Interview

Shelf Unbound: You’ve written an extraordinarily literary dystopian novel. What drew you to a dystopian theme? Sandra Newman: Well, technically, The Country of Ice Cream Star isn’t a dystopian...

Shelf Unbound: Your main character says, “A binary star is a system containing two stars that orbit their common center of mass.” In this case, the anorexic/bulimic unnamed main...

Shelf Unbound: How did you become interested in London’s works, and what about his writing most appeals to you? Earle Labor: I first became interested in London’s works when...

shelf unbound What’s a typical starting point for you in writing a story, for example the guy who hooks up with a celebrity at a party and then finds...

shelfunbound What’s a typical starting point for you in writing a story, for example rebounding 30-year-old Price Chopper employee Carla in her “transitional phase,” in which “she was and...

shelfunbound What’s a typical starting point for you in writing a story, for example unhappy thirty-something Anna Green, who survives a shooting at her high school reunion only to...

shelfunbound What’s a typical starting point for you in writing a story, for example the murdered dog in “A Dog is Buried”? lawrencescott With this story, there had been...

shelfunbound What’s a typical starting point for you in writing a story, for example the troubled little Annabelle with a neglectful mother and a lecherous grandfather in this book’s...

shelfunbound What’s a typical starting point for you in writing a story, for example Felicia and David visiting a college friend in New York City, and David’s unease with...

Shelf Unbound: You’re a highly successful Hollywood entertainment attorney, and you won a Tony for co-producing Book of Mormon. Why add writing to the mix at this point in...