January 12, 2026
Provided image/Peacock
Liz Moore confirmed her sixth novel on 'Fresh Air,' but offered few details. Above, the Philly-based author is pictured, left, with 'Long Bright River' showrunner Nikki Toscano.
Temple University professor and author Liz Moore confirmed Monday on NPR's "Fresh Air" that she's working on her next book.
The novel is hotly anticipated, considering Moore's consecutive, Barack Obama-approved bestsellers "Long Bright River" and "The God of the Woods." The former was adapted into a Peacock series starring Amanda Seyfried in 2025, while the latter will soon become a Netflix series. It was also the most-borrowed book at Philadelphia public libraries last year.
But fans shouldn't expect a title or synopsis for the new story anytime soon.
"Nothing can be said about the novel in progress," Moore said in the interview. "It's taken me a very long time to even show anybody anything before I'm finished, and even still it's usually just my agent or my editor.
"I just find that if I talk about it before it's done, it really knocks the wind out of my sails."
Moore may be secretive about her unfinished manuscripts, but she chatted extensively about her past books with host Dave Davies. "The God of the Woods," she said, was originally titled "Self-Reliance" after the fictional Adirondacks estate of the wealthy Van Laar family. The name is ironic, given that the townspeople built the home, and hints at the novel's class dynamics. But she abandoned "Self-Reliance" after everyone at her publisher "simultaneously broke the news to me that they hated the title."
"I think the concern was that it would sound like a self-help book," she added.
Moore shared that she was inspired to write "Long Bright River," her only novel set in Philadelphia, after spending time in Kensington. She had moved to the city with her Philly native husband in 2009 and, while searching for writing projects, connected with photographer Jeffrey Stockbridge. She accompanied him to various homes in Kensington and interviewed residents. Those discussions later informed her novel.
"This was a long time ago and so Kensington itself was not receiving the national attention that it now receives," she said. "So when I went there, I was kind of naive and I was a little bit unprepared for what I would see. But what I was immediately struck by was how much the neighborhood had been failed in various ways in terms of resources that the city or the state could offer it. And also just the incredibly moving and interesting and complex conversations I had with the people I was interviewing."
The eventual Peacock adaptation of "Long Bright River" retained the Kensington setting but filmed in New York. Moore admitted "transparently, I absolutely wish it had been shot in Philadelphia" and said she hoped to film a future work in the city.
Moore also discussed her little-known past as a recording artist and her 2007 album "Backyards" on the show. Listen to the whole thing here:
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