Listen to the Book Nook with Vick Mickunas for intimate conversations about books with the writers who create them.
Vick Mickunas introduced the Book Nook author interview program for WYSO in 1994. Over the years, he has produced more than 1,700 interviews with writers, musicians, poets, politicians, and celebrities.
He has interviewed historians such as Studs Terkel, David McCullough, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Simon Sebag Montefiore, and Gary Wills; politicians including Mario Cuomo, Sherrod Brown, George McGovern, John Kasich, Gary Hart, and Donald Trump; pundits such as Karl Rove, Ann Coulter, Ralph Nader, and Christopher Hitchens; broadcast journalists like Jim Lehrer, Robin MacNeil, Chris Wallace, Ken Bode, and Richard Threlkeld; movie stars including Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Peter Ustinov, Kevin Bacon, and Bruce Campbell; romance writers Nora Roberts and Janet Dailey; astronauts such as John Glenn, Buzz Aldrin, Tom Stafford, and Gene Cernan; diplomats including Richard Holbrooke and Jose Ramos Horta; humorists like Bill Bryson, Gary Shteyngart, Art Buchwald, Gail Collins, Dave Barry, Roz Chast, and Sarah Vowell; food writers including Amanda Hesser, Molly O'Neill, Michael Ruhlman, and Judith Jones; poets such as Galway Kinnell, Donald Hall, Nikki Giovanni, Billy Collins, Coleman Barks, Hanif Abdurraqib, and Shuly Cawood; crime writers like P.D. James, Sue Grafton, James Lee Burke, Louise Penny, Robert Crais, John Sandford, Don Winslow, Lawrence Block, Ian Rankin, Adrian McKinty, Lee Child, Walter Mosley, Ed McBain, and Philip Kerr; espionage novelists like Alan Furst, Mick Herron, and Olen Steinhauer; horror novelists including Clive Barker, Joe Hill, Stephen Graham Jones, Danielle Trussoni, and Paul Tremblay; and music legends from bands like The Animals, Duran Duran, Joy Division, The Doors, the Byrds, and The Rolling Stones.
Vick Mickunas reviews books for the Dayton Daily News and the Springfield News Sun.
-
Vick Mickunas revisits his 1996 interview with Brooks Hansen about "The Chess Garden," set in Dayton, Ohio, during the 1913 flood. A New York Times notable book turns 30. -
From the 2002 archives: Newbery Medalist Karen Cushman discusses her young adult novel "Matilda Bone," set in medieval England's fascinating world of early medicine. -
As the 70th anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest approaches, John K. Bollard chronicles nearly 100 others who fought transportation segregation since the 1830s. -
Sisters Kathleen and Beth Rooney discuss their new picture book inspired by children who built an imaginary town from fallen leaves during the pandemic. -
Otto Penzler, founder of Mysterious Press, discusses his new holiday anthology featuring classic crime writers and reflects on 50 years in mystery publishing. -
Robert Goldsborough discusses his 40-year journey as the continuator of Rex Stout's beloved Nero Wolfe mystery series and his latest novel, "The White Mountain." -
Debut novelist Eileen Lynch discusses her Chicago-set novel "Splenditude" and its mental health themes, plus a classic 2011 interview with Pulitzer winner William Kennedy -
The Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist returned to the program to show us we can farm better. Art Cullen examines Iowa's agricultural crisis and water pollution. -
A scholar reflects upon his battle with alcohol while revealing his spiritual faith. Over 50 years of AA sobriety and Catholic renewal are explored in the memoir. -
A 21-year-old aspiring screenwriter from Dayton has published her first book. Shamya Sumlin's memoir chronicles loss, resilience, and generational trauma.
