Lynn Neary
Lynn Neary is an NPR arts correspondent covering books and publishing.
Not only does she report on the business of books and explore literary trends and ideas, Neary has also met and profiled many of her favorite authors. She has wandered the streets of Baltimore with Anne Tyler and the forests of the Great Smoky Mountains with Richard Powers. She has helped readers discover great new writers like Tommy Orange, author of There, There, and has introduced them to future bestsellers like A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.
Arriving at NPR in 1982, Neary spent two years working as a newscaster on Morning Edition. For the next eight years, Neary was the host of Weekend All Things Considered. Throughout her career at NPR, she has been a frequent guest host on all of NPR's news programs including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, and Talk of the Nation.
In 1992, Neary joined the cultural desk to develop NPR's first religion beat. As religion correspondent, Neary covered the country's diverse religious landscape and the politics of the religious right.
Neary has won numerous prestigious awards including the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Gold Award, an Ohio State Award, an Association of Women in Radio and Television Award, and the Gabriel award. For her reporting on the role of religion in the debate over welfare reform, Neary shared in NPR's 1996 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton Award.
A graduate of Fordham University, Neary thinks she may be the envy of English majors everywhere.
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Matthew Weiner's first novel is Heather, the Totality. It's a character study of a well-to-do New York family — and a violence-prone construction worker who becomes obsessed with their daughter.
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In a new memoir, the Joy Luck Club author searches her past for the sources of her creativity. She says, "I certainly think that the bad experiences ... shaped me as a writer."
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Former CIA operative Valerie Plame says pop culture doesn't usually get espionage right — but le Carré comes close. His new novel is a kind of prequel to 1963's The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.
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Barnes & Noble is experimenting with food, Amazon is replicating its online business and an indie shop aims to be part of the community. Ultimately, they all want to sell more books.
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Chris Ferrie's board books introduce subjects like rocket science, quantum physics and general relativity to toddlers and babies. What can parents do to make the concepts resonate?
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Hilderbrand reigns over the summer book market with her breezy novels, mostly set in Nantucket. Even if you're in a drab office, she says, if you're reading one of her books, you're at the beach.
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Anthony Horowitz's latest novel is a whodunit about whodunits. He says, "I wanted it to be ... a sort of a treatise on the whole genre of murder mystery writing."
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Audiobooks are the fastest growing segment of the publishing industry, while podcasts are also finding new audiences. One science fiction publisher is experimenting with a new path to the market.
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The author behind the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series writes from experience — her parents divorced when she was young, and she says the divisions remain "to this day."
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Nickolas Butler's second novel unfolds over three generations at a Wisconsin Boy Scout camp. The story echoes Butler's own experience both at camp and learning about his father's affair.