Tune in at 7pm ET for TONIGHT’s episode! Join us Wednesday, September 24th at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as Kristin Harmel & Ron Block welcome acclaimed NYT-bestselling novelist Jane Hamilton to discuss her stunning new coming-of-age novel, The Phoebe Variations, about girls, mothers, and finding one’s way in the world.
Jane Hamilton’s novels have won literary prizes, have been made into films, and have been international bestsellers. Two of them — The Book of Ruth and A Map of the World — were selections of Oprah’s Book Club. Her nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times; The Washington Post; Allure; O, The Oprah Magazine; Elle; and various anthologies. She joins us from her home on an apple farm in Wisconsin to discuss her latest novel, The Phoebe Variations (Sept 23, Zibby Publishing), which is already an Oprah Daily Best Book of Fall, an Indie Next Pick for October, and a LibraryReads Pick for September and which has been described by Meg Wolitzer as “glorious,” and by Allegra Goodman as “poignant and funny with plenty of unexpected twists and turns.” Watch the video broadcast of this interview as it airs on Wed 9/24 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 9/26. Order Jane’s book 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!
MARY KAY ANDREWS is insanely jealous of all the fun times her F&F sisters have been having while she’s been toiling away, trying to tie up loose ends in her 2026 release, ROAD TRIP. She has ingested an obscene number of peanut M&Ms during her race to the finish line. KRISTIN HARMEL spent the weekend cheering 9-year-old Noah on in basketball, attending a Wicked-themed charity gala benefitting Next Step Orlando—and taking her first trip of the year to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, where she walked around the world and ate everything from fried pickle spears to chicken tikka masala to pumpkin seed roasted brussel sprouts. She even tried a pickle milkshake, which was–impossibly, unexpectedly–really tasty. Obviously, all that walking burned off all the food calories… right? She also turned in the final draft of her 2026 book, and she’s eager to see it go into production (which means we should have advanced copies in a few months). She’s very grateful to her Friends & Fiction co-host Kristy for reading the book for a blurb! She’s excited to see one of her favorite bands, Sister Hazel (we had Ken and Drew on Friends & Fiction in July 2020–they played one of their hit songs, All For You!), live this week in Orlando! Be sure to join Kristin tomorrow (Thursday) night at 8pm ET on Brenda Novak’s Book Group; THE STOLEN LIFE OF COLETTE MARCEAU was the September pick for her subscription box, and Kristin will be chatting with Brenda all about it! KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY celebrated the very last day of summer with a Substack Live for BEACH HOUSE RULES. If you missed it, you can check it out here! She spent her weekend devouring our own Kristin Harmel’s MEET ME IN PARIS, and, let’s just say, you’d better whip out that TBR list and add it in bolded, highlighted type. It’s absolutely fabulous! She is working away on her 2026 projects, and can’t wait to share lots more about her Spring book in late October! PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY is in Aspen CO for the very first Literary Festival there; check out her instagram for photos. She spent the week working on some essays and attending a play in Birmingham that blew her socks off (Carol Cooke Saved My Life). She also taught at the Broadleaf Writers Conference in Atlanta and snuck a quick getaway coffee with our MKA and saw our book club leader Lisa Harrison at the conference! She is waiting impatiently for autumn weather in the south. 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
See Kristin’s upcoming events HERE. Want to know what our 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 & Kristy Woodson Harvey welcomed bestselling, award-winning author Hank Phillippi Ryan to discuss her new cross-country cat-and-mouse chase, All This Could Be Yours. 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: F&F June Pick of the Month—Kristin Harmel, The Stolen Life of Collette Marceau Already aired: Julie Clark, The Ghostwriter Already aired: Jess Walter, So Far Gone Already aired: Fourth of July “Best-of” Kristin Hannah, The Women Already aired: Meg Waite Clayton, Typewriter Beach Already aired: Adriana Trigiani, The View from Lake Como Already aired: LIVE! July Pick of the Month: Lisa Scottoline, The Unraveling of Julia Already aired: Susan Wiggs, Wayward Girls Already aired: Celebrating Debuts! Morgan Pager, The Art of Vanishing & Laura Dickerman, Hot Desk Already aired: Victoria Benton Frank, The Violet Hour Already aired: LIVE! August Pick of the Month: Francesca Serritella, Full Bloom Already aired: Christina Baker Kline & Anne Burt, Please Don't Lie Already aired: Sarah McCoy, Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely? Already aired: LIVE! September Pick of the Month: Elin Hilderbrand & Shelby Cunningham, The Academy Already aired: Hank Phillippi Ryan, All This Could Be Yours Jane Hamilton, The Phoebe Variations Stay tuned for the reveal of our Fall (Oct-Dec) Season guest lineup, coming later this week! 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: *Optional add-on: A paperback, signed, first edition of SUMMERS AT THE SAINT by Mary Kay Andrews (released 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. Tees in New Colors!We’ve added two fun, new colors (hot pink & turquoise!) to our Bonfire merch store in our signature Name List apparel line. 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 Regina Black about her novel, August Lane. Mark your calendars for October 20th for their next author guest, Morgan Ryan, when they’ll discuss her new novel, A Resistance of Witches. 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 September prompt is to read a book that’s been on your TBR list for over a year and for October it’s to read a book with “magic” in the title. Stay in Touch!Subscribe to our PODCAST. Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus content from our hosts and guests.
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