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Our current discussion is around the memoir Lit, by author Mary Karr. We will talk with the author in late September

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'Lunch Lady' Author Helps Students Draw Their Own Heroes

May 23, 2013 — Can you imagine your own superhero? That's the question author and illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka posed to kids on a recent afternoon at a school in Washington, D.C. Krosoczka also described how he overcame a difficult childhood to become the author of the beloved Lunch Lady series.

Fictional 'Mothers' Reveal Facts Of A Painful Adoption Process

May 22, 2013 — After years trying to conceive, novelist Jennifer Gilmore and her husband decided to adopt. What they thought would be a relatively simple process was instead a long and painful one. In her latest novel, Gilmore channels these autobiographical experiences into fiction.

After Crashing In Canadian 'Abyss,' Four Men Fight To Survive

May 21, 2013 — On an icy night in 1984, a commuter plane crashed in the wilderness. Six passengers died, but four survived: the pilot, a politician, a policeman and a prisoner. Carol Shaben's Into the Abyss describes their fight to make it through that frigid night alive.

Courtside Chemistry: How NBA's Phil Jackson Won 'Eleven Rings'

May 21, 2013 — Jackson is famous for his philosophical take on basketball and for the many stars he led to championship triumphs. He taught his players yoga and gave them assigned reading — but also pushed them to intensely practice fundamental skills. His new book looks back on a legendary coaching career.

Unacceptable Anger From 'The Woman Upstairs'

May 19, 2013 — "Women's anger is very scary to people," author Claire Messud says. Her new novel, The Woman Upstairs, features a seething main character, a young woman whose anger is unsettling.

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The program is supported by the donations of NCPR listeners and with the generous support of the New York State Council on the Arts Literature Program and by the The Corning Foundation.

Canton Plant Manager Joseph W. Neubert presented North Country Public Radio Underwriting Director Sandy Demarest with a $6,000 check representing Corning Incorporated Foundation’s ongoing support of NCPR's local and national news coverage and its contemporary literature series Readers & Writers on the Air. Corning Foundation has been a stalwart supporter of NCPR's mission since 1982.

Finding Readers & Writers books

The books to be discussed are available at public libraries throughout northern New York and western Vermont or may be purchased at discount prices at the following participating bookstores. Please identify yourself as a listener to North Country Public Radio's literature series when you request the discount:

The St. Lawrence University Bookstore, Canton, NY
Borders, Plattsburgh
The Bookstore Plus, Lake Placid, NY
The Peace & Justice Store, Burlington, VT
The Potsdam Food Co-op,
Potsdam, NY
The University Bookstore,
Potsdam, NY
Fact & Fiction Bookshop,
Saranac Lake, NY
The College Store at SUNY Potsdam, Potsdam, NY
Old Forge Hardware, Old Forge, NY
Hero's Welcome, North Hero, VT

Readers & Writers with hosts Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson airs on an irregular schedule.

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About Readers & Writers

Readers & Writers, NCPR's conversation on contemporary literature, invites into the studio visiting authors, and invites listeners to call in to join the conversation.

The program is hosted by NCPR station manager Ellen Rocco, and Chris Robinson of Clarkson University. Members of the St. Lawrence University English Department faculty sometimes join Ellen on the program.

Recent Readers & Writers programs

Readers & Writers, Mary Karr, "Lit"

by Readers & Writers

Canton, NY, Sep 25, 2012 — Memoirist Mary Karr was our guest. She talked with hosts Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson about Lit, third in her series of personal explorations that began with The Liar's Club. Karr will read from her work at 7:30 pm tonight, September 25, in SUNY Canton's Kingston Theater. Go to full article

A summer reader. Photo: Emily Mills. Flickr Creative Commons, some rights reserved

Summer Reading List Call-in

by Readers & Writers

Canton, NY, Jul 05, 2012 — In our annual Summer Reading List Call-in staff, guests and listeners share the best beach reads and whatever else is on the summer reading bookshelf. Hosts Ellen Rocco and Chris Robinson are joined by book maven John Ernst and producer Tasha Haverty. Go to full article

Readers and Writers: Mark Slouka

by Readers & Writers

Canton, NY, Apr 24, 2012 — Slouka is the SLU Viebranz Visiting Professor of Creative Writing whose work has been translated into 18 languages. His novels include God's Fool and the Visible World; and his non-fiction includes Essays from the Nick of Time: Reflections and Refutations and War of� the Worlds: Cyberspace and the High-Tech Assault on Reality. Ellen Rocco and Paul Graham host.

The author will give a reading Thu., April 26 at 7:30 pm in the Sykes Common Room on the campus of St. Lawrence University, Canton NY. Go to full article

Readers & Writers: Jane Urquhart, "Sanctuary Line"

by Readers & Writers

Toronto, ON, Apr 17, 2012 — Our guest is Jane Urquhart, a Canadian novelist and poet, and the author of Sanctuary Line, a novel whose narrator studies monarch butterflies in a wildlife sanctuary on the north shore of Lake Erie. She is also author of the internationally-acclaimed novel, The Stone Carvers. Ellen Rocco and Betsy Kepes host. Go to full article

Readers & Writers: Kristin Kimball

by Readers & Writers

Canton, NY, Apr 04, 2012 — Our guest, Kristen Kimball, is author of the memoir The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love, and co-owner of Essex Farm, a full-diet, year-round, draft-horse-powered CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) provider in the Champlain Valley. Ellen Rocco and Mary Hussman host.

Kimball will give a reading Thu., April 5 at 7:30 pm in the Sykes Common Room on the campus of St. Lawrence University, Canton NY. Go to full article

Joanie Mackowski. Photo: Lindsay France, Cornell University

Readers & Writers: Joanie Mackowski

by Readers & Writers

Canton, NY, Mar 21, 2012 — Our guest, Joanie Mackowski, teaches at Cornell University and is visiting Canton as part of the St. Lawrence University Writers Series. Her poetry collections include the award-winning View From a Temporary Window and The Zoo. Her third collection of poems, in progress, explores lyric poetry from an ecocritical vantage point. Ellen Rocco, Sarah Barber and Dale Hobson host.

The author will give a reading Thu., March 22 at 7:30 pm in the Sykes Common Room on the campus of St. Lawrence University, Canton NY. Go to full article

Readers & Writers: Jaimy Gordon

by Readers & Writers

Canton, NY, Feb 01, 2012 — Our guest is Jaimy Gordon. Her fourth novel, Lord of Misrule, won the National Book Award for Fiction in 2011. Her other work includes the novels Shamp of the City-Solo, She Drove Without Stopping, and Bogeywoman. Pedro Ponce and Ellen Rocco host.

Thursday, February 2, Gordon will give a reading at 7:30 pm in Sykes Common Room on the St. Lawrence University campus in Canton NY, as part of the SLU Writers Series. This event is free and open to the public. Go to full article

Readers & Writers: Winter Reading Call-in

by Readers & Writers

Canton, NY, Dec 01, 2011 — Our annual holiday and winter reading list call-in. Hosted by Ellen Rocco and John Ernst. The show solicits listeners suggestions for great books--new and classic--for gift-giving or deep winter reading. Go to full article

Readers & Writers: Kevin Young

by Readers & Writers

Canton, NY, Nov 30, 2011 — Our guest, Kevin Young, is one a new generation of poets who find inspiration in the bittersweet history of Black America. Among his many books of poetry: Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels, Dear Darkness and For the Confederate Dead. Dale Hobson and Jackie Sauter host, along with guest Sarah Barber.

Kevin Young appears as part of the St. Lawrence University Writers Series. He will give a reading on the St. Lawrence University campus in Canton, NY, Thursday, December 1 at 8 pm in the Sykes Common Room. Go to full article

Readers & Writers: Ellen Akins

by Readers & Writers

Canton, NY, Oct 05, 2011 — Our guest is Ellen Akins, author of the short story collection World Like a Knife, and the novels Home Movie, Little Woman, Public Life and Hometown Brew. Ellen Rocco and Peter Bailey co-host.

Ellen Akins will give a public reading Thursday, October 6, at 8 pm at the Sykes Common Room at St. Lawrence University in Canton, as part of the University's annual writers series. Go to full article

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