Best-Of Re-Airing with Steven Rowley, Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke
Weekly News from Friends & Fiction—May 20, 2026
Tune in at 7pm ET tonight for this week’s episode!
On Wednesday, May 20th at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel we will re-air one of our favorite episodes from the vault! Join us as the Fab Four talk to Steven Rowley about his 2023 novel The Celebrants, and to Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke about their 2023 novel Forever Hold Your Peace.
Steven Rowley is the NYT-bestselling author of six novels including The Guncle, winner of 2021’s Thurber Prize for American Humor. His fiction has been published in twenty languages and all of his books are in development for feature film or television adaptation. In this episode, he joined us to discuss his NYT bestseller and Read With Jenna Book Club pick, The Celebrants. Steven’s got a new novel, Take Me With You, coming on May 19th.
Best friends for more than three decades, Liz & Lisa have co-authored eight novels in addition to hosting a podcast, and appearing monthly on a San Diego news station to share their favorite book club picks. In this episode we discussed their Father of the Bride meets Bride Wars rom-com Forever Hold Your Peace. We hope you’ll check out their latest novel, The Naysayers, which was released earlier this year.
So, as you prep for your Memorial Day weekend festivities, tune in for this interview, now with a brand-new introduction from Kristin Harmel.
Watch the video broadcast of this interview as it airs on Wed 5/20 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 5/22.
Order Steven’s and Liz & Lisa’s new books on Bookshop.org! Shop all of our guests’ & hosts’ books in our F&F Shop on Bookshop.org!
Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus Q&A’s with our guest authors which include a writing tip, book recommendation, and information about their works-in-progress, plus other great material not covered on the show!
Latest News from the Fab Four!
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY is heading home from her last stop on this first round of SUMMER STATE OF MIND tour dates. She is SO grateful to everyone who came out to see her on the road and to all of you who have already purchased your copies of the book. What a gift you are! That said… The fun isn’t over, and there are plenty more times to see Kristy, so check out her tour dates. Also, if you’re on the fence, check out this exclusive excerpt in People. Plus, she absolutely loves writing personal essays. It’s how she got her start in writing! This piece in Country Living about a kind strawberry farmer was so fun to write, and she hopes you enjoy it!
MARY KAY ANDREWS is crossing off ALL the things on her pre-tour to-do list before she sets off on her ROAD TRIP. Events are selling out fast but tickets are still available (as of today) for the kick-off luncheon on Friday May 29 with Litchfield Books in Pawley’s Island, SC, with an evening event just up the road at Silver Coast Winery. The big Atlanta launch party on Sunday May 31 with Bookbird of Avondale Estates–when MKA will be in convo with the wildly entertaining but unpredictable Karin Slaughter is almost at capacity. And there are still seats available for the Friends & Fiction Live Savannah show with the whole F&F crew (except Kristy Woodson Harvey who gets a hall pass because it’s her son’s middle school graduation) on Weds. June 3 with E.Shaver Books. See MKA’s complete tour schedule here.
KRISTIN HARMEL can’t believe her son only has one more week of 4th grade… Kristin is volunteering today for his end-of-year class party. She’s also looking forward to celebrating her mom’s birthday this weekend at—where else?—Disney World. She’s putting the final touches on her July/August tour for MEET ME IN PARIS, and she looks forward to sharing all her tour dates with you soon!
PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY just received her first pass pages (these pages are the first time an author sees her work in the same format as the book)! She has also seen the cover and can’t wait to share everything SOON! She spent the weekend in Fairhope, AL at a wedding and a fascinating conversation with Kathryn Stockett about her newest, The Calamity Club. Photos here! This week, she’ll be in CT at an event and then off to celebrate Memorial Day with her family!
Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for an ongoing series of roundtable discussions and personal essays by the Fab Four about their careers, writing processes, and all things book and publishing related!
Upcoming Events
Kristy is on tour now for her new book, Summer State of Mind. Stay tuned to her events page HERE.
MKA will be touring in June for her forthcoming book, Road Trip. Stay tuned to her events page HERE.
Kristin will be touring in July/August for her forthcoming book, Meet Me in Paris. Stay tuned to her events page HERE.
See Patti’s upcoming events HERE.
Join us Wednesday, June 3rd for an in-person Friends & Fiction Live event in Savannah to celebrate the launch of MKA’s Road Trip! Get full details and tickets HERE!
Want to know what our F&F Live events are all about? Watch this video compilation!
In Case You Missed It
On our most recent new episode of The Friends & Fiction Show, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcomed the multimillion-copy-selling author of The Help, Kathryn Stockett, to discuss The Calamity Club, her bold, big-hearted new novel about a group of unbreakable women, fighting for what’s rightfully theirs—and the power of friendship to change everything.
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: Joshilyn Jackson, Missing Sister
WATCH | LISTEN
Already aired: Lucy Score, Mistakes Were Made
WATCH | LISTEN
SPRING 2026 SCHEDULE:
Already aired: Virginia Evans, The Correspondent & Allen Levi, Theo of Golden
WATCH | LISTEN
Already aired: Evelyn Clarke, The Ending Writes Itself
WATCH | LISTEN
Already aired: Tana French, The Keeper
WATCH | LISTEN
Already aired: Lynn Cullen, When We Were Brilliant & Priya Parmar, The Original
WATCH | LISTEN
Already aired: Kristy Woodson Harvey, Summer State of Mind
WATCH | LISTEN
Already aired: Christina Baker Kline, The Foursome
WATCH | LISTEN
Already aired: Kathryn Stockett, The Calamity Club
WATCH | LISTEN
Mary Kay Andrews, Road Trip
Watch LIVE: 5/27 | Listen: 5/29
Annabel Monaghan, Dolly All the Time
Watch: 6/3 | Listen: 6/5
Ann Patchett, Whistler
Watch: 6/10 | Listen: 6/12
Lisa See, Daughters of the Sun and Moon
Watch: 6/17 | Listen: 6/19
Lisa Jewell, It Could Have Been Her
Watch: 6/24 | Listen: 6/26
F&F 2026 Subscription Box with Oxford Exchange
The 2026 FRIENDS AND FICTION Subscription Box is available for purchase now, exclusively from our friends at Oxford Exchange.
This subscription includes three separate shipments:
1. MAY 2026: A hardcover, signed, first edition of Kristy Woodson Harvey’s forthcoming book SUMMER STATE OF MIND!
2. JUNE 2026: A hardcover, signed, first edition of ROAD TRIP by Mary Kay Andrews!
3. AUGUST 2026: A hardcover, signed, first edition of MEET ME IN PARIS by Kristin Harmel!
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.
We’ve added TWO NEW COLORS for our fan favorite name list tee-shirts. We now have them in a heathery hunter green and a kelly green—both of which match perfectly with the three new Fab Four books out in May, June & July! Get yours now and dress to match the books when you come out to Kristy, MKA & Kristin’s tour events!
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 nearly 40,000 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 Wade Rouse about his new novel, That’s What Friends Are For. Mark your calendars for June 15th for their next author guest, Kristy Woodson Harvey, when they’ll discuss her new novel, Summer State of Mind. The Book Club is also hosting the 2026 F&F Reading Challenge. Join them for a different category prompt each month to read outside your comfort zone. The April prompt is to read a book recommended by a favorite librarian and for May it’s to read a book about a female detective.
Stay in Touch!
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Find details about everything F&F on our WEBSITE.
Shop our guests’ & hosts’ books in our shop on BOOKSHOP.
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