Meet Lisa Genova TONIGHT!
Weekly News from Friends & Fiction—January 29, 2025
Tune in at 7pm ET for TONIGHT’s episode!
Join us Wednesday, January 29th at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as Kristy Woodson Harvey & Mary Kay Andrews welcome neuroscientist turned New York Times bestselling author Lisa Genova to discuss her breathless, riveting new novel, More or Less Maddy, about a young woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder who rejects the stability and approval found in a traditionally “normal” life for a career in stand-up comedy.
Acclaimed as the Oliver Sacks of fiction and the Michael Crichton of brain science, Lisa Genova is the New York Times bestselling author of Still Alice, Left Neglected, Love Anthony, Inside the O'Briens, and Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting. Still Alice was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, and Kristen Stewart. Lisa graduated valedictorian from Bates College with a degree in biopsychology and holds a PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University. Her TED talks on Alzheimer's disease and memory have been viewed over eleven million times. She joins us to discuss More or Less Maddy, which Booklist calls, “a visceral, harrowing, and undeniably powerful read,” and Publishers Weekly dubs “a remarkable achievement.”
Watch the video broadcast of this interview as it airs Wed 1/29 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 1/31.
Order Lisa’s book on Bookshop.org!
Shop all of our guests’ & hosts’ books in our F&F Shop on Bookshop.org!
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Latest News from the Fab Four!
PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY is on vacation, escaping the cold for a few days, with a stack of books that she’ll never finish, but she is going to try! She’s finished her book club kit for the website and can’t wait to unveil it for all of you soon! Her BOOK TOUR is wrapped up and she hopes to see some of you on the road!
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY had the best time enjoying the snow with her family! It was the most snow she has ever seen in Beaufort. Also, the first time they have gotten any in seven years! So exciting! She revealed the cover of the paperback edition of A Happier Life yesterday and can’t wait for you guys to check it out if you haven’t yet! Hint: there is a cute furry friend on the cover!
KRISTIN HARMEL is still stuck in bed with a broken leg–and to cap things off, she also came down with the flu this weekend! But she’s finally on the mend and is working hard on her next book (and on physical therapy for her leg!) while she recuperates!
MARY KAY ANDREWS enjoyed being snowbound in Atlanta last week because it allowed her to work on her next book—and binge-read Joseph Finder’s terrific new spy thriller The Oligarch’s Daughter. MKA will be in conversation with Joe and the irrepressible Karin Slaughter on Saturday at FoxTale Bookshoppe. Go here for details. Event is free, but the bookstore is expecting an SRO crowd, so maybe get there early to claim your place.
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Upcoming Events
Saturday, February 1, 2025 at 1pm — MKA together with Karin Slaughter in-person interviewing Joe Finder about his new book The Oligarch's Daughter at FoxTale Book Shoppe in Woodstock, GA. Details HERE.
Tuesday, February 18 at 7pm — Live virtual event hosted by Patti on her Facebook author page. Learn the backstory of her forthcoming novel The Story She Left Behind, ask her anything, and win prizes! She’ll be doing these every Tuesday evening for four straight weeks leading up to her March 18th pub date, with a new topic and a new prize drawing each week. Mark your calendars for this first one on Tues. 2/18! Details HERE.
Monday, March 17, 2025 at 6pm — F&F Live in-person event to celebrate the launch of Patti’s The Story She Left Behind at the Atlanta History Center. Save the date! GET TICKETS.
View Patti’s full 2025 book tour for The Story She Left Behind HERE.
Want to know what these F&F Live events are all about? Watch this video compilation!
In Case You Missed It
On last week’s episode of The Friends & Fiction Show, Mary Kay Andrews & Ron Block welcomed #1 New York Times bestselling master of the legal thriller, Scott Turow, to discuss his riveting new courtroom drama, Presumed Guilty, which sees the return of Rusty Sabich from Presumed Innocent, the phenomenon that redefined the genre.
You can WATCH that episode on Facebook or YouTube, or LISTEN to it on our podcast.
Coming Up on The Friends & Fiction Show
All shows can be watched on Facebook & YouTube each Wednesday evening at 7pm ET, and listened to on our podcast each Friday, all year long.
Already aired: Fiona Davis, The Stolen Queen
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Kate Fagan, The Three Lives of Cate Kay
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: F&F January Pick of the Month: Tara Dorabji, Call Her Freedom
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Already aired: Scott Turow, Presumed Guilty
WATCH now! | LISTEN now!
Lisa Genova, More or Less Maddy
Watch: January 29 | Listen: January 31
Victoria Christopher Murray, Harlem Rhapsody
Watch: February 5 | Listen: February 7
Christina Clancy, The Snowbirds
Watch: February 12 | Listen: February 14
F&F February Pick of the Month: Pam Jenoff, Last Twilight in Paris
WATCH LIVE: February 19 | Listen: February 21
C.J. Box, Battle Mountain
Watch: February 26 | Listen: February 28
Colleen Oakley, Jane and Dan at the End of the World
Watch: March 5 | Listen: March 7
F&F March Pick of the Month: Patti Callahan Henry, The Story She Left Behind
WATCH LIVE: March 12 | Listen: March 14
Emma Donoghue, The Paris Express
Watch: March 19 | Listen: March 21
Emilia Hart, The Sirens
Watch: March 26 | Listen: March 28
F&F 2025 Subscription Box with Oxford Exchange
The 2025 FRIENDS AND FICTION Subscription Box is available for purchase now, exclusively from our friends at Oxford Exchange.
This subscription includes three separate shipments:
1. MARCH 18th: A hardcover, signed, first edition of Patti Callahan Henry’s forthcoming book THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND with an exclusive Friends & Fiction friendship bracelet and car magnet!
2. MAY 27th: A hardcover, signed, first edition of BEACH HOUSE RULES by Kristy Woodson Harvey!
3. JUNE 17th: A hardcover, signed, first edition of THE STOLEN LIFE OF COLETTE MARCEAU by Kristin Harmel!
*Optional add-on: A paperback, signed, first edition of SUMMERS AT THE SAINT by Mary Kay Andrews (coming in paperback June 3)!
Get your subscription NOW from Oxford Exchange!
F&F Merch Store
We have a Friends & Fiction merch store with t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs and a book bag on Bonfire. We also have other items like wine tumblers, reading journals, and our original white v-neck logo tees available through Oxford Exchange.
F&F Official Book Club & 2025 Reading Challenge
Join Brenda Gardner & Lisa Harrison for monthly book club picks and live online author chats on the Facebook page for the F&F Official Book Club with Brenda & Lisa, where they’ve amassed 35,000 of their own members. You can also follow the Book Club on Instagram and subscribe to their YouTube channel where you can catch past discussions, including their most recent chat with Lauren Connolly about her novel, PS: I HATE YOU.Mark your calendars for February 24th for their next author guest, Jennifer Moorman, when they’ll discuss her novel, THE VANISHING OF JOSEPHINE REYNOLDS. The Book Club is also hosting the 2025 F&F Reading Challenge. Join them for a different category prompt each month to read outside your comfort zone. The February prompt is to read a romance novel by a BIPOC author and for March it’s to read a science fiction or fantasy book.
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