Beach Read Bash with Alison Espach and Catherine Newman

Whether you flip pages poolside, on the porch, or in the sand, you’re invited to join us for the ultimate celebration of books made for the sunny season! Join acclaimed authors Alison Espach and Catherine Newman for a lively, heartwarming conversation about their newest novels — full of humor, heart, and beach-read brilliance. 

Alison Espach will highlight New York Times bestseller, — a propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew. Catherine Newman will feature New York Times bestseller a moving, hilarious story of a family summer vacation full of secrets, lunch, and learning to let go.

In conversation with the always-fabulous Laura Zigman, this Beach Read Bash is all about laughs, juicy book talk, and a peek behind the scenes of the stories everyone’s buzzing about this summer. Whether you’re already a fan or just need your next favorite read, come join the fun. 

EVENT DETAILS

• 6:30 PM: Doors Open – Get settled in and ready for the discussion!
• 7:00 PM: Discussion Begins – Alison Espach, Catherine Newman, and Laura Zigman will dive into The Wedding People and Sandwich
• 7:45 PM: Q&A Session – Your chance to ask the author anything!
• 8:00 PM: Signatures, Snapping Pics, and Salutations – Meet the Authors, get your book signed, and snap a photo! 
• 9:00 PM: Event Wraps Up – Thanks for joining us!

Tickets are limited, so grab yours soon! If the event sells out, you can join the waitlist. Should any spots open up, you’ll have 24 hours to register before we offer them to the next person.

ACCESSIBILITY

Check-in will take place at our front entrance on Brattle Street. If you have any accessibility needs, you're welcome to use our side entrance (located on the right side of the building), which is wheelchair accessible and has a ramp.

Guests who would benefit from priority seating or any additional assistance are encouraged to reach out in advance — just email us at ZXZlbnRzIHwgbG92ZXN0cnVja2Jvb2tzICEgY29t. We're more than happy to make arrangements to ensure you feel comfortable and supported.

We’re always learning and looking for ways to make our events more accessible. If you have suggestions or feedback, we’d love to hear from you!

ABOUT THE ALISON ESPACH

Alison Espach is the author of the novels The Adults, a New York Times Editors' Choice and a Barnes & Noble Discover pick, and Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, which was named a best book of 2022 by the Chicago Tribune and NPR. Her short stories and essays have appeared in McSweeney’s, Vogue, Outside, Joyland, and other places. She is a professor of creative writing at Providence College in Rhode Island.

ABOUT THE WEDDING PEOPLE

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She’s immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years—she hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband, only now she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan—which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.In turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s The Wedding People is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined—and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.

ABOUT CATHERINE NEWMAN

Catherine Newman is the New York Times bestselling author of the memoirs Catastrophic Happiness and Waiting for Birdy, the middle-grade novel One Mixed-Up Night, the kids’ craft book Stitch Camp, the best-selling how-to books for kids How to Be a Person and What Can I Say?, and the novels We All Want Impossible Things, Sandwich, and Wreck (forthcoming from HarperCollins). Her books have been translated into a dozen languages. She has been a regular contributor to the New York Times, Real Simple, O, The Oprah Magazine, Cup of Jo, and many other publications. She writes Crone Sandwich on Substack and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.

ABOUT SANDWICH

For the past two decades, Rocky has looked forward to her family’s yearly escape to Cape Cod. Their humble beach-town rental has been the site of sweet memories, sunny days, great meals, and messes of all kinds: emotional, marital, and—thanks to the cottage’s ancient plumbing—septic too.

This year’s vacation, with Rocky sandwiched between her half-grown kids and fully aging parents, promises to be just as delightful as summers past—except, perhaps, for Rocky’s hormonal bouts of rage and melancholy. (Hello, menopause!) Her body is changing—her life is, too. And then a chain of events sends Rocky into the past, reliving both the tenderness and sorrow of a handful of long-ago summers.

It's one precious week: everything is in balance; everything is in flux. And when Rocky comes face to face with her family’s history and future, she is forced to accept that she can no longer hide her secrets from the people she loves.

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER

Laura Zigman is the author of six novels, including Small World, Separation Anxiety (which was optioned by Julianne Nicholson and the production company Wiip (Mare of Easttown) for a limited television series); Animal Husbandry (which was made into the movie Someone Like You, starring Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd), Dating Big Bird, Her, and Piece of Work. She has ghostwritten/collaborated on several works of non-fiction, including Eddie Izzard's New York Times bestseller, Believe Me; been a contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Huffington Post; produced a popular online series of animated videos called Annoying Conversations; and was the recipient of a Yaddo residency.  She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she helps clients via Zoom, phone, and sometimes in person with their writing. She is also at work on two new novels.

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