Soraya Murray, "Technothriller: Film and the American Imagination" (MIT Press, 2026)

John Burt, "A Moment's Surrender" (Press Americana, 2026)

It’s 1980, a decade after he dropped out of grad school, and Paul Bishop is a lowly writing instructor at a college in Nevada. His former best friend, Tom Corbin is now the celebrated poet that Paul once dreamed of being, but shortly after visiting Paul in Reno, Tom is murdered. The story focuses on Paul’s crippling guilt, Tom’s wife’s ongoing love for her cheating husband, and the difficult girlfriend both Paul and Tom betrayed a decade before. After Tom’s death, all three are forced to confront their grief and painful memories. A Moment’s Surrender [https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9781735360188] (Press Americana, 2026) is a thoughtful and literary deep dive into guilt, marriage, and loyalty.  John Burt has taught English at Brandeis University since 1983. He is the author of three volumes of poetry: The Way Down (1988), Work without Hope (1996), and Victory (2007). His scholarly books include Lincoln's Tragic Pragmatism (2013) and Robert Penn Warren and American Idealism (1988). He is also the editor of The Collected Poems of Robert Penn Warren (1998), and Robert Penn Warren's Brother to Dragons: A Parallel Text Critical Edition of the 1953 and 1979 versions (forthcoming). Since 1984 he has sung in an ensemble devoted to the polyphonic folk songs and religious music of the Republic of Georgia, and he transcribes and engraves music from Georgia for other singers and ensembles to use. Learn more on his website [http://www.johndaviesburt.com/]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices] Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network [https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network]

Soraya Murray, "Technothriller: Film and the American Imagination" (MIT Press, 2026)

Technothriller: Film and the American Imagination [https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9780262051019] (MIT Press, 2026) is the first dedicated examination of popular movies classified as “thrillers” that channel societal anxiety or dread about advanced technologies like supercomputers, robotics, AI, biotech, military weaponry, and surveillance culture. Technothriller is about the changing imagination of technology within an American context and its role in engineering some of the most profound ideologies of modern life. Soraya Murray [https://sorayamurray.com/about/] is a Professor in the Film and Digital Media Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her work explores the visual culture of innovation, advanced computation, and its imaginaries as imaged in popular American films, for which technology assumes a central role. Murray’s first book, On Video Games: The Visual Politics of Race, Gender and Space [http://www.ibtauris.com/en/Books/Society%20%20social%20sciences/Society%20%20culture%20general/Cultural%20studies/Popular%20culture/On%20Video%20Games%20The%20Visual%20Politics%20of%20Race%20Gender%20and%20Space?menuitem=%7B17B4B2FB-4BE9-4860-8B17-73C2D7F6AC68%7D] (I.B. Tauris, 2018, paperback 2021), examines popular video games like Assassin’s Creed, Spec Ops: The Line, Metal Gear Solid, and Grand Theft Auto as visual culture. She currently serves as Provost of Porter College, UCSC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices] Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network [https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network]

Phillip B. Williams, "Lift Every Voice" (Penguin, 2026)

Captivating for both its grandeur and intimacy, Lift Every Voice [https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9780143138860] (Penguin Books, 2026) explores the past’s capacity to be both a source of dread and empowerment, an unshakable reminder of violence and an indelible testament to the endurance of love. In virtuosic poems that are wise, musical, richly layered, and saturated with vivid imagery, Williams honors a mother “who knew seven ways to say bitch under her breath,” a grandma whose smile “reflects the world,” and wonders at “the impossible lift” of forgiveness. Lift Every Voice is a staggering tribute to personal and collective evolutions, a vital chorus that answers only to God, community, and the empowered self. Phillip B. Williams [https://www.phillipbwilliams.com/] is from Chicago, Illinois, and is the author of two collections of poetry: Thief in the Interior, which was the winner of the Kate Tufts Discovery Award and a Lambda Literary Award, and Mutiny, which was a finalist for the PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry Collection and the winner of a 2022 American Book Award. Williams is also the recipient of a Whiting Award and fellowships from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and the National Endowment for the Arts. His 2025 novel, Ours, was named a Best Book of the Year by The New Yorker, People, Los Angeles Times, NPR, and more. You can find Phillip on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/phillipbw_author/]. Subscribe, like, follow, and rate Additions to the Archive with Sullivan Summer [https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/up-partners/additions-to-the-archive-with-sullivan-summer] on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/additionstothearchive/], Substack [https://sullivansummer.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chips], and wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices] Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network [https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network]

Sarah Rosenson, "Fan Fiction on the Book of Genesis: A Guide to Close Reading of and Creative Writing on the Bible" (Cherry Orchard Books, 2026)

Can creative writing become a form of biblical interpretation? That is the provocative question at the heart of my conversation with Sarah Rosenson about her new book, Fan Fiction on the Book of Genesis: A Guide to Close Reading of and Creative Writing on the Bible [https://bookshop.org/a/12343/9798887198767] (Cherry Orchard Books, 2026).  The modern phenomenon of fan fiction involves readers writing creative pieces that answer questions left open in favorite works of literature. This also describes the ancient tradition of midrash, where readers write stories filling in gaps in the Bible. In Fan Fiction on the Book of Genesis Sarah Rosenson discusses the questions left open in the first book of the Bible, and every chapter includes questions for the characters in the stories, which can serve as prompts for conversations or creative writing. Rosenson argues that careful reading reveals narrative gaps: characters whose motivations remain unexplained, conversations that never occur, ethical dilemmas left unresolved, and emotions that are only implied. Drawing on the long tradition of Jewish midrash, she proposes that readers can engage these silences through disciplined creative writing, using imagination not as a substitute for close reading but as an extension of it. In our conversation, we discussed some of Genesis's most familiar stories from unexpected angles. What if Eve's pursuit of knowledge is more complex than simple disobedience? Why does Noah never challenge God's decision to destroy the world? What happens when Hagar's perspective becomes central rather than peripheral? Why does Abraham argue for the people of Sodom but remain silent when Isaac is placed on the altar? And how does the Joseph narrative negotiate the relationship between divine providence and human responsibility? We also explore the broader methodological questions raised by the book. Does describing midrash as "fan fiction" make an ancient interpretive tradition more accessible, or does it risk misunderstanding it? How far can readers imaginatively expand biblical narratives while remaining faithful to the text? And what safeguards distinguish responsible interpretation from speculation? Whether you are interested in biblical studies, literary criticism, Jewish interpretation, or creative writing, our conversation offers a thoughtful discussion of how ancient texts continue to invite new readings. More than providing answers, Rosenson's book encourages readers to ask better questions and, in doing so, to discover that Genesis remains as intellectually and ethically challenging today as it has been for centuries. You can find more about Sarah and her work here [https://www.sarahsclass.net/about-sarah]. Amisah Bakuri (PhD) is [https://vu.nl/en/research/scientists/amisah-bakuri] an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her work explores the intersections of religion, sexuality, gender, and migration, especially within African diasporic communities in the Netherlands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices] Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network [https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network]

Molly Fader, "Lady X: A Novel" (Random House, 2026)

In Molly Fader's latest novel, Lady X: A Novel  [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/812350/lady-x-by-molly-fader/](Random House, 2026), the search for a notorious vigilante exposes the secrets between three generations of women in this propulsive novel of female resistance and rage, sweeping from contemporary L.A. to gritty, 1970s New York. Los Angeles, 2024. After learning that her A-List actor husband sent explicit photos to multiple girls on social media, Margot Cooper runs away from the world—and the paparazzi—by fleeing to her childhood home with her teenage daughter in tow. But home isn’t the sanctuary Margot was hoping for. In a cardboard box in the corner of the attic, she finds damning evidence of an infamous urban legend, the mysterious vigilante “Lady X”—including a blurry newspaper photo of a woman who looks an awful lot like Margot’s mother. New York City, 1977. In the midst of an infamous summer, Ginger Daughtry and her two beloved roommates are able to shield each other from the chaos—until one of them is assaulted. Astounded by the lack of response from police, the young women decide to engage in some light payback, signing their handiwork as “Lady X.” Soon copycats appear, and a movement inspired by acts of vandalism against terrible men spirals out of control, with criminals running amok under the guise of the enigmatic “Lady X.” When a body is found fallen—or pushed—from five stories high, the hunt reaches a boiling point. But Lady X has vanished into thin air. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices] Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network [https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network]