Podcast Summary: The Book Review

Episode: "‘The Correspondent’ Author Virginia Evans On Her Breakout Year"

Host: Gilbert Cruz (New York Times Book Review Editor)

Guest: Virginia Evans

Date: January 9, 2026

Episode Overview

In this lively and candid conversation, Gilbert Cruz welcomes debut novelist Virginia Evans to discuss her breakout novel The Correspondent, which hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list after nearly a year of word-of-mouth success. Evans reflects on her unexpected literary ascent, the craft of writing epistolary fiction, her path through twenty years and eight unpublished novels, and the enduring power of letter writing—both on the page and in life. The episode delves into resilience in the face of rejection, creativity’s compulsions, and the redemptive qualities of storytelling.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Novel’s Path to Success

• Word-of-Mouth Phenomenon

  • Evans describes The Correspondent as an unexpected hit propelled by steady, organic word of mouth, not a meteoric launch. She recalls celebrating its climb to #1 with family and friends ("We toasted around 7:30 with a few friends because...it was number one on the New York Times list for the first time" — Evans, 02:23).

• The Ann Patchett Effect

  • The endorsement (and blurb) from celebrated author Ann Patchett played a “fairy dust” role, legitimizing the book with readers and booksellers. Evans recounts that many buyers mentioned Patchett's blurb as the reason they picked up the book (Evans, 05:12).

• Slow Burn and Sudden Takeoff

  • Evans points to late-summer 2025 as the moment sales “exponentially increased,” fueled by events like being featured on PBS NewsHour and a successful book tour where bookstores "couldn't keep it in stock" (Evans, 03:45).

Virginia Evans’s Writing Journey

• Persistence Across Two Decades

  • Evans began writing novels at 19. The Correspondent was her eighth complete manuscript—she "would have given [her] right arm" for earlier ones to succeed, but now values the life and family she built alongside the writing (Evans, 09:57).

• Learning via Trial and Error

  • With no publishing contacts or mentors, Evans taught herself to write, query, and handle rejection—handwriting query letters, failing, revising, and gradually developing her skills (Evans, 09:57, 39:47).

• Facing Rejection

  • "I was rejected thousands of times for my work...I think hearing no and it's not good enough...is not something everybody has the stomach for. But for some reason, I just thought, okay, I can do better" (Evans, 39:47).
  • She stresses the importance of resilience: "It never occurred to me to not...to stop to say, I think I should not do this anymore" (Evans, 14:28).

• Work Ethic and Family Support

  • Evans recounts her early-morning writing routine (5-7 a.m.) maintained while raising children and working multiple jobs (Evans, 08:45).
  • Her family's unwavering support, including her children’s pride and playful skepticism about her author status, offered humor and grounding (Evans, 15:54).

Crafting The Correspondent: Letters and Grief

• Epistolary Format

  • The decision to write through letters arose from the comfort and intimacy she found in 84, Charing Cross Road, which she read during the pandemic. The format felt like “an antidote” to pandemic loneliness and allowed her to write the kind of immersive, ongoing story she craved (Evans, 19:46).

• Creating Sybil Van Antwerp

  • Sybil arrived to Evans as a fully formed character—an older woman who had lost a child and had a distinguished career, but was not immediately likeable. Evans wanted to challenge herself (and readers) to excavate a layered, flawed, ultimately redemptive protagonist, moving readers from irritation to empathy (Evans, 21:02; 25:25).

• Balancing Grief and Uplift

  • Evans drew on personal experiences of grief but chose humor and hope as equal forces: "I just think all of life is this balance of joy and sorrow. And I think the book is a pretty good balance...Maybe we can all read it and say, yeah, that is what it's like" (Evans, 24:53).

• Hardest Scenes to Write

  • The letters grappling with Sybil's loss of her son and her ex-husband’s cancer were emotionally taxing, requiring Evans to deeply imagine personal loss—"I was trying to have that presence of mind in my head, as if...my son...had died" (Evans, 28:27).

• Structural Flexibility

  • Letter format enabled her to reorder events simply by moving letters and changing dates—“That is actually the forgiving part about this mechanism of letter writing” (Evans, 31:31).

The Power and Practice of Letter Writing

• Lifelong Habit

  • Evans has always been a letter writer and continues to correspond, finding joy in physical letters: "I don't think there is any other feeling than going to your mailbox and opening it and there is a letter to you" (Evans, 33:03).

• Readers Responding in Kind

  • Since her book’s publication, Evans has received “hundreds of letters a week”—physical mail—from readers and confesses difficulty keeping up (Evans, 35:11).

• Letters as Artifacts

  • She speaks of the lasting emotional and historical weight a handwritten letter carries versus email—citing a prized letter from Frank O’Connor’s widow she found tucked in a used book (Evans, 35:49).

What’s Next? Looking Forward

• The Next Novel

  • Evans is “far along on a new book,” a process she finds grounding amid the excitement of success. She still finds it hard to believe she can sell another book, despite industry affirmation (Evans, 38:05).

• Permanent Skepticism

  • She doubts the sense of uncertainty—"I don't know if this one's going to work"—will ever leave, even with her recent breakthrough (Evans, 39:23).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ann Patchett’s Blurb:
  “She knows that when she does a kindness by reading your book, your debut author, nobody knows anything about you, that she is giving you a little bit of a sprinkling of fairy dust.” (Evans, 05:12)
• On Perseverance:
  “People ask me this, it never occurred to me to not to stop...I think there must be something for people who are writers inside that. I always feel like it’s something chasing you, and the only way to outrun it is to write it.” (Evans, 14:28)
• On Letter Writing:
  "I've always written letters, and I still do...I don't think there's any other feeling than going to your mailbox and opening it and there is a letter to you." (Evans, 33:03)
• On Writing Through Grief:
  "Trying to get into that headspace is scary as a writer, because you’re getting into that headspace for yourself, in a way...I remember being out of my...I couldn't think straight. And then my kids are like, 'Mom, can I have waffles?' And I was like, 'I don't know. I can't. I really can't right now.'" (Evans, 28:27)
• On Literary Success After Rejection:
  "I was rejected thousands of times for my work...But for some reason, I just thought, okay, I can do better." (Evans, 39:47)
• A Message to Supporters (and Skeptics):
  "'Do you think they know...that I made it?' He said, 'Yeah, they definitely know.' I've actually received some really kind...A couple people have reached out to me who have rejected me in the past and said, congratulations. And somebody even recently said, the one that got away to me." (Evans, 40:53)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Intro & First Bestseller Toast — 00:39–02:46
• Realization of the Book’s Rising Success — 03:05–05:56
• Origins of Writing and Path to Publication — 08:45–14:07
• On Persistence and Facing Rejection — 14:28–15:49; 39:47–41:18
• Family and Children’s Reactions — 15:54–17:47
• Choosing the Letter Format — 19:29–22:00
• Building the Character of Sybil — 21:02–25:25
• Humor, Joy, Sorrow, and Writing Grief — 24:53–28:27
• Structural Mechanics of Epistolary Fiction — 31:16–32:43
• The Power of Letters — 33:03–37:38
• Current Projects & Writing Process — 38:05–39:11

Takeaways

This episode is a celebration of artistic perseverance and the unexpected ways literary magic can happen. Evans’s story offers hope to aspiring writers, affection for literary “throwbacks” like handwritten letters, and a warm, honest peek behind the curtain of an overnight success twenty years in the making. The conversation is equal parts practical, emotional, and inspiring—a must-listen for those interested in the realities behind bestselling fiction and the human drive to create.