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Sara Paretsky: author of the V.I. Warshawski Mysteries
Sara Paretsky, author of the V.I. Warshawski mysteries, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff as part of the “Probabilities” radio series, recorded in the KPFA s studio on March 16, 1991 following the publication of “Burn Marks” and before the publication of “Guardian Angel.”
In the late 1980s, crime and mystery fiction by women skyrocketed. Even so, awards were still being given to mostly male writers, and in 1987, the organization Sisters in Crime was formed.
In Berkeley, at KPFA, Richard Lupoff and Richard Wolinsky, the hosts of the Probabilities radio program, having drifted from science fiction into mysteries and later into general fiction and narrative non-fiction, noticed the trend pretty early on, and began interviewing these pioneer writers, one by one, local writers like Marcia Muller and Sue Dunlap, and writers from out of town, such as Sue Grafton, or from overseas, such as P.D. James.
These interviews, the Sisters in Crime interviews, were all conducted in the 1980s and 1990s, and because of the switch from analog tape to digital, have not been heard since the new century began. Until now.
It is appropriate to begin this series of interviews with the first president of Sisters in Crime, Sara Paretsky, recorded March 16, 1991 while she was in the Bay Area for a mystery conference. At the time, six V.I. Warshawski novels had been published, and a film starring Kathleen Turner would be released a few months later. It would turn out to be the only time V.I. Warshawski stories were adapted for film or television. As of July, 2026, Sara Paretsky has published 22 novels in the V.I. Warshawski mystery series, and two non-series novels, along with three short story collections and two works of nonfiction. The most recent V.I. novel, Pay Dirt, was published in 2024.
Ian Watson (1943-2025) Iconic Science Fiction and Fantasy Author
Ian Watson (1943-2026), unconventional British science fiction and fantasy writer, who died on April 13, 2026 at the age of 82, in conversation with Richard Wolinsky and Richard A. Lupoff for the Probabilities radio program, recorded in Oakland at Westercon 40 on July 2, 1987.
Ian Watson (1943-2026) who died on April 13, 2026 at the age of 82, was an unconventional author whose works brimmed with ideas and philosophical turnings. Author of over thirty one novels, not including several written in the world created by the Warhammer 40,000 game, there were also eleven collections of short stories, plus a catalogue of poems. An avowed socialist, he also stood in elections as a Labour Party candidate in the days before Tony Blair.
His novel, The Power, discussed in the interview, was published later in 1987, and can now be found, along with many of his novels, as Kindle book through Amazon.
In early 1990, Ian Watson received a call from the assistant to legendary film-maker Stanley Kubrick to work on a science fiction film based on a story about a robot boy written by Brian Aldiss. For the next several months, he and Kubrick hammered out a screenplay treatment until Kubrick, in December of that year, said it was what he wanted, barring some changes, but shortly thereafter began work on what would be his final film, Eyes Wide Shut. Kubrick died on March f7, 1999 at the age of seventy. Shortly afterward, Steven Spielberg, using Watson’s treatment, wrote a screenplay which became his film, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. You can find Ian Watson’s essay about his work with Kubrick by going to this link.
This interview was digitized, remastered and edited on May 2, 2026. Sound quality (speed) is variable.
Review of “The Employee Dharma Handbook” at TheatreWorks Palo Alto through August 2, 2026.