Friends & Fiction

• Friends & Fiction with John Irving

  On this episode, Kristin Harmel, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the internationally renowned, award-winning, NYT-bestselling author John Irving, to discuss our December 2025 Pick of the Month, Queen Esther, which returns us after forty years to the world of his bestselling classic novel and Academy Award-winning film, The Cider House Rules. John Irving is an icon of American letters and the acclaimed author of more than 20 books which have been translated into more than 35 languages. His works include the National Book Award winning cultural phenomenon The World According to Garp; The Cider House Rules, for which he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay; The Hotel New Hampshire, a bestseller which was made into a film starring Jodie Foster; and A Prayer for Owen Meany which is his all-time bestselling novel in every language. A former competitive wrestler and wrestling coach, he is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, John joins us from his home in Toronto to discuss Queen Esther which revisits the orphanage in St. Cloud’s, Maine, where Dr. Wilbur Larch takes in Esther, a Viennese-born Jew whose life is shaped by anti-Semitism. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• Friends & Fiction with Louise Penny

  For Thanksgiving week we are re-airing one of our favorite episodes from the vault! Join us as Kristin Harmel & Patti Callahan Henry talk to #1 bestselling author Louise Penny about her Fall 2024 novel The Grey Wolf, the 19th installment in her wildly successful Armand Gamache mystery series. Louise Penny is the #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Globe and Mail bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels. She was also the co-author with Hillary Rodham Clinton of the #1 New York Times bestselling thriller State of Terror. In October 2024, Kristin & Patti enjoyed a warm and insightful chat with Louise about her life and career. Now is the perfect time to re-air this episode as the 20th Gamache novel, The Black Wolf, was just released on October 28, 2025. So, as you’re slicing, dicing, baking, and entertaining, tune in for this chat, now with a brand-new intro recorded by Patti! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• Friends & Fiction with Lee & Andrew Child

  On this episode, Mary Kay Andrews & Kristin Harmel welcome #1 New York Times bestselling authors Lee Child and Andrew Child to discuss Exit Strategy, the “blockbuster” (Esquire) 30th installment in their Jack Reacher thriller series. Lee Child is the author of the #1 NYT-bestselling Jack Reacher series and the complete Jack Reacher story collection, No Middle Name. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have been sold in one hundred territories. Lee is an Executive Producer on the wildly successful Reacher Amazon Prime series which is adapted from his novels. Lee’s brother, Andrew Child, who also writes as Andrew Grant, is the author of six novels of his own (Run, False Positive, Too Close to Home). He’s also the #1 bestselling co-author of six novels in the Reacher universe, including this latest one. The brothers join us to chat about Exit Strategy, how their co-writing process works, and what kind of trouble Reacher gets up to in this “sure to please” (Booklist) thriller with “the best villain yet” (USA Today). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• Friends & Fiction with Brisa Carleton

  On this episode, Patti Callahan Henry & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcome Broadway producer turned author Brisa Carleton to discuss her debut novel Last Call at the Savoy, which is set against the glittering backdrop of London's iconic Savoy hotel where a young woman is forced to confront her troubled past as she uncovers the story of the hotel's first female bartender who’s been erased from the history books. Brisa grew up in the Pacific Northwest before moving to Midtown Manhattan to turn her passion for musicals and "flare for the dramatic" into an award-winning career as a Broadway producer. Three Tonys later, she's worked on numerous productions including Hamilton, Beautiful, and Moulin Rouge. She recently turned her entrepreneurial spirit to actual "spirits," launching Literati Spirits, a premium vodka created by book lovers for book lovers. She joins us to discuss her buzzy debut novel Last Call at the Savoy which Fiona Davis calls, "an exhilarating, tender read that will leave you smiling," and which Lisa Jackson calls, “bright and sassy.” Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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• Friends & Fiction with David Baldacci

  On this episode, the full F&F family gathers live to welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the award-winning global #1 bestselling David Baldacci to discuss our November 2025 Pick of the Month, his new thriller, Nash Falls, in which Walter Nash’s life is turned completely upside down when he’s recruited by the FBI to bring down a global crime network. Baldacci is one of the world's favorite storytellers with books published in more than forty-five languages in more than eighty countries with 200 million plus copies sold worldwide. His works have been adapted for feature film and television. He’s the cofounder, along with his wife, of the Wish You Well Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting literacy efforts across America. He joins us from his native Virginia to discuss his brand-new stand-alone novel Nash Falls (coming from Grand Central Publishing on Nov. 11) featuring investment banker turned FBI inside man Walter Nash who’s tasked with exposing a money laundering enterprise at his own firm. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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