1888: The How, The Why

Rebecca Handler is a writer who lives and works in San Francisco. Rebecca’s stories have been published and awarded in several anthologies, and she blogs regularly at www.onewomanparty.com. Edie Richter is Not Alone is her debut novel, and in a Starred Review, Booklist writes, "Handler's Edie has joined the ranks of unforgettably eccentric, intelligent women protagonists.” Kirkus Starred Review says, "A tragicomic exploration of the collateral damage of Alzheimer's disease... Handler gets it right from the title on out. Edie is definitely not alone.”Without These Books is a thank-you-inspired Video/Podcast. Each episode celebrates authors, books, and characters that changed us as writers, readers, and as people. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast. Watch on our YouTube channel or at withoutbooks.org.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.Rebecca Handler selected When Death Tak

Jennifer Acker is founder and editor in chief of The Common, and author of the debut novel The Limits of the World, a fiction honoree for the Massachusetts Book Award. Her memoir “Fatigue” is a #1 Amazon bestseller, and her short stories, essays, translations, and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, Literary Hub, n+1, Guernica, The Yale Review,and Ploughshares, among other places. Acker has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and LitFest. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband. Without These Books is a thank-you-inspired Video/Podcast. Each episode celebrates authors, books, and characters that changed us as writers, readers, and as people. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast. Watch on our YouTube channel or at withoutbooks.org.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide acce

Ty Seidule is the Chamberlain Fellow at Hamilton College, a New America Fellow, and was recently named to the Confederate Base Naming Commission. In 2015, his five-minute video lecture, “Was the Civil War About Slavery?” became a social media sensation with more than 30 million views. He served in the U.S. Army for thirty-six years, retiring as a brigadier general in 2020, after teaching at West Point for two decades.Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on the Significance of Race is a ten-part podcast series of informed and enriching dialogues to help us better understand our world – how we got here, who we are, and where we are going as a society. This series engages in conversations with scholars, artists, filmmakers, and activists to investigate racial inequality, systemic racism, racial terrorism, and racial justice and reconciliation. Through education, art, and storytelling, we can all learn to be allies and engage the world to help evolve to a place of compassion and social equity.Guest: Ty Se

Joshua M. Greene is a popular lecturer on Holocaust history and an author whose biographies have sold more than a half-million copies worldwide. Greene’s groundbreaking book on the Dachau war crimes trials, Justice at Dachau: The Trials of an American Prosecutor, was deemed “riveting—history writing at its best” by Douglas Brinkley, presidential historian for CNN. His renowned work on survivor testimony, Witness: Voices from the Holocaust, was the basis of a feature documentary for national PBS and chosen as “One of the Best Holocaust Films” by Facets Media.  A former instructor at Hofstra and Fordham Universities, Greene is the recipient of numerous awards for his books and films. He sits on the board of Yale University Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies and has served as director of strategic planning for the United Nations Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders.  He is the author, most recently, of the forthcoming,“Unstoppable: Siggi B. Wilzig’s Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor to Wall S

Joshua M. Greene is a popular lecturer on Holocaust history and an author whose biographies have sold more than a half-million copies worldwide. A former instructor at Hofstra and Fordham Universities, Greene is the recipient of numerous awards for his books and films. He sits on the board of Yale University Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies and has served as director of strategic planning for the United Nations Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders.Unstoppable: Siggi B. Wilzig’s Astonishing Journey from Auschwitz Survivor to Wall Street LegendInsight Editions, 2021A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

S. Kirk Walsh is a writer living in Austin, Texas. Her work has been widely published in The New York Times Book Review, Longreads, StoryQuarterly, and Electric Literature, among other publications. Over the years, she has been a resident at Ucross, Yaddo, Ragdale, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Walsh is the founder of Austin Bat Cave, a writing and tutoring center that provides free writing workshops for young writers throughout Austin. The Elephant of Belfast is her first novel. Without These Books is a thank-you-inspired Video/Podcast. Each episode celebrates authors, books, and characters that changed us as writers, readers, and as people. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast. Watch on our YouTube channel or at withoutbooks.org.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.S. Kirk Walsh selected Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones for her episode of Without These Books

Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress, activist, and author of five books including The New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize finalist I See You Made an Effort. She’s written for The New Yorker, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Magazine and Hadassahamongst other publications. Without These Books is a thank-you-inspired Video/Podcast. Each episode celebrates authors, books, and characters that changed us as writers, readers, and as people. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast. Watch on our YouTube channel or at withoutbooks.org.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.Annabelle Gurwitch selected Bright-Sided by Barbara Ehrenreich for her episode of Without These Books.

Scott O’Connor is the author of A Perfect Universe: Ten Stories, the novels Zero Zone, Untouchable, and Half World and the novella Among Wolves. He has been awarded the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award, and his stories have been shortlisted for the Sunday Times/EFG Story Prize and cited as Distinguished in Best American Short Stories. Additional work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, the Paris Review, Zyzzyva, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. He teaches creative writing at Cal State Channel Islands and in workshops around Los Angeles.Without These Books is a thank-you-inspired Video/Podcast. Each episode celebrates authors, books, and characters that changed us as writers, readers, and as people. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast. Watch on our YouTube channel or at withoutbooks.org.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.Scott O'Connor select

Peter Friedrichs is a pastor of a religiously liberal and socially progressive church. He lives in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania with his wife and biggest supporter, Irene. They are the proud parents of two adult daughters and grandparents of three elementary-aged boys.And the Stars Kept WatchAtmosphere Press, 2021A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Jacqueline T. Johnson is an avid reader, who dared to fulfill a dream with her debut novel Test of Time. "Writing is an expression of who I am. It's where my emotions, thoughts, and dreams come alive."Test of TimeCreatespace, 2013A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Seth Greenland is the author of five novels. He is a playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and one of the original hosts of the Los Angeles Review of Books Radio Hour. His first memoir, A Kingdom of Tender Colors, was published in 2020. Greenland’s play, Jungle Rot, won the Kennedy Center/American Express Fund For New American Plays Award and the American Theater Critics Association Award. Television credits include a two-year stint as a writer-producer on the Emmy-nominated HBO series Big Love. His essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Le Monde, Le Figaro, Quillette, the Jewish Journal, and the French literary journal America. Greenland lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the author Susan Kaiser Greenland. He is currently at work on a new novel.Without These Books is a thank-you-inspired Video/Podcast. Each episode celebrates authors, books, and characters that changed us as writers, readers, and as people. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast. Watch on ou

Bella Masala is a creator of art of all sorts. She recently quit her job to pursue her passion in writing, which she crafts with love. She currently lives in Silver Spring, MD.The Ghost QueenAtmosphere Press, 2020A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Dani Putney is a queer, non-binary, mixed-race Filipinx, & neurodivergent writer originally from Sacramento, California. Their poems appear in outlets such as Empty Mirror, Ghost City Review, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Juke Joint Magazine, & trampset, while their personal essays can be found in journals such as Cold Mountain Review & Glassworks Magazine, among others. They received their MFA in Creative Writing from Mississippi University for Women & are presently an English PhD student at Oklahoma State University. While not always (physically) there, they permanently reside in the middle of the Nevada desert.Salamat Sa IntersectionalityOkay Donkey Press, 2021A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an autho

Christy Leskovar was born in Butte, Montana, and grew up in Kennewick, Washington. She graduated from Seattle University with degrees in mechanical engineering and French and then joined Bechtel in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where she worked on the design of nuclear power plants. After stints in Kansas, Barcelona, and San Francisco, she transferred to an assignment in Las Vegas. It was during a visit to her hometown that she learned the shocking news about her great-grandmother having been arrested for murder (in 1913). She left her engineering career to find out what happened and write a book about it.East of the East SideFarcountry Press, 2021A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resou

J.D. Jahn, a native of Iowa, studied British literature in college and graduate school. He published scholarly articles on English Renaissance poetry as an assistant professor of English, before moving on to serve as a writer, editor, and director of communications and marketing for six higher education foundations. Now retired, he lives in St. Augustine, Florida, with his wife, who's also a devoted Anglophile.The Crone’s Tales: Fables for New TimesAtmosphere Press, 2021A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Ryan Gattis is the author of Safe, Kung Fu High School, The System, and All Involved, which won the American Library Association’s Alex Award and the Lire Award for Noir of the Year (France). He lives and writes in South Los Angeles, where he is a member of art collective UGLARworks, a founding board member of arts non-profit Heritage Future, and a PEN America Prison Writing Mentor. Without These Books is a thank-you-inspired Video/Podcast. Each episode celebrates authors, books, and characters that changed us as writers, readers, and as people. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast. Watch on our YouTube channel or at withoutbooks.org.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.Ryan Gattis selected Ask the Dust by John Fante for his episode of Without These Books.

Aminah Mae Safi is a Muslim-American writer who explores art, fiction, feminism, and film. She's the winner of the We Need Diverse Books short story contest. She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her partner and two cats. She is the author of Not the Girls You're Looking For(Feiwel and Friends), Tell Me How You Really Feel(Feiwel and Friends), This Is All Your Fault (Feiwel and Friends, October 2020) and the forthcoming Reclaimed Classics Robin Hood (Winter 2022).Without These Books is a thank-you-inspired Video/Podcast. Each episode celebrates authors, books, and characters that changed us as writers, readers, and as people. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast. Watch on our YouTube channel or at withoutbooks.org.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.Aminah Mae Safi selected From the Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg for her episode of Withou

Susan Jane Gilman is the author of five books: The novels “Donna Has Left the Building” and “The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street,” plus the memoirs “Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven,” “Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress” and “Kiss My Tiara.” She has been a commentator for NPR and written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Ms. magazine, among others. Though she lives in Geneva, Switzerland, she remains, eternally, a child of New York.”Without These Books is a thank-you-inspired Video/Podcast. Each episode celebrates authors, books, and characters that changed us as writers, readers, and as people. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast. Watch on our YouTube channel or at withoutbooks.org.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.Susan Jane Gilman selected The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck for her episode of Without These Books.

Chad-Michael Simon was born in Toledo, Ohio and has been an illustrator at Root, Inc. for twenty years. He lives in Michigan with his wife, children, and pets. Yellowstone: The Bears of Caldera is his first novel.Yellowstone: The Bears of CalderaHyphenatedPress, 2019A World Without Books was created to help writers connect with readers during the pandemic. This Micro-Podcast provides authors a platform to share stories about writing, discuss current projects, and consider life without books. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you podcast.Without Books®, a division of Heritage Future, is an author-centric book initiative. Our resources support authors. We also provide access to millions of books.

Jennifer D. Keene, Ph.D. is a professor of history and dean of the Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University. She is a specialist in war and society studies, and has written extensively on World War I, especially on race relations and African American soldiers’ experiences. A past-president of the Society for Military History, Dr. Keene is also the lead author for an American history textbook, Visions of America: A History of the United States that uses a visual approach to teaching students U.S. history.Stephanie Takaragawa is Associate Dean of the Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Associate Professor of Sociology at Chapman University. She is a cultural anthropologist and her research areas examine race, visual media and American culture broadly, with an emphasis on Asian American and Japanese-American identity issues. She was the co-directorof the Engaging the World: Leading the Conversation on Race series.Prexy Nesbitt holds the position