Casey Cep
Casey Cep is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of “Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee,” which was a New York Times best-seller and named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and others. She is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. She lives with her family on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
Deb Haaland Confronts the History of the Federal Agency She Leads
As the first Native American Cabinet member, the Secretary of the Interior has made it part of her job to address the travesties of the past.
Trump’s America, Seen Through the Eyes of Russell Banks
In his last book, “American Spirits,” Banks took stories from the news about rural, working-class life and turned them into fables of national despair.
A Forgotten Book of Christmas Poems
“American Christmas,” first published in 1965, includes both classic and nearly unknown works, and widens a reader’s sense of what the holiday might mean.
A Poet’s Faith
Nearly two decades ago, Christian Wiman was diagnosed with a rare cancer and told he probably had about five years to live. In a new book, he makes the case against despair.
The Playful and Provocative Images of “Christian Tourism”
The jarring juxtapositions of Jamie Lee Taete’s collection showcase the sometimes fine line between gimmickry and genuine belief.
What Kate DiCamillo Understands About Children
Her books for young readers have sold more than forty-four million copies. They are full of yearning, loneliness, ambivalence, and worry.
A Tender and Knowing Portrait of Rural Life in Wisconsin
Erinn Springer’s “Dormant Season” pays tribute to a patch of prairie that her family has called home for generations.
How Thomas Lanier Williams Became Tennessee
A collection of previously unpublished stories offers a portrait of the playwright as a young artist.
One of America’s Funniest, Gayest Writers Is Finally Becoming Famous
Robert Plunket’s novels made fans of Madonna, Gordon Lish, and Larry David. Yet, for years, he was a cult writer without much of a cult.
The Oddballs and Odysseys of Charles Portis
In “True Grit,” and other novels, Portis displayed a genius that went beyond character in the strictly literary sense.
What Monks Can Teach Us About Paying Attention
Lessons from a centuries-long war against distraction.
Johnson & Johnson and a New War on Consumer Protection
The company has spent billions on cases about one of its most popular products. As its executives try a brazen new legal strategy to stop the litigation, corporate America takes note.
How a Mormon Housewife Turned a Fake Diary Into an Enormous Best-Seller
“Go Ask Alice” sold millions of copies and became a TV movie, but its true provenance was a secret.
The Bookseller Who Helped Transform Oxford, Mississippi
Richard Howorth has nurtured generations of Southern writers and readers, and changed his home town in the process.
How a Forgotten Bit of Infrastructure Became a Symbol of Civic Pride
The salt box, a winter fixture in Baltimore, was largely overlooked. But, during the pandemic, artists helped turn the humble object into a local celebrity.
“A Childhood” Is One of the Finest Memoirs Ever Written
Harry Crews’s account of hard labor and hard living in the American South, first published in 1978, animates nostalgia and then annihilates it.
The Oddly Addictive Quality of Google Alerts
The imperfect, scattershot search tool delivers just enough usefulness and serendipity to keep one hooked.
Why King Tut Is Still Fascinating
He was a minor pharaoh, and the excavation of his tomb was a disreputable affair. But, a century later, there is more to learn.
The Real Places That Gave Rise to Southern Fictions
Tema Stauffer’s photographs explore how the experience of going somewhere is shaped by your expectations of what you will find.
Deb Haaland Confronts the History of the Federal Agency She Leads
As the first Native American Cabinet member, the Secretary of the Interior has made it part of her job to address the travesties of the past.
Trump’s America, Seen Through the Eyes of Russell Banks
In his last book, “American Spirits,” Banks took stories from the news about rural, working-class life and turned them into fables of national despair.
A Forgotten Book of Christmas Poems
“American Christmas,” first published in 1965, includes both classic and nearly unknown works, and widens a reader’s sense of what the holiday might mean.
A Poet’s Faith
Nearly two decades ago, Christian Wiman was diagnosed with a rare cancer and told he probably had about five years to live. In a new book, he makes the case against despair.
The Playful and Provocative Images of “Christian Tourism”
The jarring juxtapositions of Jamie Lee Taete’s collection showcase the sometimes fine line between gimmickry and genuine belief.
What Kate DiCamillo Understands About Children
Her books for young readers have sold more than forty-four million copies. They are full of yearning, loneliness, ambivalence, and worry.
A Tender and Knowing Portrait of Rural Life in Wisconsin
Erinn Springer’s “Dormant Season” pays tribute to a patch of prairie that her family has called home for generations.
How Thomas Lanier Williams Became Tennessee
A collection of previously unpublished stories offers a portrait of the playwright as a young artist.
One of America’s Funniest, Gayest Writers Is Finally Becoming Famous
Robert Plunket’s novels made fans of Madonna, Gordon Lish, and Larry David. Yet, for years, he was a cult writer without much of a cult.
The Oddballs and Odysseys of Charles Portis
In “True Grit,” and other novels, Portis displayed a genius that went beyond character in the strictly literary sense.
What Monks Can Teach Us About Paying Attention
Lessons from a centuries-long war against distraction.
Johnson & Johnson and a New War on Consumer Protection
The company has spent billions on cases about one of its most popular products. As its executives try a brazen new legal strategy to stop the litigation, corporate America takes note.
How a Mormon Housewife Turned a Fake Diary Into an Enormous Best-Seller
“Go Ask Alice” sold millions of copies and became a TV movie, but its true provenance was a secret.
The Bookseller Who Helped Transform Oxford, Mississippi
Richard Howorth has nurtured generations of Southern writers and readers, and changed his home town in the process.
How a Forgotten Bit of Infrastructure Became a Symbol of Civic Pride
The salt box, a winter fixture in Baltimore, was largely overlooked. But, during the pandemic, artists helped turn the humble object into a local celebrity.
“A Childhood” Is One of the Finest Memoirs Ever Written
Harry Crews’s account of hard labor and hard living in the American South, first published in 1978, animates nostalgia and then annihilates it.
The Oddly Addictive Quality of Google Alerts
The imperfect, scattershot search tool delivers just enough usefulness and serendipity to keep one hooked.
Why King Tut Is Still Fascinating
He was a minor pharaoh, and the excavation of his tomb was a disreputable affair. But, a century later, there is more to learn.
The Real Places That Gave Rise to Southern Fictions
Tema Stauffer’s photographs explore how the experience of going somewhere is shaped by your expectations of what you will find.