The Writers Studio returns to KERA FM this Thursday at 8 p.m.. We at Art&Seek are excited to be presenting this popular literary series produced by our friends at the Writers Garret.

Credit: Tony Puente

The series’ first guest is really a heavy hitter: Joseph Wambaugh. He’s the  author of the nonfiction The Onion Field and The New Centurions. And this interview is something of a coup: The Writers Garret convinced Wambaugh to read from his work, which he never does.

Here’s more from the program notes:

“Joseph Wambaugh had been with the LAPD for more than 10 years by the time he published The New Centurions. His unique perspective and break from traditional stereotypes of heroic policemen influenced television (Police Story / Hill Street Blues) and movies (The Blue Knight / The Glitter Dome), as well as fiction, and his first nonfiction book, The Onion Field, also proved a huge success. His style has inspired writers from Ray Bradbury to James Ellroy (himself a former Writers Studio guest), making Wambaugh one of the all-time masters of genre fiction. This Writers Studio presents one of the most engaging and entertaining interviews ever, traveling back in time to what many consider the heyday for American letters, discussing appearances on the Tonight Show, Merv Griffin, and Mike Douglas, and attending parties with Truman Capote. Wambaugh is very knowledgeable about the history of the Detective and Crime Thriller novel and how his impact on the genre and “cop realism” spread this “new” sensibility like wildfire. Of special note: this Studio makes literary history by featuring the first ever public reading of Joseph Wambaugh presenting his work.”

Other guests include:

May 13- Rick Moody, author of Garden State and The Ice Storm, translated into a critically-acclaimed film featuring Kevin Klein and Sigourney Weaver.

May 20 – Paul Rusesabagina whose memoir An Ordinary Man was made into the Oscar-nominated film Hotel Rwanda starring Don Cheadle.

May 27 – Sigrid Nunez’ novels include the counter-culture “hybrid” The Last of Her Kind and the award-winning A Feather on the Breath of God.

June 3 – James McPherson, military historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom, and the award-winning Tried by War about the life of Abraham Lincoln.