In his 90th year, L.A.’s finest living writer discusses his heroes and inspirations, the anti-gay and anti-Mexican prejudices he’s weathered and the wisdom accrued over a miraculous life.

An essay on audiobooks.

A writer’s quest.

With her new book, the model tries to escape the oppressions of the male gaze. So our writer is keeping some of her secrets.

Nearly a decade ago, Marie Calloway’s debut book, what purpose did i serve in your life, thrilled and repulsed readers. Then she vanished from public life. I tried to find her.

On the writer W.G. Sebald.

An interview with Amia Srinivasan.

For years, a mysterious figure has been stealing books before their release. Is it espionage? Revenge? Or a complete waste of time?

America’s most fearless satirist has seen his wildest fictions become reality.

A viral short story and the real person it mysteriously drew on.

On Eve Babitz.

Babitz thought she’d die at thirty; she’s now 78 and witnessing her own resurrection. Youth was not wasted on her, and she crammed her life into her sentences.

For decades, thousands of people came to Trinidad, Colorado, to have gender confirmation surgery done by Dr. Stanley Biber. This excerpt from Going To Trinidad tells his—and one of his patient’s—poignant stories.

A profile of Pulitzer Prize- and Oscar-winning author Larry McMurtry.

After the success of her novel Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen spent years trying to prove a man’s innocence. Now she’s “absolutely broke” and “seriously ill,” and her next book is “years past deadline.”

How the Choose Your Own Adventure series began.

On the British and American fascination with rocking chairs and upholstery springs in the 19th century.

The author’s chance encounter with Tom Hanks leads to a dear and lasting friendship with his assistant.

Walter Tevis, the author of the book upon which the Netflix hit is based, spent his life gambling and drinking in pool halls before turning to chess.

The antics in postwar Nordic children’s books left propaganda and prudery behind. We need this madcap spirit more than ever.

After 17 years, the author of the trilogy “His Dark Materials” carries on the story of one of literature’s most indelible heroines.

On Vladimir Nabokov.

For a rebellious, Korean-American teen like myself who was awkwardly trying to situate himself, without much success, Jackson’s writing, with its rap and jazz references and its relentless, engaging voice, provided a vision of Black agency that felt almost illicit.

The role of money plays a two-sided role in Borges’ artistic life. On one side of the coin’s face, Borges was blessed with the most privileged, ideal life for a burgeoning literary genius. Educated in Europe, raised by his father to become a serious writer, Borges devoted his entire life to literature. He did not take a full-time job for nearly 40 years. But on the coin’s reverse side, we see that young Georgie Borges did not actually write his great fictions until after his family lost their money.

The world is consumed by violent fights and hostile disagreements. Sarah Schulman sees a way out of them.

A profile of the author at 84.