CLIFFORD IRVING Time Magazine's Con Man of the Year Nov. 5, 1930-Dec. 19, 2017 Clifford Irving. the man behind the Hoax of the (20th) Century, had the audacity to write a forged "autobiography" of millionaire-recluse (but still living) Howard Hughes and accept a $750,000 advance from McGraw-Hill. Exposed as a likable con man, Irving served seventeen months in a federal penitentiary. He died in Florida on December 19, 2017 at the age of 87. I interviewed Clifford Irving three times: The Hughes Hoax & Angel of Zen 1985: listen Daddy's Girl 1988: listen Trial 1991: listen

WILLIAM H. GASS Influential American Author Jul. 30, 1924-Dec. 6, 2017 Gass may be best known for his novel The Tunnel, an effort that took him 30 years to write! As a postmodernist, Gass had a running feud with the traditionalist John Gardner over the morality of the novel and the experimental use of words. Gass was also a critic of the Pultizer Prize for fiction, which he said takes dead aim at mediocracy. My two-part interview with Gass on the occasion of his essay collection Habitations of the Word is must listening for any serious writer. listen

2017 Don Swaim Interviews * J. P. DONLEAVY Celebrated for The Ginger Man Apr 23, 1926-Sep 11, 2017 The expatriate Donleavy, who died at the age of 91 in County Westmeath, Ireland, shook the literary world with his provocative novel The Ginger Man in 1955. I spoke to Donleavy in a five-part series of Book Beat reports: listen LES WHITTEN Crusading Reporter Turned Novelist Feb. 21, 1928-Dec. 2, 2017 Whitten, author of twelve novels, died in Maryland at the age of 89. If you're unfamiliar with his name, know that he was once a celebrated Washington reporter, paired with Jack Anderson, byline of the nation's most popular daily newspaper column, "Washington Merry-Go-Round." Whitten, a foe of Richard M. Nixon, quit Anderson in 1976 to write fiction full-time. I caught up with Whitten on the occasion of his novel A Killing Place: listen BRIAN ALDISS Great Si-fi Writer Aug 18, 1925-Aug 19, 2017 While Aldiss was best known for his fantasy and science fiction, he also wrote critically praised memoirs and autobiographical works. He won the two most prestigious awards for science fiction, the Hugo and the Nebula, and was named a grandmaster by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. I interviewed him on the occasion of his novel Helliconia Summer: listen * WILLIAM McPHERSON Pulitzer-winning literary critic Mar 16, 1933-Mar 29, 2017 McPherson, literary critic for The Washington Post -- who later described his descent into poverty -- went into early retirement in order to write full time, but after suffering congestive heart failure, and finding his pension negligible, he fell into a humiliating precarious financial position. He described it in a revealing 2014 essay, "Falling." Before McPherson's decline I interviewed him on the occasion of his acclaimed first novel Testing the Current: listen * JIMMY BRESLIN Legendary New York Journalist Oct 17, 1930-Mar 2017 A two-fisted drinker and two-fingered typist, Jimmy was the epitome of the tough-talking tabloid reporter, as much poetic as profane. His hero was famed reporter Damon Runyon. I talked with Breslin about his idiosyncratic biography of Runyon in this three-part series: listen * NANCY WILLARD Newbery and Caldecott prize winner Jun 16, 1936-Feb 19, 2017 Willard was the graceful author of fiction and poetry for children and adults,I spoke to her on the occasion of her first adult novel: listen * NAT HENTOFF Village Voice columnist, jazz authority, First Amendment champion Jun 10, 1925-Jan 7, 2017 I spoke to Nat on the occasion of his memoir, Boston Boy, about growing up in what Hentoff said was America's most anti-Semitic city: listen

A SOLDIER'S DAUGHTER NEVER CRIES

Remarkable photo taken in 1976 shared by Kaylie Jones (A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries), daughter of James Jones (From Here to Eternity). At the left, at the far end of the bar, is Willie Morris (North Toward Home). In the center is Bunky Hearst (said to have owned the sled "Rosebud" that inspired Orson Welles's Citizen Kane.) I interviewed Willie Morris and both Joneses, so the photo has a haunting sense of deja vu to me... Kaylie says: "My old friend from the James Jones Literary Society, Warren Mason, bought this photo from some archive. I've never seen this picture before. Didn't know it existed. I have so few photos of us together I'm just stunned."

KAZUO ISHIGURO WINS NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE The Japanese-born, English raised novelist may be best known for his novel The Remains of the Day as well as his dystopian Never Let Me Go. I spoke to Ishiguro for my CBS Radio Book Beat feature -- in three parts: LISTEN A transcript of my complete, unedited CBS interview with Ishiguro has been published by the University Press of Mississippi: Conversations with Kazuo Ishiguro.

ART GARFUNKEL ON TOUR AGAIN Singer and poet Art Garfunkel's memoir What Is It All But Luminous (Notes From An Underground Man) was issued by Penguin Random House in September 2017. I spoke to Garfunkel (sans Simon) shortly after Art began his walk across America, an odyssey that took him twelve years. Art had just published a book of poetry, Still Water. listen

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The election of an unstable American president led to a revised interest in dystopian fiction, propelling Orwell's 1949 novel 1984 and others to the top of best-seller lists. The online streaming service Hulu produced a ten-part series based on Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid Tale in which a right-wing totalitarian theocracy destroys gender equality in America. In a two-part feature series, I spoke to Atwood about her speculative fiction: listen