Lynn Neary Lynn Neary is an NPR arts correspondent covering books and publishing.
Lynn Neary at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., May 21, 2019. (photo by Allison Shelley)
Stories By

Lynn Neary

Allison Shelley/NPR
Lynn Neary at NPR headquarters in Washington, D.C., May 21, 2019. (photo by Allison Shelley)
Allison Shelley/NPR

Lynn Neary

Correspondent, Arts Desk and Guest Host

Lynn Neary is an NPR arts correspondent covering books and publishing.

Not only does she report on the business of books and explore literary trends and ideas, Neary has also met and profiled many of her favorite authors. She has wandered the streets of Baltimore with Anne Tyler and the forests of the Great Smoky Mountains with Richard Powers. She has helped readers discover great new writers like Tommy Orange, author of There, There, and has introduced them to future bestsellers like A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles.

Arriving at NPR in 1982, Neary spent two years working as a newscaster on Morning Edition. For the next eight years, Neary was the host of Weekend All Things Considered. Throughout her career at NPR, she has been a frequent guest host on all of NPR's news programs including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, and Talk of the Nation.

In 1992, Neary joined the cultural desk to develop NPR's first religion beat. As religion correspondent, Neary covered the country's diverse religious landscape and the politics of the religious right.

Neary has won numerous prestigious awards including the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Gold Award, an Ohio State Award, an Association of Women in Radio and Television Award, and the Gabriel award. For her reporting on the role of religion in the debate over welfare reform, Neary shared in NPR's 1996 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton Award.

A graduate of Fordham University, Neary thinks she may be the envy of English majors everywhere.

Story Archive

Wednesday

Anne Garrels on location in Iraq in 2006 Dianna Douglas/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Dianna Douglas/NPR

Anne Garrels, longtime foreign correspondent for NPR, dies at 71

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1121624031/1121624032" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Amy has long been vilified for burning one of Jo's manuscripts. But Greta Gerwig's adaptation of Little Women takes a more nuanced look at the youngest March sister, played here by Florence Pugh. Wilson Webb/CTMG/Columbia Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Wilson Webb/CTMG/Columbia Pictures

Which March Sister Are You? The Latest 'Little Women' Makes It Hard To Decide

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/791316034/791351735" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

'Little Women': Book Vs. Movie

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/790422188/790422189" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

NPR's Book Concierge offers 350+ new books handpicked by NPR staff and critics — including Lynn Neary. Click here to find your next great read. NPR hide caption

toggle caption
NPR

'Red At The Bone': 3 Generations, 2 Families, 1 Unforgettable Novel

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/788334172/788334173" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

The Last Decade Has Been Tumultuous For The Publishing Industry

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/782867252/782867253" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Authors Celebrated At 70th Anniversary Of National Book Awards

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/781514660/781514661" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

As of Friday, Macmillan Publishers Ltd. is drastically restricting the sales of eBooks to libraries. Andrius Aleksandravicius/EyeEm/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Andrius Aleksandravicius/EyeEm/Getty Images

You May Have To Wait To Borrow A New E-Book From The Library

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/775150979/775509434" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

New Barnes & Noble CEO Started His Career As An Independent Bookseller

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/774507006/774507007" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Peter Handke, Olga Tokarczuk Win Nobel Prizes In Literature

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/768864508/768872664" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Nobel Committee To Release 2018 And 2019 Literature Prizes On Thursday

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/768835471/768835472" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Swedish Academy To Name 2 Nobel Laureates in Literature In 2019, After Missing 2018

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/768697941/768697942" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Zadie Smith Has An Eclectic Mix Of Short Stories In 'Grand Union'

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/767488497/767488498" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Monday

Renia Spiegel (left) and her younger sister, now known as Elizabeth Bellak, wade in the Dniester River around 1935. The photo can be seen on the cover of the published edition of Renia's Diary. Courtesy of Elizabeth Bellak/St. Martin's Press hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of Elizabeth Bellak/St. Martin's Press

Renia Spiegel's Diary Survived The Holocaust. People Are Finally Reading It

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/765165687/765653433" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

Beth Novey/NPR

'The Secrets We Kept' Imagines What CIA Secretaries Knew

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/758048011/758746851" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Amazon Critics Angry Over Accidental Early Release Of Margaret Atwood Novel

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/758426753/758519114" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Tuesday

Jenna Bush Hager promotes her August book club pick, Patsy, by Nicole Dennis-Benn. Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

For Many Authors, Celebrity Book Clubs Are A Ticket To Success

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/755532368/756976683" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

Author Téa Obreht's new Inland was inspired by myths of the American West. Ilan Harel hide caption

toggle caption
Ilan Harel

Téa Obreht's Latest Is Steeped In The Supernatural — Also, There Are Camels

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/749438304/750244857" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Sunday

Beth Novey/NPR

New Thriller 'The Chain' Has An Origin Almost As Exciting As Its Plot

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/740848163/741568306" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Thursday

Dolly Parton in a scene from the 1980 comedy 9 to 5. The film's theme song, performed by Parton, took on a life of its own. 20th Century Fox/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
20th Century Fox/Getty Images

A Cup Of Ambition And Endurance: '9 To 5' Unites Workers Across Decades

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/738587297/740608364" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Wednesday

Joy Harjo will become the 23rd poet laureate of the United States, making her the first Native American to hold the position. Shawn Miller/Library of Congress hide caption

toggle caption
Shawn Miller/Library of Congress

Joy Harjo Becomes The 1st Native American U.S. Poet Laureate

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/733727917/734165484" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

Checking Facts In Nonfiction

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/730898366/730898367" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Tuesday

Tony Horwitz, Author and Pulitzer Prize Winner, Dies At 60

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/727666331/727666332" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Saturday

A Different Kind Of Story About Slavery In 'The Confessions Of Frannie Langton'

  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/726941840/726941841" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript