Between The Covers : Conversations with Writers in Fiction, Nonfiction & Poetry

Between The Covers : Conversations with Writers in Fiction, Nonfiction & Poetry

Author: David Naimon, Milkweed Editions Language: English Episodes: 100
There's a particular kind of conversation that happens when a thoughtful reader sits down with a writer, one that moves beyond simple promotion into the real heart of the creative act. Between The Covers is built on that very premise. Hosted by David Naimon and presented with Milkweed Editions, this long-form interview podcast delves into the lives and minds of authors working across fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Each episode feels less like an interview and more like a privileged eavesdrop on a deep, meandering dialogue. You'll hear writers discuss not just their latest book, but the fragments of life, the stubborn questions, and the daily rituals that feed their work. Naimon’s approach is informed and curious, often leading guests into unexpected reflections on craft, influence, and the ideas that haunt them. The result is a consistently illuminating audio experience that feels like a private workshop in narrative, language, and thought. For anyone who loves the texture of words and the stories behind them, this podcast offers a sustained and intimate look at how literature is made. It’s a space where the finished book is just the starting point for a richer exploration.
Episodes
Báyò Akómoláfé : Selah [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:14:41
What if we were to take seriously that we, as humans, aren’t the sole authors of our world, that there are other intelligences at play, that we are only one of many agents of change and transformation, and that “we” aren…
Milkweed Live : Canisia Lubrin : The World After Rain [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:57
Canisia Lubrin returns to Between the Covers for a live conversation in downtown Portland, at Powell’s Bookstore, about her latest poetry collection The World After Rain. A private book, that Canisia never intended to pu…
Sangamithra Iyer : Governing Bodies : A Memoir, A Confluence, A Watershed [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:41:26
“When I tell you a story about my body, I cannot separate it from a story about water. And a story about water is also a story about family. And a story about family is rooted in the earth…,” opens Sangamithra Iyer’s Gov…
Randa Abdel-Fattah : Discipline [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:56:31
Randa Abdel-Fattah’s new novel Discipline is set in Sydney, Australia in 2021 during Ramadan. Discipline follows two Palestinians there, one in media and one in academia, where each has to confront questions of silence a…
Jazmina Barrera : The Queen of Swords [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:58:43
Jorge Luis Borges called her the “Tolstoy of Mexico” and César Aira the “greatest novelist of the 20th century,” so why is it likely that you haven’t read or even heard of Elena Garro before now? And given that Garro was…
Tin House Live : Caren Beilin : Sea Poison [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:08
Caren Beilin’s first appearance on the show, in 2022 to discuss her book Revenge of the Scapegoat, was so unforgettable, and spurred so much enthusiasm and electrifying conversation in its wake, that I couldn’t say “no”…
Tin House Live: Stephen Hayes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Painter Stephen Hayes latest exhibition, “Elegy,” consists of twelve abstract paintings that engage with the genocide in Gaza. One of the twelve paintings was created while listening to the Between the Covers conversatio…
Robin Coste Lewis : Archive of Desire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:40:51
Archive of Desire: A Poem in Four Parts for C.P. Cavafy began as a collaborative multidisciplinary project between the poet Robin Coste Lewis, the composer Vijay Iyer, the cellist Jeffrey Zeigler and the visual artist Ju…