
David Baldacci on Writing Thrillers and Becoming a Bestselling Author
From C-SPAN Bookshelf by C-SPAN
June 7, 2026 · 1h 3m
About this episode
David Baldacci discusses his journey from law to becoming a bestselling thriller author and his views on technology's impact on publishing.
Bestselling author David Baldacci joins David M. Rubenstein for a wide-ranging conversation about his journey from practicing law in Washington to becoming one of the world's most successful thriller writers. He discusses his approach to crafting suspenseful stories, seeing his novel Absolute Power adapted into a film by Clint Eastwood, and the evolving relationship between technology and publishing. Baldacci also explains his involvement in a lawsuit against major AI companies and shares his views on protecting authors' work in the age of artificial intelligence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
People in this episode
Host: David M. Rubenstein
Guest: David Baldacci
Topics covered
- writing
- thrillers
- publishing
- technology
- artificial intelligence
- law
Keywords
- David Baldacci
- thriller writing
- publishing
- artificial intelligence
- Absolute Power
- Clint Eastwood
- suspenseful stories
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Clint Eastwood, AI companies
Books & works: Absolute Power
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