“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—it’s the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” -Mark Twain
Author Amity Gaige and moderator Amy Bloom are featured in the Mark Twain House Voices of Today Series on April 9 from 7-8pm at the Mark Twain House, 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford.
Amity Gaige, acclaimed author of Sea Wife and Schroder, returns with Heartwood, a gripping novel of suspense and survival. When experienced Appalachian Trail hiker Valerie Gillis vanishes deep in the Maine woods, a relentless game warden, a determined birdwatcher, and Valerie herself—through poetic letters to her mother—reveal the tangled mystery of her disappearance. Inspired by a real-life case, Heartwood explores longing, loss, and the will to endure. Gaige will discuss the novel’s origins, its themes of bravery and connection, and the real-life disappearance that haunted her for years.
Books are available for purchase, and the author will sign copies following the discussion.
The Voices of Today Series invites some of the most celebrated and diverse voices in contemporary literature to engage with our audience.
About the Author:
Amity Gaige is the author of four previous novels, O My Darling, The Folded World, Schroder, and Sea Wife. Sea Wife was a 2020 New York Times Notable Book and a finalist for the Mark Twain American Voice Award. Schroder was also a New York Times Notable Book and a best book of 2013 according to The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, among others, and was shortlisted for UK’s Folio Prize in 2014. Her work has been translated into eighteen languages. In 2018, Amity was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in Fiction. She lives in West Hartford, Connecticut, with her family and teaches creative writing at Yale.
About the Moderator:
Amy Bloom is the author of four novels, including White Houses and Lucky Us, and three short story collections, with Come to Me and A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You earning major award nominations. Her memoir In Love became a New York Times bestseller. She has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, and more, winning a National Magazine Award for Fiction. A former professor at Wesleyan, she continues to write and work as a psychotherapist. She also created the TV series State of Mind and has written numerous scripts.