Tune in at 7pm ET for TONIGHT’s episode! Join us Wednesday, July 31st at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as Kristin Harmel and Patti Callahan Henry welcome award-winning, internationally bestselling author Marjan Kamali to discuss her new book, THE LION WOMEN OF TEHRAN, a heartfelt, epic novel of friendship, betrayal, and redemption set against three transformative decades in Tehran, Iran. Marjan Kamali is the author of several novels, including The Stationery Shop, a national and international bestseller, and Together Tea, a Massachusetts Book Award finalist. Born in Turkey to Iranian parents, Marjan was raised in Turkey, Iran, Germany, Kenya, and the US. The 2022 recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship, her novels are published in translation in more than 25 languages, and her essays have appeared in The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Review of Books. She joins us to discuss her brand-new national bestseller, THE LION WOMEN OF TEHRAN, which is an Amazon Editors’ Pick, a Book of the Month main selection, an IndieNext pick, and an Apple Best Book of the Month. Watch the video broadcast of this show as it airs Wed 7/31 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 8/2. Pre-order Marjan’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!KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY is a busy bee getting her copy edits finished on her 2025 novel, which she can’t wait to share with you and trying to soak up the remaining weeks of summer with her sweet son. Why does it always go so quickly?! She is also doing a fun giveaway the next couple weeks where she’s picking two reviewers of A HAPPIER LIFE randomly from Goodreads or Amazon to receive a “Coffee is the Secret to A Happier Life” tumbler and two books! And she’ll be putting the reviews in her newsletter too! So, if you haven’t reviewed and you’re planning on it, get those reviews in so you can win! PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY spent the week doing a deep dive into her newest, The Story She Left Behind. From page proofs (the book starting to look like a book instead of just pages), to back end research for essays and book club kits, to last minute edits, she’s starting to get excited about this novel coming into the world. She visited her parents over the weekend and spent some sweet down time hiking and swimming in the lake. KRISTIN HARMEL had a deliciously lazy weekend, which included watching the Olympic opening ceremony (has she mentioned lately how glorious and lovely she thinks Paris is?) and plenty of Olympic sports (especially swimming and gymnastics!). She and her family also spent an afternoon at Epcot, which was blazingly hot but delightful as always! She’s putting the finishing touches on her 2025 novel and hopes to submit the edited manuscript this week! MARY KAY ANDREWS wants to thank the F&F community for all their sweet birthday wishes. She enjoyed a lovely birthday dinner with friends and family before she and Mr. MKA departed for Maine, where they’ve already toured Acadia National Park on a refreshingly cool and misty day, and are hoping for a whale sighting on their tour out of Bar Harbor. 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 EventsFriday, September 27 — An F&F Live event to benefit Earlier.org at High Point Country Club in High Point, NC. Details & ticketing info to come. Sunday, September 29 — An F&F Live brunch event at the Bookmarks Festival of Books & Authors in Winston-Salem, NC. Details & ticketing info to come. Wednesday, November 6, 6pm ET — Join all four founders and hosts of Friends & Fiction—along with Meg Walker & Ron Block—together in-person at the Grand Bohemian Hotel in Orlando, FL for a unique fundraising event benefiting the Florida Cancer Specialists (FCS) Foundation which will include a reception over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, an intimate presentation, book sales, and an autograph session. Get tickets HERE. Thursday, November 7 — An F&F Live afternoon tea event hosted by the Amelia Island Book Festival at The Ritz-Carlton in Amelia Island, FL. Details & ticketing info to come. Want to know what these F&F Live events are all about? Watch this video compilation! Did not find video In Case You Missed ItOn last week’s episode of The Friends & Fiction Show, Patti Callahan Henry and Kristy Woodson Harvey welcomed #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Giffin to discuss her new novel THE SUMMER PACT in which a group of friends, in the wake of tragedy, make a pact that will cause them to reunite a decade later and embark on a life-changing adventure together. Order Emily’s book from the F&F Shop on Bookshop.org, where you’ll also find books by all our hosts and guests, all at a discount—and where all your purchases support our show and our beloved indie bookstores nationwide! You can WATCH that episode on Facebook or YouTube, or LISTEN to it on our podcast. Coming Up on The Friends & Fiction ShowAll 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: Killer Author Club (Kimberly Belle, Heather Gudenkauf & Kaira Rouda) Already aired: Christina Dodd, A Daughter of Fair Verona Already aired: F&F Pick of the Month: Jamie Brenner, A Novel Summer Already aired: Emily Giffin, The Summer Pact Marjan Kamali, The Lion Women of Tehran Rhys Bowen, The Rose Arbor Greer Macallister, The Thirteenth Husband F&F Pick of the Month: Jessa Maxwell, I Need You to Read This Madeline Martin, The Booklover's Library TJ Klune, Somewhere Beyond the Sea Laura Dave, The Night We Lost Him F&F Pick of the Month: Jodi Picoult, By Any Other Name Liane Moriarty, Here One Moment Bonus Episodes!The Fab Four (along with Meg & Ron) are taking turns interviewing some additional authors in short video segments we are calling “Behind the Book.” Check out a few recent bonus interviews that we’ve run on the F&F YouTube channel! WATCH Kristy’s interview with Gilmore Girls star Devon Sorvari, who is also the voice of Keaton in the audiobook version of A HAPPIER LIFE. F&F Merch StoreWe 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 & 2024 Reading ChallengeJoin 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 more than 30k 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 Katherine Center about her novel, The Rom-Commers. Mark your calendars for August 19th for their next author guest, Kristy Woodson Harvey, when they’ll discuss her novel, A Happier Life. With the help of Annissa Armstrong, the Book Club is also hosting the 2024 F&F Reading Challenge. Join them for a different category prompt each month to read outside your comfort zone. The July prompt is to read a book from a Little Free Library (bonus if you take a book and leave one!) and the August prompt is to read a book that inspired a TV show or movie. Stay in Touch!Subscribe to our PODCAST. Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus content from our hosts and guests. You're currently a free subscriber to Friends & Fiction's Substack. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. |