Shirley Jackson Day
Monday, 26th June, 7pm
The Left Bank
North Bennington
Readings, music and memories - come along and join in the celebration of Shirley Jackson's life and work. Jackson was a prolific author who lived in North Bennington. She favored themes of mystery, psychology, and suspense, and is best known for her story The Lottery, one of the most widely read tales in modern fiction. June 27 is the “Lottery Day” of the original story. Its publication date in The New Yorker was on June 26, 1948.
2016 was a banner year for the Shirley Jackson revival. It was the hundredth anniversary of the author’s birth. A new collection of unpublished and uncollected works, Let Me Tell You, edited by two of her children, arrived in paperback in June – all of Jackson's books are currently in print. In addition, a major new biography by literary scholar Ruth Franklin appeared in September and went on to win the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography. A graphic novel version of The Lottery, beautifully illustrated by Jackson's grandson Miles Hyman, came out in early October. A ballet, also based on The Lottery, continues to tour the country.
This year, Shirley Jackson Day will feature four readers connected with the national Shirley Jackson Awards. The readers are: Michael Thomas Ford, the author of numerous books for both adult and young readers; Karen Heuler, whose stories have appeared in over 100 literary and speculative magazines and anthologies; Paul Park, who teaches literature and writing at Williams College and is the author of a dozen novels; and Chandler Klang Smith, a graduate of Bennington College and the creative writing MFA program at Columbia University.
The event is sponsored by the Left Bank, in partnership with Blue Rider Events, The Bennington Bookshop, and the John G. McCullough Free Library. The event is free; donations are welcome.
On the evening of the reading, the McCullough Library in North Bennington will be open from 5~7pm for a showing of a selection of Shirley Jackson artifacts. Tom Fels
3rd Annual Sun and Fun Day
Saturday, 19th August, 10am
Second Congregational Church
Tra
ce - An Evening with Archer Mayor
The Bennington Free Library
October 2nd, 2017, 7pm
Archer Mayor's new book, Trace, is released in late September. Join us for an evening of stories - Archer's events are always entertaining! There will be opportunities for questions and book signing. We will have plenty of books for sale at the event.
This event is free and open to the public.
Co-sponsored by the Bennington Free Library and The Bennington Bookshop.
