In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Tom Perrotta and Warren Zanes discuss the process of adapting their books into film and television. Tom Perrotta is the author of eleven works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films, and The Leftovers and Mrs. Fletcher, which were adapted into acclaimed HBO series. His new novel is Ghost Town. Warren Zanes is the New York Times bestselling author of Petty: The Bio...

Go back in time and listen to this conversation about Historical Fiction from Season 2! In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Laurie Lico Albanese and Anastasia Rubis discuss reading and writing historical fiction. Laurie Lico Albanese is a historical novelist, most recently of the acclaimed novel Hester, which gives voice to Hester Prynne in a retelling of The Scarlet Letter. Hester was a Book of the Month club selection and an Audible and Goodreads Best Books of...

In honor of spooky season, enjoy this repeat episode from Season 1! In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Laura Sims and Hillary Frank discuss thrillers--how we define them, why we are drawn to them, and how they compare in different mediums: print, audio, film, and television. Laura Sims is the author of How Can I Help You, a New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Book Riot, and CrimeReads Best Book of the Year. Her first novel, Looker, was included on “Best Books” lists...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, food writer Marissa Rothkopf Bates and bookseller Nicole Ban talk about the joy of cooking and cookbook reading. Marissa Rothkopf Bates is the creator and host of The Secret Life of Cookies podcast. A professionally trained chef and journalist, she writes for The New York Times, Newsweek, Food52, and Publishers Weekly. Her first cookbook The Secret Life of Chocolate Chip Cookies was released in September. Nicole Ban is a lifelon...

In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, our customers, authors, and booksellers read excerpts from their favorite banned books. Banned Books Week Books: A full list of the books and authors mentioned in this episode is available here. Register for Upcoming Events. The Watchung Booksellers Podcast is produced by Kathryn Counsell and Marni Jessup and is recorded at Watchung Booksellers in Montclair, NJ. The show is edited by Kathryn Counsell. Original music is composed a...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, writers Ian Frazier and Cora Frazier discuss the art of writing humor and the family stories they mine for comedy. Ian Frazier is the author of Travels in Siberia, Great Plains, On the Rez, Lamentations of the Father and Coyote V. Acme, among other works, all published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. His latest work, Paradise Bronx: The Life and Times of New York's Greatest Borough, is his magnum opus: a love song to New York City’s mos...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we feature the launch event for Bobbi Brown's memoir Still Bobbi. In this lively and heartwarming conversation, Bobbi discussed her book, her businesses, and her life in Montclair with business leader Carolyn Everson. Bobbi Brown is a renowned makeup artist and entrepreneur, best-selling author, sought after speaker, beauty industry icon, and a hotelier. She founded two successful cosmetic brands: Bobbi Brown Cosmetics and more recently cre...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, our events team discusses how we select and host author events. Aubrey Cece, manager of The Kids' Room and Margot Sage-EL, owner emeritus talk with podcast co-producer Kathryn Counsell, who is also the store's Director of Author Events. Aubrey Cece is the Kids’ Room manager, children’s book and gift buyer, and children’s author event planner. She’s a born creative with the love of everything books and art. Her favorite color is lime green a...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, Kate Zernike and Rachel Swarns talk about their professions as journalists and authors, and how they developed their long-form articles into books. Rachel L. Swarns is a journalism professor at New York University and a contributing writer for The New York Times. She is the author of The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church and American TapestryThe Story of the Black, White, and Multiracia...

In this episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, author Jemimah Wei and editor Lee Boudreaux discuss the author/editor relationship and the work each does to develop and publish a novel. Lee Boudreaux is an executive editor at Doubleday, specializing in fiction. She edited James by Percival Everett and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, and also has the great pleasure of working with such writers as Claire Lombardo, Kate Atkinson, Margaret Atwood, and of course, Jemimah Wei. Jemimah W...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, four of our community's authors read excerpts from their current and upcoming books. Anne Burt reads from Please Don't Lie, Christina Baker Kline reads from The Foursome, Henry Neff reads from The Witchstone, and Jemimah Wei reads from The Original Daughter. All can be ordered (or preordered) from Watchung Booksellers. Christina Baker Kline is the Number 1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles, Orphan...

In this episode of the Watchung Bookselelrs Podcast, authors Christina Baker Kline and Anne Burt discuss collaborating together on their first thriller, Please Don't Lie. Christina Baker Kline is the Number 1 New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Exiles, Orphan Train, and A Piece of the World. She is the recipient of the New England Society prize for fiction, the Maine Literary Award, and a Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. Kline has also written and edited five no...

In this bonus episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we share a recording from an in-store event this spring with Amy Larocca, author of How to Be Well: Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time, in conversation with Jason Tanz. Amy Larocca is an award-winning American journalist. She spent twenty years working at New York magazine as both fashion director and editor at large. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Town & Country, and the London R...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, librarians Laura Sims and Kerri Sullivan discuss their alternate jobs as writers and editors and how the two careers mesh together. Laura Sims is the author, most recently, of How Can I Help You, a New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Book Riot, and CrimeReads Best Book of the Year. She works part-time as a children's librarian in Millburn, New Jersey. Kerri Sullivan is the founder of Jersey Collective, one of New Jersey's most popular Instag...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, authors Anne Berest and Claire Berest discuss their novel, Gabriële, with moderator Violaine Huisman during a partnership event with the Montclair Literary Festival, the Montclair Public Library, and the Montclair Campus of L'Alliance-New York. Anne Berest’s first novel to appear in English, The Postcard (Europa, 2023), was a national bestseller, a Library Journal, NPR, and TIME Best Book of the Year, a Vogue Most Anticipated Book of ...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we feature a compilation of book recommendations from our customers, recorded in store on Independent Bookstore Day. Enjoy this varied and wonderful list of books! Libro. Fm Audiobook of Walking Practice Books: A full list of the books and authors mentioned in this episode is available here. Register for Upcoming Events. The Watchung Booksellers Podcast is produced by Kathryn Counsell and Marni Jessup and is recorded at Watchung Bookselle...

To celebrate the first anniversary of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we share a live recording of a book club discussion of Loved and Missed by Susie Boyt, led by authors Alice Elliott Dark and Dagmara Domińczyk. Alice Elliott Dark is the author of the novels Fellowship Point and Think of England, and two collections of short stories, In The Gloaming and Naked to the Waist. She is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and is a professor at Rutgers-Newark in the ...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, children's book author Alliah Agostini talks with children's book illustrator Olivia de Castro about taking humor seriously, and celebrating the joy of underrepresented voices in kids' books. Buffalo, NY native Alliah L. Agostini has marketed everything from iconic brands to scrappy start-ups, but motherhood helped her return to her first love: children's literature. She is the author of over a dozen released and upcoming picture books, ear...

In this episode of the Watchung Booksellers Podcast, we feature a recent book launch discussion with Benjamin Wallace, author of The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto: A Fifteen-Year Quest to Unmask the Secret Genius Behind Crypto, and author Jason Tanz. Benjamin Wallace is The New York Times bestselling author of The Billionaire’s Vinegar and The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto. He has been a features writer at New York magazine and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Jason Tanz is currently a writer at Sal...

In this week's episode of The Watchung Booksellers Podcast, booksellers Asia and Caroline chat with longtime favorite customer, Edward. Asia Jannah was born and raised in Montclair, and has worked at Watchung Booksellers for a total of 9 years. She is currently the gift buyer for the flagship location. Her favorite genres include dark fiction, short stories, essays and memoirs. When she’s not at the bookstore arranging displays or inquiring about customer’s current reads, she enjoys kni...