John Irving

On this episode, Kristin Harmel, Patti Callahan Henry & Mary Kay Andrews welcome this month’s F&F Featured Author, the internationally renowned, award-winning, NYT-bestselling author John Irving, to discuss our December 2025 Pick of the Month, Queen Esther, which returns us after forty years to the world of his bestselling classic novel and Academy Award-winning film, The Cider House Rules. John Irving is an icon of American letters and the acclaimed author of more than 20 books which have been translated into more than 35 languages. His works include the National Book Award winning cultural phenomenon The World According to Garp; The Cider House Rules, for which he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay; The Hotel New Hampshire, a bestseller which was made into a film starring Jodie Foster; and A Prayer for Owen Meany which is his all-time bestselling novel in every language. A former competitive wrestler and wrestling coach, he is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, John joins us from his home in Toronto to discuss Queen Esther which revisits the orphanage in St. Cloud’s, Maine, where Dr. Wilbur Larch takes in Esther, a Viennese-born Jew whose life is shaped by anti-Semitism. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Without our delusional imaginations, we here at Gifted Underachievers would be bereft of John Irving’s pretend company. We wouldn’t need gas masks or hazmat suits. And our lives would be just that little bit less interesting. Questions for Listeners: (Hop on over to the segment web page to leave us your answers.) * Given the current tension between Canada and the US, where do you imagine the GU Clubhouse to be? [Keeping in mind that John Irving moved from New England to Ontario in 2015 and become a Canadian citizen in 2019.] * If you didn’t say “Canada, obviously,” give yourself a demerit. These will be tallied at the end of each calendar year. * Do you have any running gags that crack you up? Let us know, we’d love to hear. Segment Links: Tooting Too Much? 3 Secret Ways How to Cook Beans + Stop Gas & Bloating Thanks for listening to Gifted Underachievers! This post is public so feel free to share it. If you aren’t already a subscriber, we’d love to have you in the GU Clubhouse! No spam, unsubscribe any time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit giftedunderachievers.substack.com

Welcome to The Book Love Foundation Podcast! And thank you for joining us in this celebration of teaching and the joy of learning. In this episode, Part 3 of Penny’s conversation with John Irving. Subscribe in iTunes Donate to the Book Love Foundation This conversation was recorded as part of the 2017 Book Love Foundation Summer Book Club. The 2018 Summer Book Club is coming up soon. Visit the Book Love Foundation web site to learn more. Season 2 Ep 13 Show Notes This episode is Part 3 of a three-part conversation Penny had recently with John Irving. From Irving’s web site : John Irving, the modern American novelist, has written thirteen novels over the course of his prolific career, nine of which have been international bestsellers. The World According to Garp , which won the National Book Award in 1980, was John Irving s fourth novel and his first international bestseller. Worldwide, the Irving novel most often called an American classic is A Prayer for Owen Meany (1989) the portrayal of an enduring friendship at the time when the Vietnam War had its most divisive effect on the United States. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Book Love Foundation podcast. The Book Love Foundation is a non-profit 501 3(c) dedicated to putting books in the hands of teachers dedicated to nurturing the individual reading lives of their middle and high school students. In the past five years, we have awarded $223,000. If you can help us in our mission, visit booklovefoundation.org and make a donation. 100% of what you give goes to books. – Penny Thank you to our sponsor Support for the Book Love Foundation Podcast comes from Booksource . Click here to view the episode transcript. ★ Support this podcast ★

Welcome to The Book Love Foundation Podcast! And thank you for joining us in this celebration of teaching and the joy of learning. In this episode, Part 2 of Penny’s conversation with John Irving. Subscribe in iTunes Donate to the Book Love Foundation This conversation was recorded as part of the 2017 Book Love Foundation Summer Book Club. The 2018 Summer Book Club is coming up soon. Visit the Book Love Foundation web site to learn more. Season 2 Ep 12 Show Notes This episode is Part 2 of a three-part conversation Penny had recently with John Irving. From Irving’s web site : John Irving, the modern American novelist, has written thirteen novels over the course of his prolific career, nine of which have been international bestsellers. The World According to Garp , which won the National Book Award in 1980, was John Irving s fourth novel and his first international bestseller. Worldwide, the Irving novel most often called an American classic is A Prayer for Owen Meany (1989) the portrayal of an enduring friendship at the time when the Vietnam War had its most divisive effect on the United States. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Book Love Foundation podcast. The Book Love Foundation is a non-profit 501 3(c) dedicated to putting books in the hands of teachers dedicated to nurturing the individual reading lives of their middle and high school students. In the past five years, we have awarded $223,000. If you can help us in our mission, visit booklovefoundation.org and make a donation. 100% of what you give goes to books. – Penny Thank you to our sponsor Support for the Book Love Foundation Podcast comes from Booksource . Click here to view the episode transcript. ★ Support this podcast ★

Welcome to The Book Love Foundation Podcast! And thank you for joining us in this celebration of teaching and the joy of learning. In this episode, Part 1 of Penny’s conversation with John Irving. Subscribe in iTunes Donate to the Book Love Foundation This conversation was recorded as part of the 2017 Book Love Foundation Summer Book Club. The 2018 Summer Book Club is coming up soon. Visit the Book Love Foundation web site to learn more. Season 2 Ep 11 Show Notes This episode is Part 1 of a three-part conversation Penny had recently with John Irving. From Irving’s web site : John Irving, the modern American novelist, has written thirteen novels over the course of his prolific career, nine of which have been international bestsellers. The World According to Garp , which won the National Book Award in 1980, was John Irving s fourth novel and his first international bestseller. Worldwide, the Irving novel most often called an American classic is A Prayer for Owen Meany (1989) the portrayal of an enduring friendship at the time when the Vietnam War had its most divisive effect on the United States. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Book Love Foundation podcast. The Book Love Foundation is a non-profit 501 3(c) dedicated to putting books in the hands of teachers dedicated to nurturing the individual reading lives of their middle and high school students. In the past five years, we have awarded $223,000. If you can help us in our mission, visit booklovefoundation.org and make a donation. 100% of what you give goes to books. – Penny What Penny is Reading If your students like high action fantasy books that connect strongly to character, like the Hunger Games and the Maze Runner, check out The Arc of Scythe series, by Neil Shusterman. Thunderhead, Volume 2, is now available. Also, The Dorothy Must Die series, by Danielle Paige lets students revisit Oz in a whole new way. Thank you to our sponsor Support for the Book Love Foundation Podcast comes from Booksource . Click here to view the episode transcript. ★ Support this podcast ★

American novelist John Irving has penned 14 books. Two of his most famous are The Cider House Rules and The World According to Garp. In 1996, Irving wrote a memoir called The Imaginary Girlfriend, which outlines much of his wrestling and writing career as well as his foray into coaching and officiating. On Episode 220 of the Short Time Wrestling Podcast, Irving recalls his time growing up wrestling in New England, at the University of Pittsburgh and well after his career in college ended. Irving is currently on tour speaking about his new book Avenue of Mysteries, which is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold. I got an opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with Irving over breakfast to talk about the roles wrestling has played in his life, his inclusion in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as an Outstanding American and how wrestling makes its way into his writing. It's a great opportunity to hear from one of our great advocates. Leave a voicemail for the show by checking out our contact page. Your listener feedback could be played back and answered on an upcoming episode of Short Time. SUBSCRIBE TO SHORT TIME iTunes | Stitcher | Spreaker | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | SoundCloud | iOS App | Android App | RSS GET DAILY WRESTLING NEWS! You like wrestling news, right? Of course you do. Did you know you can sign up for FREE to subscribe to the Mat Talk Online DAILY WRESTLING NEWS e-mail newsletter that's published EVERY morning with the previous day's top news stories from outlets all around the globe. It's free and it's a great way to start your wrestling day. Almanac Time! Get the Cadet & Junior Nationals All-American Almanac, a 219-page digital download. It's available now and if you use the promo code "JB" you'll save $5 off the cover price. It's got every All-American EVER in Fargo (and the locations that were before Fargo) and every breakdown by year and state. Oh, you know this guy who says he placed at Juniors? Fact check him or her quickly by buying one now! And if you haven't already, leave a rating and a review on iTunes. The Short Time Time Wrestling Podcast is proudly sponsored by Flipswrestling. Share your attitude and #BEHEARD at Flipswrestling.com. Contribute And if you're a fan of the extensive and broad-based reach of the shows on the Mat Talk Podcast Network, become a contributor today.. There are various levels of perks for the different levels of patronage. If you like wrestling content -- scratch that -- if you LOVE great wrestling content, consider becoming a contributor. How much you give is solely up to how much you believe it's worth to you. Looking to start a podcast of your own? Get a free month with Libsyn by using the promo code MTO when you sign up. You'll get the remainder of the month from when you sign up as well as the next month free. It'll be enough time to kick the tires and lights some fires. Want an ad-free version of the show AND the best in wrestling news from around the world? Sign up for the Daily Wrestling Newsletter presented by Resilite on Substack at https://www.mattalkonline.com/news Links to Follow Join the Discord: https://www.mattalkonline.com/discord Daily Wrestling Newsletter: https://www.mattalkonline.com/news Contribute: https://www.mattalkonline.com/contribute Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mattalkonline The Short Time Time Wrestling Podcast is proudly supported by Compound Sportswear: <a href="https://www.mattalkon

John Irving discusses his latest novel, In One Person, with novelist Tom Perrotta.