s