Jonathan Franzen, National Book Award-winning author of "The Corrections," whose sprawling new family saga is set in Minnesota, will be the first guest of the 11th season of Talking Volumes, on Sept. 21.
Also appearing this fall on the series, which presents well-known writers to audiences, both live and on the radio:
• Nicole Krauss, author of "The History of Love," will discuss her new novel, "Great House" Oct. 28.
• Nora Ephron, novelist, humorist and Oscar-nominated screenwriter/director, has a new essay collection, "I Remember Nothing," that follows on her 2006 bestseller, "I Feel Bad About My Neck." (Nov. 17)
• Anita Shreve, author of such best-selling novels as "The Weight of Water" and "The Pilot's Wife," talks about her new novel, "Rescue" on Dec. 8.
Franzen's novel, "Freedom," is one of the most buzzed-about books due out this fall. At the center of the story are Patty and Walter Berglund. She was a basketball star at the University of Minnesota. He grew up in Hibbing and went to Macalester College.
They marry, settle in a crumbling Victorian in St. Paul and raise two kids. The story expands as the family moves to Washington, D.C., and traces Patty's increasing mental problems and Walter's bizarre take on a career as an environmentalist. It combines stinging contemporary satire with rich characterizations. The novel's first two chapters have appeared in The New Yorker.
Krauss, whose "History of Love" was an international bestseller, recently was named one of The New Yorker's "20 Under 40" list of notable young writers. Her new novel loosely weaves separate stories around a mysterious inherited desk where a New York novelist worked for 25 years. Settings include New York, South America, London, Jerusalem and Budapest.
