January in Early May

January interviews Lawrence Block, who recently generated a mini-controversy in some literary circles with his thoughts on booksigning. The conversation with Kevin Burton Smith ranges over Block's career, with frequent emphasis on the New York-ness of his writing:

Somehow New York energizes my work. I've lived other places, but I always come back, and at this point, I think I'd really be a fool to set my work anywhere else, never mind living anywhere else.

Meanwhile, Robert Birnbaum chats with Rachel Cohen about A Chance Meeting and the art of creative non-fiction in his latest piece for The Morning News.