We are so excited to announce the 28th season of Summer Literary Picnics, featuring readings from five authors with Ohio connections. The picnics are held on the Thurber House lawn at 77 Jefferson Avenue and you can purchase a boxed dinner from us, or bring your own. Here’s the line-up for 2013:

Wednesday, June 12: Alexis Wilson

Alexis Wilson is known to many as the wife of musician Byron Stripling, but her memoir, Not So Black and White, shows that she is much more than just a wife and mother. She shares the story of her father, a Tony-award winning choreographer, and her mother, a talented ballet star. This book is a fascinating look at the life of an exceptional woman.

Wednesday, June 26: Julia Keller

Wednesday, July 10: Sharon Short

Wednesday, July 24: John Kachuba

Wednesday, August 7: Charlene Fix

For the past 12 years we have been proud to bring a children’s author to live at Thurber House, share space with the ghost, and hit the ground running on whatever story they are writing.

Alan Gratz, our 2011 Children’s Writer-in Residence, has some really great things happening right now. Just out this March, Prisoner B-3087, is already making an impact. Based on the true story of Jack Gruener, Prisoner B-3087 tells the story of a boy who survived ten different concentration camps. The novel gives a younger age group an unapologetic picture of what life was so unfortunately like for many people during World War II.

Along with the success of Prisoner, comes a project that we are happy to have been a part of. In the spring of 2014, Gratz will be releasing the book he worked on during his residency at Thurber House! Luckily, the ghost didn’t give him too much trouble and he was able to really get some work done; Thurber House even gets a shout out in the acknowledgements! Titled, Mangleborn, this novel is the first of his highly anticipated middle grade fantasy trilogy, The League of Seven. The series is set in an alternate America, where seven super-powered children fight to stop the mad scientist, Thomas Edison, from summoning giant monsters–until they learn that one of the League may be the biggest monster of all.

We are so happy to see that the work Alan did during his residency is coming to fruition! Congratulations Alan!

Are you a children’s author? Check out more information about our Children’s Writer-in-Residence program!

As a last hoorah to National Poetry Month, we would like to share one final (anonymous) poem derived from the talent in our Young Writers’ Studio. So without further adieu…

[Untitled]

The smoke screened illusion
hazing vision and judgments
in this religion of smoke and spit.
Worshipping wholly unholy celestial bodies 

Electric prayers received
in the daring haze of four A.M. sermons;
prayers made with thumbs
substituting amen with a semicolon and a closing parenthesis. 

A part time god with a lowercase ‘g’,
only present by desire
not by necessity,
draws from you the four letter hallelujah
praising the vessel for the euphoria it brings. 

Words repeated mean so little,
but say so much.
They are shelled out to reignite a dying flame.
The words lose passion, becoming perfunctory.
They say dead wood creates the best flame,
but it burns away the fastest. 

The veil may blind the lady Justice,
but the smoke renders her judgment obsolete.
And when the rolled paper wings burn out,
like Icarus, the Disciple falls. 

The screen is pulled back
and the bond is severed.
The illness from a corrupted belief
metastasizing in the heart
causing an infection. 

And all that’s left is the ash on the broken alter
over which she was bent;
the virgin Mary who lost her title.

___________
Again, thanks so much to our great teen writers. Here at Thurber House, we feel that we had a successful celebration of National Poetry Month, and we definitely owe a portion of that to our teens, whose talent gives us another reason to love poetry.

If you’re working on something, keep chipping away at it one stanza at a time. National Poetry Month lives on in the hearts of every passionate poet out there!

The wait is over! We are happy to share with you another great piece of writing from one of our teens at Young Writers’ Studio. 

In case you missed our previous post, we asked our teens to submit a poem they wrote and help us celebrate National Poetry Month by allowing us to share it with the Thurber world. A HUGE thank you to Meaghan Summers for submitting this piece!  

BLOOD
If blood is thicker than water,
If its color stains the seas,
For brothers, what’s better
Than to slice a drop to thee? 

If blood be a raging temper,
stay put in the veins.
But if blood isn’t a pretender,
may the waves act the same.

If blood won’t raise its sword,
Or say a single word,
Then what fortune do they desire
When it’s spilled from flames of fire? 

If blood knows not about
Terrors of time and crime,
When corpses turn out,
What becomes this little rhyme?

Terrors of time and crime,
When corpses turn out,
What becomes this little rhyme?

_________

Meaghan Summers has been going to YWS for a good 2 years now and has loved every minute of it! She mainly writes poetry but she also tries to write beginnings of novels or short stories in the science fiction or dystopian genres. She is attending Wittenberg University in the fall to pursue a career in writing.

Don’t forget to keep celebrating National Poetry Month! We have one more poem to post so check back in a few days!

In thinking about how we could continue to share our love of writing during National Poetry Month, we felt that the sharing of poetry was an important component to a well-rounded celebration. So, we decided to tap one of favorite writing resources: Young Writers’ Studio.

We asked our teens to submit a poem for us to share with the Thurber world. They did not disappoint. However, because we enjoy a little suspense here at Thurber House, we’re only going to share one poem with you today. Check back throughout April to read the rest!

Crash in Reverse by Tova Seltzer

You and I
Were like a car crash played in reverse
We were wrecked from the beginning
And our collision put us back together
Our metal parts crumpled out smooth
The scattered shards of glass were blasted off the ground
And melted back into our window frames
The light spiraled down from who knows where
And jumped back inside our headlight bulbs
And by the time we’d stumbled off the way we came
Somehow we were good as new

—————
Tova Seltzer is a junior at the Wellington School. She loves to read and write fiction and poetry. She’s passionate about animal rights, Florence and the Machine, and delicious food. In her spare time, she co-head’s her school’s Gay-Straight Alliance, participates in theater, and plays tennis, along with way too many other things. She’s been going to Thurber House summer camps, and now Young Writers’ Studio, for as long as she can remember.

Our May 21 Evenings with Authors event with Tracy Chevalier is sold out, but don’t forget to mark your calendar for the last two events in the Winter/Spring 2013 season!

Known for his novels about the Civil War, author Jeff Shaara will be joining us on Monday June 3^rd to discuss his newly released novel. Coming out on May 21^st, A Chain of Thunder, the second book of his most recent series, tells the story of the campaign and siege of Vicksburg.

Steve Berry, former attorney turned novelist, comes to Columbus on Monday, June 17 to share insight to his novel that will be released just 6 days before the event. The King’s Deception, featuring Berry’s popular character Cotton Malone and his 15 year old son, dives into more tales of lies, spies, and secret societies.  

Tickets are available on our website, or by calling 614-464-1032 x11. 
These events take place at the Columbus Museum of Art and begin at 7:30 p.m. You can purchase tickets $20 (with special deals for seniors and students).

If you’re looking for a more up close and personal experience with Jeff Shaara or Steve Berry, you can join us for The Author’s Table Dinner where you can share a meal and take the opportunity to talk about their work in a more intimate setting. Tickets for this (which includes dinner and the reading) are $45. For more information about The Author’s Table, please call Anne at 614-464-1032 x.10.

How are you celebrating National Poetry Month?

Since 1996 the Academy of American Poets has been encouraging people everywhere to embrace and celebrate the history, passion, and art of poetry.  Around the country people are planning readings, write-ins, talks, and events that could inspire a haiku out of anyone.

Whether you’re a seasoned poet or just interested in seeing what poetry has to offer, Columbus offers a few great ways to take part in the celebration.  

Meet the Authors: Celebrating National Poetry Month
Tuesday, April 17, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Westerville Library, Meeting Room B.
Three published poets from the Westerville Poetry Group share their work. An open mic gathering and discussion will follow the readings.

Pen and Pallete Poetry Open Mic
Thursday, April 18, 8:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Travonna Coffee House.
Free poetry open mic, hosted by local poet Hanif Abdurraqib. All work is welcome to be shared!

Borderlands: Poetry On the Edge
Saturday, April 20, 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Main Street Books (Mansfield, OH).
These poetry readings feature writers we have invited from all over the state; the readings by our hand-picked poets will be followed by a brief open mic.

National Poetry Month Publishing Workshop with M. Scott Douglass, Publisher of Main Street Rag
Thursday, April 26, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Bexley Public Library.
To celebrate National Poetry Month this year, OPA members are invited to attend a publishing workshop where they can get great ideas and advice to help them compile a manuscript for a book or chapbook.

Poetry Slam and Open Mic
Every Wednesday, 8:00 p.m.
Kafe Kerouac.
Every Wednesday Writers’ Block Poetry has their weekly slam followed by an open mic for anyone in the audience.  

Even if you can’t make it to one of these events, celebrate poetry on your own terms! Whether you’re doing a little extra writing or reading, take the opportunity to further explore this fantastic multi-faceted art form. So indulge in your favorite poet, find your favorite line, and spread your love of poetry!

Are you doing something to celebrate National Poetry Month? If so, let us know in the comments below!

On Tuesday evening we had the opportunity to hear Jaqueline Winspear speak at the Columbus Museum of Art for the fourth event in our Winter/Spring 2013 Evenings with Authors series. With an audience of over 300, we listened as she spoke about writing and the life of her main character, Maise Dobbs. Released only one week before the event, Leaving Everything Most Loved, marks the 10^th book in the Maise Dobbs series. Being that the majority of the series takes place in the 1930’s, Winspear discussed her vast knowledge of the time period and how she finds herself extremely fascinated by the culture and lifestyles of those living during that time.  She told us about her particular interest in fashion and the reflection of how what is happening in society not only affects what we wear, but how we wear it. Did you know that shoes get pointier during times of war? Attention to detail like this is what has enabled her to capture her readers and make them feel truly transported to 1930’s England. When asked whether or not this was the end of Maise Dobbs, Winspear replied “We’ll just have to see.” Although, she did suggest looking to the last line of Leaving Everything Most Loved to find clue (don’t worry, we won’t spoil it for you).

Thanks to everyone who made it to the event! While our next event with New York Times bestseller, Tracy Chevalier, is sold out, we have two more great authors right around the corner! Click here for more information. 

Our Young Writers’ Studio has been challenged to create a short story over the course of a few weeks that they work on at home and then workshop and develop each session. It’s proven to be quite a challenge for many of our teenage, loquacious writers. Writing a short story means that you have to clearly get your point across in few words while still keeping the reader entertained and emotionally involved. It’s a matter of pacing the information you give your reader. You have to provide just the right amount of detail to provoke questions, but not provoke so many questions that they’re left confused at the end of your 800 words. They all typically agree though, that the hardest part, is actually having to stop writing once you hit that ever too short word limit.

On the flip side, our Flip the Page committee has been hard at work sifting through all of the wonderful submissions that we’ve received for our Spring 2013 edition of Flip the Page: Central Ohio’s Teen Literary Journal. Everything submitted had to be 800 words or less, so whether poetry or prose, everything was short. When it came down to the tough decisions, the successful pieces were ones that portrayed a complete idea, story, or situation, within the span of just a few pages. Being that the committee is compiled of Young Writers’ Studio teens, it was easy empathize with that challenge. 

For a lot of our teens, simultaneously working on both sides of the sword has given them an opportunity to take both positions (one as a reader, one as a writer) and put them into a new perspective.  You truly cannot have one without the other, and I think they have found that when you practice both, it makes you better at both.

Regardless of how you feel about short stories, our teens are pretty great.

Katie Poole
Program Coordinator

Registrations are still rolling in and the excitement is piling up as we prepare ourselves for 8 weeks of jam-packed, writers-cramp causing, mind stretching creativity with Columbus’ finest young writers. At summer camp, we’re all about the creativity, and we want our young writers to leave worries about the “perfect grade” at the door; or as Thurber would say, “Don’t get it right, just get it written.” Campers let their imaginations go further than the farthest far away land, and from courageous cupcakes to the creatures that live in your gas tank, there are no limits to what they can create. 

While camp is designed to serve as a fun, educational outlet during the summer, we would be lying if we said that we that we don’t look forward to it just as much (if not more) than the kids. At camp, we are continuously impressed with the high levels of talent that walk through our doors. It reminds us why creative writing is so important, and pushes us to want to be better writers ourselves. We cannot wait to see what our campers have in store for us this summer!

For more information about Thurber Summer Writing Camp, click here.

The registration deadline for camp is May 3^rd. We hope to see you there! 

If you’re coming to Jaqueline Winspear April 2^nd, prepare yourself for an evening packed with insight, fun, and people. Yes, packed with people. The event is sold out! We can’t wait to introduce Jaqueline Winspear to all that Thurber House and we are even more excited for this sold out event!

Our May 21 event with Tracy Chevalier is also sold out, but we still have these two other great events.

 June 3: Jeff Shaara, A Chain of Thunder: A Novel on the Siege of Vicksburg

June 17: Steve Berry, The King’s Deception: A Cotton Malone Novel

Contact Erin Deel at 614.464.1032 x11 to order tickets or click here to order online.

We’d like to welcome alternative comics artist Ed Piskor to Thurber House! Ed is the latest resident of our (slightly haunted) third floor apartment as the winner of Thurber House and the Columbus Museum of Art’s second annual Graphic Novelist Residency.

Ed began his career at the young age of 21, drawing the well-known American Splendor comics written by Harvey Pekar. He’s also published the graphic novel Wizzywig, about the history of hacking, and he’s currently working on the weekly comic The Hip Hop Family Tree on culture website boingboing.net.

Ed will be here for three weeks while he works on his latest project, and he’ll be participating in a few events while he’s here. On Wednesday, March 20, Ed will talk with our Young Writers’ Studio about his work – Young Writers’ Studio is our group of 9th through 12th graders who meet every other week to share what they’ve written, critique their peers’ writing, learn new writing techniques, and enjoy the company of their fellow writers.

The Museum of Art also has an exhibit of Ed’s art on display, which will be up until June 2. In conjunction with the exhibit, he will give a free artist’s talk and interview about his creative process on Sunday, March 24 at 2 p.m. Be sure to stop by the museum on Sunday and hear what Ed has to say!

Our friends at the Ohioana Library have just announced a new series of events you won’t want to miss. They have organized day trips around Ohio they are calling “On the Road” with Ohioana Saturday Literary Adventure Series of 2013. Each trip focuses on a different literary topic or author – you will meet authors and visit the places that inspired them!

The series begins on April 13 in Dayton with a celebration of National Poetry Month. And our fans won’t want to miss the November 2 event – “James Thurber and his Columbus Haunts.” Mark your calendars!

For the full listing of trips and to purchase tickets, visit the Ohioana Library website here.

Nathan Englander joined the list of illustrious authors to visit Thurber House last night. He gave a fascinating talk about his books of short stories – which deal with some heavy topics, like faith and guilt – but showed that he also has a sense of humor and knows how to connect with his fans. We hope everyone who attended enjoyed hearing Nathan speak – and if you haven’t picked up his latest book, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, take a look at it and prepare for a thought-provoking read.

Attendees enter the drawing to win a copy of Nathan Englander’s new book.

Nathan talked about how when he writes, it’s not his voice in his stories, but he puts himself aside and has found his writer’s voice when he goes to work.

Nathan chatted with his fans and signed their books after his talk.

Thanks to everyone who came out last night! Our next event will be with Jacqueline Winspear, author of the Maisie Dobbs novels, on Tuesday, April 2.

We just announced the spring 2013 lineup of Adult Writing Workshops!

Starting April 8, we will be holding a different two hour workshop every Monday for six weeks. The classes are taught by professional writers and give you a chance to sample several genres and writing techniques throughout the season. This spring, the classes will be about these topics: creating dialogue, “cozy” mystery writing, nonfiction, poetry, playwrighting, and memoir writing.

The classes are for adults ages 18 and up, and we keep them small – we limit them to 20 students per course, so the workshops can fill up quickly. Be sure to register early!

For more information about the workshops, the instructors, logistics, and registration, click here to visit our website.

It might be snowing outside, but it’s already starting to feel like summer inside Thurber House! Our camp brochure just arrived hot off the press and registration is officially open. In a short amount of time we already have students signed up for each week of camp and registrations are still flying in.

Why is our camp so popular you ask? Let us tell you. 

Top ten reasons why you’re young writer will want to spend a week of their summer with us.

10. Tours of the infamously haunted Thurber House.
9. No grades — we’re all about the creative side of writing this summer. 
8. Awesome field trips that will take them to new worlds without leaving Columbus, we promise.
7. The cool camp T-shirt
6. Each camper gets a journal to track their awesome ideas that they don’t have to share with anyone else – not even their little brother or sister.
5. We may be a little biased, but we’ve got the best teachers around. Encouraging creativity, love of writing and laughter is their specialty.
4. They’ll explore every kind of writing from steampunk to poetry AND have fun while doing it.
3. Town Crier. They have to come to camp and to find out why this is #3 on the list. 
2. Your young writer will be surrounded with other kids who like to write and create new things, just like they do. We’re not shy about why we love writing and they shouldn’t be either!
1. Did we mention the super cool T-shirt?

If those ten reasons didn’t intrigue you enough, check out our website (www.thurberhouse.org) for more specific information about what each week of camp will cover. You can also register online or print out the brochure and send it to us. We have something for everyone and now that the 10 best parts of camp have been made public, you better hurry! The deadline to register is Friday, May 3^rd.

Click here for our website with more information and registration forms. Still have questions? Contact Meg Brown at megbrown@thurberhouse.org.

In author Nathan Englander’s latest short story collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, you’ll find eight stories dealing with modern life, spirituality, belief, and relationships. The stories have a common thread of Jewish life and Jewish faith, but they range in setting from a dinner party to an elder care facility to a Times Square peep show.

The stories are both thought provoking and irreverent, and Englander certainly has a knack for the short story form. His previous short story collection, For the Relief of Unbearable Urges, was published in 1999 and won quite a few awards. Three of his short stories have also appeared in the annual Best American Short Stories collections.

We are looking forward to welcoming Nathan Englander as the next author in our Winter/Spring 2013 Evenings with Authors series. He will be here on Thursday, March 7, and will be chatting about his book at the Columbus Museum of Art at 7:30 p.m. More information and tickets are available by calling 614-464-1032 x.11 or by visiting our website.

You can also join us at The Author’s Table Dinner with Nathan Englander – it’s a chance for a limited number of people to get up close and personal with the author in an intimate setting. If you attend the dinner, you’ll also have reserved seating at the reading and chat, as well as the chance to get your book signed early. To order tickets for the dinner, call Anne at 614-464-1032 x.10. The deadline to order dinner tickets is Monday, March 4.

We can’t wait to hear Nathan Englander talk about this book – as the 2012 winner of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, it is one of the best short story collections of the modern era. Join us on March 7 to meet the author!

With only two weeks left in the submission process, the Flip the Page committee completed their first meeting and began sorting through submissions. We are so appreciative of everyone who has submitted thus far and we cannot wait to see everything else that Central Ohio’s teens can do. Full of humor, poetry, and stories of teen angst, this issue of Flip the Page is sure to be a great one! Don’t miss out on being a part of this great opportunity!

The deadline for submissions is March 1st, which is only TWO WEEKS AWAY! Don’t forget to submit your piece of writing (that is 800 words or less) to flipthepage@thurberhouse.org. Please click here for more information and to download a submission form.

On Wednesday, mystery and thriller author Mary Jane Clark visited Thurber House and chatted about the books she’s written and what inspired her to become a novelist. Her current series, the Wedding Cake Mysteries, feature a young amateur sleuth, Piper Donovan – and Mary Jane revealed to the Thurber House audience that Piper is based on her daughter, who she regularly consults on dialogue to make sure Piper sounds like a 27-year-old instead of a middle-aged woman. With a wonderful presentation featuring pictures of her travels and the research Mary Jane has done for different novels, the event was a great success.

Here are some pictures of the evening, thanks to Thurber House photographer Leslie Miller:

Attendees entered the evening’s raffle to win a copy of one of Mary Jane’s books and two tickets to a future Thurber House event.

Mary Jane and Thurber House board member Karen Kendig posed for the camera before the event.

Mary Jane told us that she’s been researching New Orleans and plotting Piper’s next adventure in the Big Easy.

Fans brought stacks of books for Mary Jane to sign – with 14 bestsellers under her belt, no wonder her fans have read every one!

If you’re interested in finding out more about our Evenings with Authors series, check out our website!

Flip the Page: Central Ohio’s Teen Literary Magazine is back and accepting submissions for the Spring 2013 issue. If you’re 13-19 years old and live in Central Ohio, we want to read your writing!

Flip the Page is written, staffed, and produced by teens, making it a wonderful learning opportunity for all involved (including us).  Our mission is to provide a showcase for the work of local teenagers and offer opportunities to learn about publishing.  Last year, we received well over 100 submissions that encompassed all genres of writing and we are hoping for the same exciting turn out in 2013.

So, get to writing and send in your short stories, essays, poems, songs, plays, science fiction, epics (as long as they’re under 800 words) and anything else that you can get down on paper.  All accepted writers receive a complimentary copy of the magazine and an opportunity to read their work at the Columbus Arts Festival in June 2013.

GUIDELINES
-Must reside in Central Ohio and be 13 to 19 years old
-Limit of 800 words or less
-Limit of two submissions per person
-Submissions MUST be sent via email and include a completed submissions form
-All files must be labeled with your last name and the title of the file                                     (ex: Jane Smith—submission form; Joe Jones—Great Expectations).

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: March 1^st, 2013

For more information and a submission form, visit our website.
Email submission and questions to flipthepage@thurberhouse.org

Thanks to a generous grant from the National Endowment of the Arts, we are able to continue Flip the Page and help young creative writers on the road to achieving their dreams

Attention Thurber House Evenings with Authors ticketholders and fans! Our event with Steve Berry has been RESCHEDULED. Originally to be held on Wednesday, May 15, Mr. Berry will now be visiting us on Monday, June 17.

If you’ve already purchased your ticket, it will be honored on the new date. Thurber House staff members will be contacting you next week to give you more information. If you haven’t purchased your ticket yet, what are you waiting for?

Chris Pavone worked for about two decades in the publishing industry, primarily working with cookbooks. Now, he’s turned his attention to writing – and his debut novel, The Expats, has received massive critical acclaim. After being released last year, the book quickly became a New York Times bestseller, and it has now been translated into 15 languages. Last week, it was announced that The Expats is a 2013 Edgar Award nominee for Best First Novel!

The book is about Kate Moore, a working mother with a secret double life. When her husband is transferred to Luxembourg, she decides to start fresh and leave her secrets behind. However, when she meets another American couple who aren’t what they seem, Kate begins to uncover layers of deception surrounding her life.

Come hear Chris Pavone talk about his book on Wednesday, January 30 at 7:30 p.m. at the Columbus Museum of Art. Tickets are available online, by phone at 614-464-1032 x.11, or at the door on the night of the event. For more information, visit our website.

Mythical creatures, allegories, and moral are all important when it comes to creating your fable masterpiece. And guess what?! There are fables out there just waiting to be written, so we’re asking 4-6^th graders to join us at a local library to help make sure those fantastical tales are told! Each young writer will learn about James Thurber’s fables and then work with our fantastic teachers, Kathy Matthews and Valerie Cumming to create a wonderful, wacky fable of their own. Whether you’re rooting for the tortoise or the hare, there’s an adventure for everyone.

Wait! The adventure doesn’t stop there! All young participants and their families are invited to the Celebration Party at Thurber Center on Sunday, March 10 from 5-7:00 p.m. to take part in arts and crafts, an open mic fable reading, and to receive a booklet of their library’s fables.

Don’t delay, sign up today! You never know…a sneaky tortoise might surprise you and take the last spot!

The workshop is free, but you must register at the library you wish to attend.
Saturday, Feb. 23:
10:00 a.m.-Noon p.m.: CML’s Whetstone Branch, 3909 North High Street; 645-2275
Saturday, March 2:
2:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.: Northwest Library, 2280 Hard Rd.; 807-2626
Monday, March 4:
4:00 p.m.-6:00p.m.: Westerville Public Library, 126 South State St.; 882.7277
Celebration Party: Sunday, March 10 from 5-7:00 p.m. at Thurber Center, 91 Jefferson Ave., next door to Thurber House

Unfortunately, the reception and reading we were planning with author Carla Buckley on Tuesday, February 12 has been canceled. If you’ve already bought tickets, we’ll be in touch to get you a refund on the purchase price.

Stay tuned to this blog and our website for announcements of future events and to keep up with what’s going on at Thurber House!

Chris Pavone wrote a page-turning thriller called The Expats, and it was very interesting to hear him talk about writing his first novel after being in the publishing business for 20 years. The novel is set in Luxembourg, where the main character, Kate, is forced into becoming a housewife and taking care of two young children while her husband works. This mirrors Chris’ life – he moved to Luxembourg with his family when his wife’s work took them there, and he cared for his two children while living as an expat.

The twist in the novel, however, is that Kate is ex-CIA.

Without giving up any spoilers of the plot, which features many twists and turns as Kate finds herself drawn back into the intrigue of the clandestine world, Chris talked to the Thurber House audience about the book, his experiences writing it, and what it was like living as an expat in Luxembourg.

The audience had many questions to ask, including whether there would be a sequel to the book. Chris said no – but characters from this book may show up in future novels.

Chris visited with attendees and gladly signed their books after his presentation.

Evenings with Authors are always an enjoyable time, and we loved hosting Chris Pavone last night! For the remainder of this season’s schedule, check out our website.