Jayne Jones and Alicia Long spare no juicy details in their latest novel “Capitol Hell.” Jones and Long open a window on Washington, D.C. and reveal all the chaos and absurdity that goes on behind politicians’ closed doors. “Capitol Hell” follows new college graduate Alison Amundson in her D.C. staffer… Read more »

Danielle Henderson did not enjoy reading feminist theory, yet her career is now based upon it. Henderson is a graduate student in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin and author of the popular blog Feminist Ryan Gosling. She spoke to students and faculty Tuesday… Read more »

​Reflective, engaging and challenging all describe Madison local Sam Savage’s newest short novel, “The Way of the Dog,” due out this February. ​Savage’s latest follows a doubtful and dying artist, Harold Nivenson, in his old age. With Nivenson as narrator, the novel bounces back and forth between Nivenson’s past and… Read more »

In May of 1969, Doug Bradley wasn’t expecting Uncle Sam to notice his graduation from college. Nonetheless, the United States Army sent him a letter to acknowledge the event: Graduate school was no longer grounds for military deferment. Now that Bradley was no longer a student, he was eligible for… Read more »

Just more than five years ago, famed British author J.K. Rowling printed the final book of the Harry Potter series, and last summer the series’ final film came out on the big screen. On Sept. 27, Rowling published her first novel since the series, “The Casual Vacancy,” which also marked… Read more »

In today’s world, we cannot escape the tentacles of celebrity. From our Twitter feeds to our not-quite-highbrow news sources to our grocery store checkout lines come gossip-mongering, photo shop-abusing, gasp-inducing headlines and graphics, all telling you about Kim’s latest alleged sex scandal or which slighted young Hollywood actor is refusing… Read more »

While R. Kelly’s “Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me” has its goofy moments and certainly comes in a goofy package, it effectively casts a human light on the R&B pop star, which R. Kelly’s fans may appreciate more than his casual listeners. “Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me” practically begs readers to… Read more »

“You would be too young to remember this,” Dan Woll says, “but there was a black and white TV show in the late ‘60s called ‘The Fugitive.’” Woll is describing a primary reference point for the style of Death on Cache Lake, the new book he co-authored with the late… Read more »

Bassey Etim, an alumnus of both the University of Wisconsin and The Badger Herald, has an impressive resume. He’s currently the community manager for The New York Times, he published his first book, “The God Project,” late last year and he released an accompanying soundtrack on which he performs. Oh,… Read more »

Leigh Stein published her debut novel this year, proving herself as a strong writer with a sharp awareness of contemporary youth culture. “The Fallback Plan” offers a realistic depiction of a girl forced to move back in with her parents and get a job babysitting in her first year out… Read more »

Last spring, the University of Wisconsin campus was caught in an uproar. Thousands of activists flooded State Street, thundering through the Capitol and chanting in protest to proposals to take collective bargaining away from public employees. Many of these activists were students, abandoning their comfortable beds to sleep on the… Read more »

In honor of Lit Week, I have a confession to make: I just cannot get on board with e-readers. Call me old-fashioned, but to me an e-book is about as satisfying as fat-free frozen yogurt — close, but just not as good as the real thing. Sure, you can have… Read more »