Tayari Jones and Lily King

Tayari Jones and Lily King

From Book Off! by Book Off!

June 12, 2026 · 44 min

About this episode

Tayari Jones and Lily King discuss their new novels and various forms of love.

 Women’s Prize shortlisted author, Lily King, and previous Women's Prize winner, Tayari Jones, join Joe for this week’s Book Off! They discuss their new novels, co-parenting Koalas, Ann Patchett, lovers, desire, chosen family, female friendship, mothers, Oprah and the many many forms of love. We LOVED this chat - and hope you do too!  THE BOOK OFF 'The Transit Of Venus' by Shirley Hazzard VS 'Song Of Solomon' by Toni Morrison And here's a little more info on our guests' new novels: 'Kin' by Tayari Jones A yearning for their missing mothers pulls Vernice and Annie apart. It will take a devastating tragedy to bring them back together. Vernice and Annie are 'cradle friends', born days apart in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, both destined never to know their mothers. The girls are inseparable, bound by a friendship far deeper than sisterhood. But this is the American south in the 1950s. Black girls like Vernice and Annie have to fight for every opportunity they can, and neither one can build the future they hope for in Honeysuckle.  Gradually, inevitably, the girls drift apart. Vernice pursues her education; Annie is lured by the promise of a heady first love affair and a…

People in this episode

Host: Joe

Guests: Tayari Jones, Lily King

Topics covered

  • female friendship
  • love
  • co-parenting
  • literature
  • family
  • desire

Keywords

  • Tayari Jones
  • Lily King
  • female friendship
  • love stories
  • literature

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Transit Of Venus, Song Of Solomon, Kin, Heart The Lover

More episodes of Book Off!

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Book Off! podcast page.