The New Yorker: Fiction

Daniyal Mueenuddin joins Deborah Treisman to discuss “ Two Pilgrims,” by Peter Taylor, which was published in The New Yorker in 1963. Mueenuddin is the author of the novel “ This Is Where the Serpent Lives,” which was published in January, and the story collection “ In Other Rooms, Other Wonders,” which was published in 2009 and won both the Story Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.

Tessa Hadley joins Deborah Treisman to read “ Gold Watch,” by John McGahern, which was published in The New Yorker in 1980. Hadley has published thirteen books of fiction, including the story collections “ Bad Dreams ” and “ After the Funeral,” and the novella “ The Party.” She won a Windham-Campbell Prize for fiction in 2016.

Bryan Washington joins Deborah Treisman to read “ A Small Flame,” by Yiyun Li, which was published in The New Yorker in 2017. Washington, a winner of the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, is the author of the story collection “ Lot ” and the novels “ Memorial,” “ Family Meal,” and “ Palaver,” which was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2025.

Miriam Toews joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ Elephant,” by Raymond Carver, which was published in The New Yorker in 1986. Toews has published ten books, including the novels “ A Complicated Kindness,” which won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction; “ All My Puny Sorrows,” “ Women Talking,” and “ Fight Night ”—and the memoir “ A Truce That Is Not Peace.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Adam Levin joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ Backbone,” by David Foster Wallace, which was published in The New Yorker in 2011. Levin, a winner of the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award, is the author of the story collection “ Hot Pink ” and the novels “ The Instructions,” “ Bubblegum,” and “ Mount Chicago.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Karen Russell joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ The Stone,” by Louise Erdrich, which was published in The New Yorker in 2019. Russell is the author of six books of fiction, including the story collections “ Vampires in the Lemon Grove ” and “ Orange World and Other Stories ” and the novels “ Swamplandia!,” which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2012, and “ The Antidote,” which came out earlier this year and was long-listed for the National Book Award. Russell, the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, was included in the magazine’s “20 Under 40” Fiction Issue in 2010.

Victor Lodato joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ The Largesse of the Sea Maiden,” by Denis Johnson, which was published in The New Yorker in 2014. Lodato is a playwright and the author of the novels “ Edgar and Lucy,” “ Mathilda Savitch,” the winner of the PEN USA Award for fiction, and “ Honey,” which came out in 2024. He has been publishing fiction and nonfiction in The New Yorker since 2012.

Lauren Groff joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “The Faithful,” by Elizabeth Hardwick, which was published in The New Yorker in 1979. Groff’s works of fiction include the novels “ Fates and Furies ” and “ Matrix,” both of which were finalists for the National Book Award, and “ The Vaster Wilds,” which was published in 2023. A new story collection, “ Brawler,” will come out in February of 2026. In 2024, she opened the bookstore The Lynx, in Gainesville, Florida.

Souvankham Thammavongsa joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ The Size of Things,” by Samanta Schweblin (translated, from the Spanish, by Megan McDowell), which was published in The New Yorker in 2017. Thammavongsa is a Laotian Canadian writer. Her publications include the poetry collections “ Light ” and “ Cluster ” and the story collection “ How to Pronounce Knife,” which won the Giller Prize in 2020. She has been publishing fiction and nonfiction in The New Yorker since 2021.

Edwidge Danticat joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ Two Men Arrive in a Village,” by Zadie Smith, which was published in The New Yorker in 2016. Danticat, a MacArthur Fellow and a winner of the Vilcek Prize in Literature, has published six books of fiction, including “ Breath, Eyes, Memory,” “ The Farming of Bones,” “ Claire of the Sea Light,” and “ Everything Inside.” Her memoir “ Brother, I’m Dying ” won the National Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, among others. She has been publishing fiction and nonfiction in The New Yorker since 1999.

Yiyun Li joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ The Piano Tuner’s Wives,” by William Trevor, which was published in The New Yorker in 1995. Li has published eight books of fiction, including the novels “ Must I Go ” and “ Book of Goose,” a winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and the story collection “ Wednesday’s Child,” which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2024. A new nonfiction work, “ Things in Nature Merely Grow,” will be published this month.

David Wright Faladé joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ Lu, Reshaping,” by Madeleine Thien, which was published in The New Yorker in 2021. Falade is the author of the novels “ Black Cloud Rising ” and “ The New Internationals,” and the nonfiction work “ Fire on the Beach: Recovering the Lost Story of Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers.” He’s been publishing fiction and nonfiction in The New Yorker since 2020.

Paul Theroux joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ The Necklace,” by V. S. Pritchett, which was published in The New Yorker in 1958. Theroux’s nonfiction books include “ The Great Railway Bazaar ” and “ On the Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey.” A winner of the James Tait Black Award and the Whitbread Prize, he has published thirty-nine books of fiction, including the novels “ The Mosquito Coast ” and “ Burma Sahib ” and the story collections “ Mr. Bones ” and “ The Vanishing Point,” which came out earlier this year. He has been publishing fiction and nonfiction in The New Yorker since 1979.

Anne Enright joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “Sierra Leone,” by John McGahern, which was published in The New Yorker in 1977. Enright, a winner of the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Man Booker Prize, among others, has published eleven books of fiction, including the story collection “ Yesterday’s Weather ” and the novels “ Actress ” and “ The Wren, The Wren.” She has been publishing fiction in The New Yorker since 2000.

Jennifer Egan joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “Kat,” by Margaret Atwood, which was published in The New Yorker in 1990. Egan’s books of fiction include “ The Keep,” “ A Visit from the Goon Squad,” “ Manhattan Beach,” and “ The Candy House.” She is a winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, among other honors. She has been publishing fiction and nonfiction in The New Yorker since 1989.

Ayşegül Savaş joins Deborah Treisman to discuss “ An Abduction,” by Tessa Hadley, which was published in The New Yorker in 2012. Savaş has published three novels, “ Walking on the Ceiling,” “ White on White, ” and “ The Anthropologists,” and one nonfiction book, “ The Wilderness,” an essay and memoir about the first forty days of motherhood. A collection of stories, “ Long Distance, ” will come out in 2025. She has been publishing fiction in The New Yorker since 2019.

Aleksandar Hemon joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ Drinking Coffee Elsewhere,” by ZZ Packer, which was published in The New Yorker in 2000. Hemon, a winner of a MacArthur Fellowship and a PEN/W. G. Sebald Award, among others, is the author of eight books, including the novels “ The Lazarus Project ” and “ The World and All It Holds,” the story collection “ Love and Obstacles,” and two nonfiction works, “ The Book of My Lives ” and “ My Parents: an Introduction.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Rebecca Makkai joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ The Third and Final Continent,” by Jhumpa Lahiri, which was published in The New Yorker in 1999. Makkai is the author of the story collection “ Music for Wartime ” and the novels “ The Borrower,” “ The Hundred Year House,” “ The Great Believers,” for which she won the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and “ I Have Some Questions for You,” which was published last year.

Louise Erdrich joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ Haunting Olivia,” by Karen Russell, which was published in The New Yorker in 2005. Erdrich's novels include “ The Round House,” which won the National Book Award in 2012, and “ The Night Watchman,” which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2021. She will publish a new novel, “ The Mighty Red,” this fall.

David Sedaris joins Deborah Treisman to read and discuss “ Love Letter,” by George Saunders, which was published in The New Yorker in 2020. Sedaris is the author of more than a dozen books of essays, memoirs, and diaries, including, most recently, “A Carnival of Snackery” and “Happy-Go-Lucky.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices