Justine Kenin

To celebrate National Poetry Month, we're introducing listeners to poets competing to be the next National Youth Poet Laureate. Today: Elizabeth Shvarts, the New York City Laureate.

Ladee Hubbard, author of the short story collection The Last Suspicious Holdout, talks about love, family, resilience and grief in the Black community.

Find recommendations for fantasy, poetry, new fiction, old fiction, comics, fairy tales and more, hand-picked by authors Ben Philippe, Jade Chang, Raina Telgemeier, Tess Taylor and Thomas Pierce.

Writer Katherine Heiny has published her first collection of short stories, Single, Carefree, Mellow.

R.J. Palacio explores the life of 10-year-old Auggie Pullman, a tough, sweet kid who was born with a serious facial deformity. He wants a normal life, but adults and children alike turn their eyes away at the sight of him. Join NPR's Backseat Book Club as we read a novel about cruelty and kindness.

Jarrett Krosoczka's lunch lady doesn't just serve lunch. She serves justice. In her Batman-like lair below the cafeteria, she can monitor the whole school for suspicious characters like the Cyborg Substitute or the Video Game Villain. Join NPR's Backseat Book Club as we follow her adventures.

Rowan LeCompte's wit and wonder have been on display in the stained glass windows of the Washington National Cathedral for more than half a century. Now, he's working on a final design — one that will bring light to one of the darkest works of his career, the cathedral's so-called Black Window.