2026 is the best year I have seen for fiction since I opened the bookstore 15 years ago.

From the TED Audio Collective, this is Design Matters with Debbie Milman.

On Design Matters, Debbie talks with some of the most creative people in the world about what they do,

how they got to be who they are, and what they're thinking about and working on.

On this episode, we're featuring a conversation Debbie had with Anne Patchett at the TED conference

in celebration of Anne Patchett receiving the 2026 Ted Women Trailblazer Award,

presented by Pivotal. The secret to happiness is low expectations.

Anne Patchett is a novelist and a bookstore owner. Her nine novels include Belcanto and the Dutch

Dutch House, which was a finalist

for the Pulitzer Prize. Her 10th novel, Whistler, was just published by Harper Collins.

I was struck by the fact that when you interviewed Tom Hanks in front of a live audience,

right before you took the stage, you whispered to him that you didn't have any questions planned and you were just going to wing it. He then immediately

shared this with the audience and everyone laughed. I gasped out loud when I read that

because I'm probably most known for how long it takes me to create and craft my questions

in advance of every interview. So as I take out my notes, I hope you won't think less of me for doing that.

Can I tell you why I do that?

Yes.

Alan Alda.

I interview so many people at Parnassas, and I interviewed Alan for a book he wrote that was called,

if I knew what you were saying, why do I have this look on my face?

It's a really hard title.

But Alan was the person who taught me that you have to do all the preparation,

...