Terry McMillan, best-selling novelist in conversation with host Richard Wolinsky, recorded February 13, 2001 while on tour for her novel, A Day Late and a Dollar Short.
Terry McMillan’s novels focus on the lives, aspirations and journeys of discovery of African American women and their families. She hit the ground running with her first novel, Mama, in 1987, which she helped turn into a best-seller. She followed that with a series of novels that helped create a large fan base for her work. Among her best known novels are Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, along with Disappearing Acts, all of which were adapted for film.
A Day Late and a Dollar Short is a long novel that focuses on several family members going through a variety of crises and revelations. It was adapted into a television film in 2014 starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ving Rhames, which is now available streaming on Kanopy, the free library app, as well as on other streaming services. This interview leans hard into that novel, with side trips into discussions about black families and black culture in America.
As of 2026, she has published ten novels and two works of nonfiction, and according to IMDb is working as a producer for a series of television films under the title Terry McMillan presents. Her most recent novel, It’s Not All Downhill from Here, was published in 2020.
This interview was digitized, remastered and edited in March 2026 and has not been heard in over twenty years.