Yale Writers' Conference and New Canaan Library Event June 19: Jeff VanderMeer, Terence Hawkins, and Louis Bayard

(Believe me, after the marathon of writing the three Southern Reach novels, I look a lot more Area X'd than this now...)"I'm loving the Southern Reach trilogy...Creepy and fascinating." - Stephen King This week Ann and I will be teaching at the Yale Writers' Conference. There are semi-public readings at the campus B&N that are mostly for the students and faculty. But for anyone in the area who's interested, I'll be doing this event:Join us on Thursday, June 19 at 7:00 p.m. for a program with a trio of authors fresh from the Yale Writers' Conference: Terence Hawkins, conference director and author of American Neolithic; and instructors Louis Bayard, author Roosevelt's Beast; and Jeff VanderMeer, author of Wonderbook, The Illustrated Guide To Creating Imaginative Fiction. In addition to speaking about Wonderbook, Jeff will read from and discuss his latest book, Annihilation.I'll probably give some teasers about Acceptance, too.I always love doing events with writers I'm just encountering, and in this case two with such intriguing novels out. Here's some more information on both...Terence Hawkins' American Neolithic is America is a Police State Lite. Drones patrol the skies. The Patriot Amendments have gutted civil liberties. The Homeland Police and Patriot Tribunal have exclusive jurisdiction over all legal actions implicating national security. And then Neanderthals enter the story. Political satire, courtroom thriller, and speculative fiction, American Neolithic is also a story of loyalty, betrayal, and redemption.Louis Bayard's Roosevelt's Dream. A reimagining of Teddy and Kermit Roosevelt's ill-fated 1914 Amazon expedition—a psychological twist on the smart historical thriller that first put Louis Bayard on the map. A story of the impossible things that become possible when when the mind plays tricks on itself and when old family secrets refuse to stay buried.