Peng Shepherd

Zibby speaks to Peng Shepherd about her second novel The Cartographers, a “mystery novel with a touch of magic” that is a USA Today bestseller, national Indie Bookstores bestseller, and a GMA Pick of the Month! Peng shares the inspiration behind the book (it involves an obsession with maps and a library that she and Zibby both love), the chaos of writing a mystery novel without even knowing the mystery, and the leap of faith she took when quitting her job and starting an MFA! She also reveals the premise of her next book and shares her best advice for aspiring authors. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop.Amazon: bit.ly/3TK4x8OBookshop: bit.ly/3UW8ZlMSubscribe to Zibby's weekly newsletter here.Purchase Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books merch here. Now there's more! Subscribe to Acast+ and get exclusive access to the in-store author events at Zibby's Bookshop in Santa Monica, CA. Join today! https://plus.acast.com/s/moms-dont-have-time-to-read-books. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barbara Peters in conversation with Adam Hamdy and Peng Shepherd

Interview with Peng Shepherd, author of THE CARTOGRAPHERS.You can support the podcast today by buying me a coffee.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/reading-and-writing-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Novelist and NEA Literature Fellow Peng Shepherd's latest book is the speculative mystery, The Cartographers. Those of us who love maps think they are magical; in Shepherd’s book, this magic isn’t metaphorical. The Cartographers has, at its heart, not only the wonder and possibilities of map-making, but a map that is actually magical and becomes a dangerous obsession for a group of cartographers. In this episode of the Art Works podcast, Shepherd talks about her fascination with maps, the phenomenon of phantom settlements and how they inspired the book’s premise, her love of speculative fiction, and the challenges of writing “the second book.” Follow us on Apple Podcasts!

Travis interviews author Peng Shepherd about The Cartographers, her latest standalone novel from William Morrow. From the critically acclaimed author of The Book of M, the Cartographers is a highly imaginative thriller about a young woman who discovers that a strange map in her deceased father’s belongings holds an incredible, deadly secret—one that will lead her on an extraordinary adventure and to the truth about her family’s dark history. This episode is spoiler free! Peng and Travis discuss the interconnection of plot and character, throwing out half of a first draft, and of course… so many fascinating facts about maps. Want your message featured on the podcast? Find out more here. About Peng Shepherd: Peng Shepherd is the nationally bestselling author of The Cartographers, The Book of M, and The Future Library. Her second novel, The Cartographers, was a USA Today, LA Times, and a national Independent Bookstores bestseller. It was named a Best Book of March by The Washington Post, as well as a Pick of the Month by Good Morning America, Amazon, Apple, Real Simple, Buzzfeed, Bustle, and Goodreads, and was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Her first novel, The Book of M, won the 2019 Neukom Institute for Literary Arts Award for Debut Speculative Fiction, and was chosen as a Best Book of the Year by Amazon, Elle, Refinery29, and The Verge, a Best Book of the Summer by the Today Show and NPR On Point, and has been optioned for television. A graduate of New York University’s MFA program, Peng is the recipient of a 2020 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where she rode horses and trained in classical ballet, and has lived in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York, and Mexico City. When not writing, she can be found planning her next trip or haunting local bookstores. Find Peng Shepherd on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook. Find Us Online: Blog Discord Twitter Instagram Support Us: Become a Patron Buy Us a Coffee Music: Intro: "The Legend of Iya" courtesy of https://philter.no Outro: "A Quest Unfolds" courtesy of https://philter.no This episode of The Fantasy Inn podcast was recorded in the unceded territory of the S’atsoyaha (Yuchi) and ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Eastern Cherokee Band) peoples. Some of the links included in these show notes are affiliate links and support the podcast at no additional cost to you. If it's an option for you, we encourage you to support your local bookstores! The blog post accompanying this episode can be found at https://thefantasyinn.com, along with fantasy book reviews, author interviews, and more fantasy content.

**CAUTION SPOILERS!!** Peng Shepherd joins us to unpack "The Cartographers" in our Book of the Month episode for April. We discuss the found family of the novel, Peng shares some real-life stories she came across during her research and so much more! Be sure to check out our shop on Bookshop.org to be able to help support independent bookstores and this podcast. You can find our April title, "The Cartographers" by Peng Shepherd in our 'Book of the Month' shop.

Author Peng Shepherd chats with Daniel Ford on Friday Morning Coffee about her latest novel The Cartographers. Caitlin Malcuit also discusses the issues surrounding the widely used Mercator projection and why we should examine maps more critically (shout out to the American Association of Geographers and The West Wing). To learn more about Peng Shepherd, visit her official website, like her Facebook page, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram. The Cartographers was featured in March 2022's "Books That Should Be On Your Radar." Also listen to our last chat with the author. Writer's Bone is proudly sponsored by Libro.fm, A Mighty Blaze podcast, and Daniel Paisner's upcoming novel Balloon Dog.

A dangerous journey reveals a dark family secret and the true power that lies in maps

Peng and I discuss The Cartographers, the true story about an event with a gas station map in the early 1900s that inspired a portion of this story, phantom settlements and how they have fallen out of favor now that people have moved to relying on electronic maps, how the use of maps changed once online maps became popular, why writing a mystery differs from writing other fiction, the hardest part of writing the book for her, and much more.Peng’s recommended reads are: The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey The Violence by Delilah S. Dawson Appleseed by Matt Bell Support the podcast by becoming a Page Turner on Patreon.  Other ways to support the podcast can be found here.    If you enjoyed this episode and want to listen to more episodes, try Sarah Pearse, Lisa Gardner, Katherine St. John, Clare Mackintosh, and Jane Harper.The Cartographers can be purchased at my Bookshop storefront.       Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This one's for the cartography geeks! We know that's a lot of our followers. Peng Shepherd joins us to think about what a map of your fantasy world can tell your readers, what the social and cultural implications of a map's presentation might be, and how much time you should spend squiggling in all those little fjords. Plus: Schrodinger’s Continents, a bowling alley on the Enterprise, and an augmentation for our Magical Nude Gate system of travel! Transcript for Episode 71 (thank you, scribes!) Our Guest:  Peng was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, where she rode horses and trained in classical ballet, and has lived in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New York, and Mexico City. Her first novel, The Book of M, won the 2019 Neukom Institute for Literary Arts Award for Debut Speculative Fiction, and was chosen as a best book of the year by Amazon, Elle, Refinery29, and The Verge, as well as a best book of the summer by the Today Show and NPR On Point. A graduate of the NYU MFA program, Peng is the recipient of a 2020 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Elizabeth George Foundation’s emerging writers 2016 grant. Her second novel, The Cartographers, is forthcoming from HarperCollins in March 2022.