NPR Topics: Authors

• An Enchanting Tour Through A World Of Idioms

  Author Jag Bhalla catalogs the unique turns of phrase that different cultures use in his new book I'm Not Hanging Noodles on Your Ears.

• From Francine Prose, A Tale Of Growing Up, Loss

  In the novel Touch, Francine Prose tells the story of the conflicting accounts that arise after a 14-year-old girl is groped by three male friends on a school bus.

• 'Family': Fundamentalism, Friends In High Places

  In the book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, author Jeff Sharlet examines the power wielded by the secret Christian group known as The Family or The Fellowship.

• Bad Writing Leads To Literary Award

  San Jose State University's Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest honors bad writing. This year's winner is 55-year-old David McKenzie of Federal Way, Wash., who beat out hundreds of entries from around the world for crafting the worst-written beginning to an imaginary novel. McKenzie discusses his win.