Showing results by narrator "Rita Wolf" in All Categories

On his 11th birthday, Jackson is nervous about moving up to middle school where he knows he'll be bullied by older kids, so he makes his wish, "I don't want to grow up!" When his 12th birthday rolls around, he discovers his wish came true: he's still 11, and he's starting fifth grade (again). At first, this is the perfect life. Jackson is the smartest kid in his class, the best on his baseball team, and the star of the school band. But after a few years of being eleven, he realizes his life is passing him by.

The Witch of Portobello is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well - or hardly at all. Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way listeners think about love, passion, joy, and sacrifice.

Pallavi is an aspiring writer living in California. Her mother, Usha, is thousands of miles away in Delhi - and obsessed with finding her daughter a husband. In Madhuri Shekar’s ingenious Evil Eye, hilarious back-and-forth via phone and social media takes a shocking, supernatural twist when Pallavi meets the perfect man - leading to a climactic showdown that will leave listeners on the edges of their seats.

Created as an homage to the 1980 classic horror anthology, Dark Forces, edited by Kirby McCauley, this collection contains 12 original novelettes showcasing today’s top horror talent. Dark Stars features all-new stories from award-winning authors and up-and-coming voices like Stephen Graham Jones, Priya Sharma, Usman T. Malik, Caroline Kepnes, and Alma Katsu, with seasoned author John F.D. Taff at the helm. An afterword from original Dark Forces contributor Ramsey Campbell is a poignant finale to this bone-chilling collection.

Eleven-year-old Parvana lives with her family in one room of a bombed-out apartment building in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital city during the Taliban rule. Parvana's father- a history teacher until his school was bombed and his health destroyed- works from a blanket on the ground in the marketplace, reading letters for people who cannot read or write. One day he is arrested for the crime of having a foreign education, and the family is left without someone who can earn money or even shop for food.

In Reconciliation, Bhutto recounts in gripping detail her final months in Pakistan and offers a bold new agenda for how to stem the tide of Islamic radicalism and to rediscover the values of tolerance and justice that lie at the heart of her religion.

New American Stories presents diverse stories of contemporary American life and dreams lost and found, by four of the best young contemporary writers - Jhumpa Lahiri, Sherman Alexie, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Aleksandar Hemon - as performed by terrific stage and screen actors. All four writers have a unique perspective on the American experience, which is reflected in their work.

"If this is one of those robocalls, please delete my number,” orders Reinalda Paraíso, a painter whose work lies at the heart of C. Quintana’s new play, The 126-Year-Old Artist. On the other end of the line is Yésica Ortega, a young, queer, Latine curator who “discovers” Reinalda's work at a flea market and becomes obsessively determined to make a name for them both.

The 2011 National Book Award-nominated author of When the Emperor Was Divine discusses her spellbinding new novel, about a group of Japanese picture brides who come to America in the early 1900s, with the performer and essayist David Rakoff. The book traces the women's lives from their boat journey on which they imagine their husbands and concludes with their "disappearance" in World War II. Like Otsuka's first book, The Buddha in the Attic is about identity and what it means to be "other" in uncertain times.

The award-winning author of Esperanza Rising talks about her stunning new book, a fictional biography of Pablo Neruda's younger years that combines elements of magical realism with poetry, history and literary fiction. This inspirational book beautifully depicts how the awkward, shy, imaginative Chilean schoolboy Neftali Reyes, mesmerized by the natural world, became the world-renowned poet Pablo Neruda. Rita Wolf will perform an excerpt from the novel.

The Newbery Medalist ( The Tale of Despereaux) talks about her eagerly anticipated new novel, a haunting fable about trusting the unexpected and making the extraordinary come true, with kids ages 8 and up. The event includes an excerpt performed by actress Rita Wolf, a discussion with the audience, a creative writing project, and a book signing

This is the story of Athena, or Sherine, to give her the name she was baptised with. Her life is pieced together through a series of recorded interviews with those people who knew her well or hardly at all - parents, colleagues, teachers, friends, acquaintances, her ex-husband. The novel unravels Athena's mysterious beginnings, via an orphanage in Romania, to a childhood in Beirut. When war breaks out, her adoptive family move with her to London, where a dramatic turn of events occurs.

Ein abgelegenes Haus in Sussex. Die Landstreicher Philby und Zack wittern bei ihrem Einbruch ihre große Chance. Doch anstatt einer lohnenden Beute wartet auf sie eine schreckliche Gefahr in Form von mehreren maskierten Gestalten. Nur wenig später erhält Oscar Wilde den Auftrag, sich dieses geheimnisvolle Haus einmal näher anzusehen. Es wird der Auftakt zu einem haarsträubenden Abenteuer, das in einer gefährlichen Zugreise nach Schottland gipfelt, denn an Bord befinden sich Wildes Gegner vom mysteriösen Zirkel der Sieben, die einen verhängnisvollen Plan in die Tat umsetzen wollen.

Die Aliens fordern Menschenopfer, sollten Noel und die Menschheit dieser Forderung nicht nachkommen, droht die Alien-Königin die ganze Menschheit auszurotten. Doch werden die Aliens ihr Versprechen halten oder werden sie die Erde dennoch erobern wollen? Im Raumschiff der Fremden kommt es zur großen, entscheidenden Schlacht.

The acclaimed British novelist and short story master who "recruits admires with each book" (Hilary Mantel) discusses her latest novel with fellow author Colm Tóibín (House of Names). Ingeniously moving between past and present, Late in the Day exposes how infinite alternate configurations lie beneath the seemingly dependable arrangements we make for our lives. With a reading by Rita Wolf (An Ordinary Muslim).