Ben Fountain, Cheryl Strayed, and Junot Diaz are just a few of the Discover alums appearing at the Texas Book Festival this weekend in Austin, and we have the full run-down here.

In this smart, freewheeling conversation, Scott Hutchins, author of Fall '12 Discover pick A Working Theory of Love, and Justin Torres, author of Fall '11 Discover pick We the Animals (and newly named to the National Book Foundation's prestigious 5 Under 35 list) swap working tips and literary theory,  and riff on J. M. Coetzee and The Great Gatsby, birth order and method acting, among other things.

"My father's family landed in 1942 Los Angeles as if by immaculate conception, unburdened by the past." Joe Mozingo reveals his family's incredible -- and very American -- story in his memoir, The Fiddler on Pantico Run, and he discusses his "funny last name," the legacies of race, and how his family's own lost history speaks to us all, among other things, with Discover Great New Writers.

Congratulations are due to a host of Discover alums nominated for 2012 National Book Awards and named to the 5 Under 35 list...

I've mentioned before that I have, hands down, the best job in the book business today - but  Dan Josefson's day job comes a close second, as he explains in this guest post for the Discover blog.

Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - a reboot of the classic quest narrative that we can't stop recommending  to readers of all ages - talks to Discover Great New Writers about being inspired by William Gibson, the differences between writing for the web and writing books, and playing in a "technological  border-zone," among other things.                    

"Schwalbe has done something extraordinary: made a personal journey public in the most engaging, funny, and revealing way possible. It was a true meditation on what books can do." -- Discover alum Edmund de Waal (The Hare with Amber Eyes) on 2012 Discover pick The End of Your Life Book Club. Will Schwalbe talks to Discover Great New Writers about using books as conversational shorthand, how reading is doing something, and wanting to continue the conversation about books.

Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore and Charles Yu, author of the new story collection, Sorry Please Thank You, and 2010 Discover pick How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe talk about first-person vs. third-person narration, How Fiction Works by James Wood, and creating entirely new worlds with text, among other things.