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Writer EDMUND WHITE. He has been called "unquestionably the foremost American gay novelist." WHITE's novels draw significantly from his own experiences in a style he calls "auto-fiction." In his newest book, "Genet: A Biography" (Knopf), WHITE documents the life of controversial French writer, Jean Genet. (The book just won the National Book Critic's Circle Award for biography). Genet had a reputation as a dandy, a thief, a vagabond --- a "thug of genius." WHITE calls him "one of France's most original and forceful novelists of the twentieth century." WHITE has also written "Forgetting Elena," "A Boy's Own Story," and six other books of fiction and non-fiction. (REBROADCAST from 11

Writer A.E. HOTCHNER. His memoir "King of the Hill" (Harper), about growing up in a flophouse during the depression, was made into a movie, directed by Stephen Soderbergh (the directer of "Sex, Lives, and Videotape"). Hotchner is best known for his controversial 1966 biography of his personal friend Ernest Hemingway, "Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir." Presented in the unusual form of dialogue, Hotchner faced criticism from the literary community and an attempt by Hemingway's widow to ban the sale of the book. (Rebroadcast from 8-23-93).

Film critic Kevin Whitehead reviews "Coneheads," the latest Saturday Night Live-inspired movie. It stars Jane Curtin and Dan Aykroyd.

2: Once the most powerful reviewers in America, The New York Times' former drama critic, FRANK RICH. It was a great day for many playwrights when RICH stepped down as critic late last year. The British press once dubbed him "The Butcher of Broadway;" playwright David Mamet called him "a terrible critic. . . an unfortunate blot on the American theatre." Some playwrights and directors even chose to take their work elsewhere to save themselves from a review by RICH. But he's also been called "one of the most gifted critics ever to write for a newspaper... a rare and brilliant talent." Now, after thirteen years as drama critic, RICH is a columnist on the Times' Op-Ed page.

Children's book illustrator TED LEWIN (LOO-in). Lewin paid his way through art school in the 50's as a professional wrestler. His new memoir, "I Was a Teenage Professional Wrestler," (Orchard Books) includes Lewin's paintings of wrestlers.

Former Drug Czar WILLIAM BENNETT. He is currently co-director of the conservative organization "Empower America." In 1981, he was appointed by Ronald Reagan to be Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1985, he became President Reagan's Secretary of Education, and from March of 1989 to November of 1990, he served as President Bush's director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Bennett has written extensively on social and domestic issues and is the author of five books. His latest is "The Book of Virtues: a treasury of Great Moral Stories," a collection of hundreds of stories and poems he hopes will instruct children in "moral literacy."

Film critic STEPHEN SCHIFF reviews, "The Fugitive," starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones.

Writer TOBIAS WOLFF has been nominated for the National Book Award for his memoir "In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War" (Alfred A. Knopf). The book is an account of WOLFF's tour in Vietnam. WOLFF is also the author of two short story collections, a novella, and "This Boy's Life," a memoir about his childhood.

2: Stage and screen actor JOE MANTEGNA. Long an associate of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet, MANTEGNA starred in the stage version of "Glengarry Glen Ross", for which he won a Tony Award. MANTEGNA revels in shady characters: gamblers, cutthroat salesman, mobsters and Hollywood hucksters. His film work includes Mamet's "House of Games" and "Homicide" and his newest film has just been released: "Searching for Bobby Fischer". (Rebroa

2: Interview with MILOS FORMAN continues.

We feature a tribute to singer Dorothy Collins, who died yesterday at the age of 67. Collins was the star of the 1950''s tv show "Your Hit Parade," and received a Tony nomination in1971 for her role in Stephen Sondheim''s Broadway show "Losing My Mind." We will play "Losing My Mind," from the show "Follies." (The recording is from "Sondheim: a Musical Tribute," RCA Rec

Moroccan sociologist and Koranic scholar, Fatima Mernissi ("Mur-NEE-see"). Her new book explores how the sacred texts of Islam are used both by feminists and defenders of democracy as well as the violent fundamentalists which oppose them: "Islam & Democracy" (Addison-Wesley). An earlier book, "The Veil and the Male Elite" (Addison-Wesley) was a feminist interpretation of Women's rights in Islam. Her new book, due out in the summer of 1994 is "Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood".