Radio Hour: Laura Albert on the Documentary "Author: The JT Leroy Story"
By Laura Albert, Laurie WinerSeptember 9, 2016
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Was the author known as JT Leroy the greatest literary hoax of the 21st century? This week Laurie and Tom have a riveting conversation with Laura Albert, who is back in the spotlight after the release of the documentary Author: The JT Leroy Story, which explores how, in her middle-age, she invented a best-selling literary persona based on her conversations with hot-lines for troubled teens. It might be the most fascinating documentary that your hosts have ever seen. Listen in as they delve into the story of a writer discovering her identity through a “hoax” and cover topics from trans the nature of fiction.
Produced by Alan Minsky.
LARB Contributors
Laura Albert won international acclaim with her fiction. Writing as JT LeRoy, she is the author of the best-selling novels Sarah and The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, and the novella Harold’s End, published by Last Gasp with illustrations by Cherry Hood.
Laurie Winer is a founding editor of LARB and the author of Oscar Hammerstein II and the Invention of the Musical (2023). She now lives in France and is at work on a book called The Hitler Tour.