How NY Times Bestselling Author Emma Straub Writes: Part Two

New York Times bestselling author, Emma Straub, spoke to us about the cognitive dissonance, joy, and research process behind her highly anticipated next novel AMERICAN FANTASY. Emma Straub is the New York Times bestselling author of six books for adults: the novels This Time Tomorrow, All Adults Here, The Vacationers, Modern Lovers, Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures, and the short story collection Other People We Married. She is also the author of a picture book, Very Good Hats. Her books have been published in more than 20 languages. Her latest novel, American Fantasy (Available on Apr 07, 2026), is described as “... an irresistible story about what happens when your teenage fantasy comes true after you’re already an adult.” NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2026 BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, PEOPLE, TIME, HARPER'S BAZAAR AND OPRAH DAILY New York Times bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid, called it “…a fun, delicious, big-hearted book.” New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell wrote, “You don't have to be a fan of something to love American Fantasy, but if you've ever truly devoted yourself to a boy band or a TV show or even a series of books, you will feel so understood by this novel.” Emma and her husband also own Books Are Magic, the popular independent bookstores in Brooklyn, New York. [Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm] [If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Emma Straub, Milena and I discussed: How an annual NKOTB fan cruise inspired the latest Writing a book about time, love, and loss and why her mom called it her "sexiest book" Why you can’t reverse-engineer the perfect novel What happened when her book appeared in Season Three of the White Lotus Hanging out at with Lin-Manuel Miranda And a lot more! Show Notes: American Fantasy: A Novel – April 7, 2026 by Emma Straub (Bookshop.org) ⁠emmastraub.net⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Emma Straub on Facebook⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Emma Straub on Instagram⁠⁠ Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram Kelton Reid Instagram Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can listen to How NY Times Bestselling Author Emma Straub Writes: Part Two online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How NY Times Bestselling Author Emma Straub Writes: Part Two is an episode from The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience by Kelton Reid.

This episode is 36:50 long.

This episode was published on Mar 27, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.