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We had such a lovely time on Wednesday with author Karen Harper. Thanks to everyone who braved the hot weather and joined us for a delicious dinner and a fascinating chat. Check out these pictures of the evening, thanks to Thurber photographer extraordinaire Leslie Miller:

Author Karen Harper and her husband enjoy a picnic dinner while chatting with fans.

Children’s Writer-in-Residence Donna Gephart attended the picnic and was able to meet Thurber House fans and friends.

Board member Steve Miller warmed up the crowd before Karen took the podium.

Karen chatted about researching her novels, how a book gets published, working with editors, and gave us a preview of her newest book.

Karen talked with her fans and signed their books.

Last Wednesday, our Summer Literary Picnic season kicked off with a salute to Columbus in celebration of the city’s bicentennial. Here are some pictures of the evening:

Picnickers enjoyed a delicious dinner on a perfect Ohio evening.

The Thurber Chamber Theatre entertained the crowd with a tale of Thurber’s college days and a reenactment of one of his famous fables.

Thurber House Board of Directors President Barbie Tootle welcomed the crowd to our bicentennial celebration.

Joe Santry of the Columbus Clippers told stories of baseball’s beginnings in Columbus.

Columbus and Thurber expert Jim Tootle spoke about Thurber’s time at Ohio State University and his connections to Columbus.

Doreen Uhas-Sauer of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation shared her love of Columbus architecture and some stories behind famous Columbus buildings.

The speakers gladly answered Columbus questions from attendees.

Picnickers enjoyed our first evening of good friends, good food, and great books.

By Susanne Jaffe, Thurber House Executive Director

Last night we wrapped up our 2012 Winter/Spring Evenings With Authors season with a visit from J. Courtney Sullivan, chatting about her bestseller, Maine – a novel about generations of women visiting a family beach house and dealing with problems both personal and familial. This was the perfect book to lead into our summer season.

Attendees sign up to win a copy of J. Courtney Sullivan’s latest book.

Sullivan spoke about her books, her writing practices, and how she researches the settings of her novels.

Audience members asked many thoughtful questions of Sullivan during the Q&A portion of the program.

Sullivan took the time to chat individually with attendees while signing their books.

This was quite a packed season of author events, including two Special Events, and all of us at Thurber House hope you enjoyed them. We want to say a big THANK YOU for your support. We love bringing the diversity of writers to you and are already starting to consider our Fall line-up.

Finish one season of author events, and just around the corner is another—this time the 27^th season of our Summer Literary Picnics. In years past, the picnics have always spotlighted Ohio authors, but this year, in honor of  the Columbus Bicentennial, all five picnics will focus on Columbus authors. Information about each author can be found on our website. All the picnics—weather angels permitting!—are on the side lawn of the House. Bring quarters for those pesky parking meters along Jefferson!

Our picnics offer the option of ordering a delicious boxed dinner from Party Panache catering, or you can bring your own picnic spread – and you are welcome to bring alcoholic beverages as well. Tickets for dinner and the reading are $30, and tickets for the reading only are $15 (or $5 for children under 12). You can order tickets online here or by calling 614-464-1032 x.11.

The first picnic is Wednesday, June 13 and then June 27, July 11, July 25 and August 8. We can’t wait to see you there!

But wait—there’s more from Thurber House this summer! Also in honor of the bicentennial, Thurber House in partnership with Ohio State University’s Rare Books Libraries will have a special exhibit in the Center, next door to the House. It’s all about Columbus and Thurber: Past and Present with fantastic archival photos and even copies of Thurber’s report cards! It’s free and you can visit anytime but it might be fun to come early to the picnic and take a look before you e

Last Thursday we wrapped up our Evenings with Authors series for the season. The audience had a fantastic time with Karen Russell as she dove into the heart of her acclaimed novel Swamplandia! Here are some photos from the event:

"Swamplandia!" is Russell's bestselling novel set in the Florida Everglades about the Bigtree family and their adventures in trying to save their alligator theme park.

Russell takes the stage to share inspiration behind the story and offer a glimpse of how she gave life to the hysterical band of alligator wrestlers.

The audience listens intently as Russell captivates their attention with the novel's creative storyline and hilarious characters.

After the reading and Q&A, Russell met with fans and signed their copy of "Swamplandia!"

Thank you Karen! We had a wonderful evening and were so honored to have you as our guest!

Overall the evening was a huge success and the perfect conclusion to the Fall Evenings with Authors series. If you weren’t able to make it out this fall, stay tuned to our website, Facebook and Twitter as we’ll soon announce our Winter and Spring series line-up!

What a beautiful evening for our last literary picnic for the summer! Though the day started out dreary and rainy, the clouds cleared out in time for Dispatch sports columnist Bob Hunter to share from his book Chic. Buckeye fans from around the state heard the riveting story of how The Ohio State Football program began and had an opportunity to ask Bob questions. Here are some photos from the event:

In addition to being a published author, Bob also writes a sports column and blog for the Dispatch.

Chic: The untold story of a boy named Chic Harley who was integral in building the foundation for the Ohio Stadium and the OSU athletic program.

Check out all of those Buckeye fans who came to hear Bob!

After the reading and Q&A, the audience had an opportunity to get their copy of Chic signed.

What an evening! On Wednesday, more than 100 people braved the heat to attend our New Voices Picnic. It was a fantastic event that showcased some of Ohio’s up-and-coming talent in musical and literary work.

The evening began with a performance by a string quartet of students from ProMusica Chamber Orchestra. The four Hilliard Davidson High School students opened with a piece by Mozart, followed by several duets and closed with a surprise piece by Lady Gaga! This was definitely an unexpected crowd-pleaser! Check out the video below of their performance.

Following the music, our three featured authors for the evening shared excerpts from their work and provided the “story behind the story” to give the audience an intimate look into their writing process. Amanda Flower and Lee Kravitz each read a chapter from their books, Maid of Murder and Unfinished Business, respectively, and Ellen Waddell read several short stories from her collection, She Said, Looking Forward.

Overall, despite the high temps, it was a memorable evening filled with good food, fun entertainment and new talent!

We only have one more picnic left for the year! You won’t want to miss out hearing Dispatch sports columnist, Bob Hunter share from his new book Chic on Aug. 3. Tickets are available now, click here for more information. We hope to see you there!

Last night’s picnic with Robin Yocum was a definite success: the 100+ audience members enjoyed beautiful weather, delicious dinner and a preview of Yocum’s novel, Favorite Sons. Yocum also answered the audience’s questions, and shared stories of his transition from Dispatch reporter to author. Here are some photos:

Thurber House Emeritus Board Member Luke Feck hosted the evening’s festivities.

Yocum is a great storyteller!

Perfect night for a picnic!

Audience members could purchase copies of Yocum’s two books, Favorite Sons and Dead Before Deadline and get their copies signed before heading home.

We hope you’ll join us next month for our next picnic and reading from Leah Stewart, author of Husband and Wife. Visit www.thurberhouse.org for more details!

Annnnd we’re back!

I would first like to apologize to those of you waiting with bated breath for the Kristin Hannah blog that never showed up.  In the interest of staying true to the lessons of last night’s event, here’s a bit of truth.  I dragged my feet a bit too long getting it written and before I knew it, it was time for the next event!

By way of distracting you from the seething anger building inside you over my blatant procrastination, I’d like to share with you a classic paradox I was reminded of while ruminating on last night’s talk.

A man says that he is lying; is what he says true or false?

Cool, huh? I’ll wait patiently while you untie that knot in your brain.

Evenings with Authors:  James B. Stewart

Perhaps the funniest thing Stewart said last night was early into one of his stories.  Given the subject matter, these were mostly the kinds of stories that end with people letting out that groan/laugh combo sound they make when they hear something they find both absurd and slightly horrifying   He started in, paused, and commented that someone had asked him earlier why he doesn’t write fiction.  No answer to that question, by the way, just a significant look to the audience that garnered by laughter and applause.

A bit of background to explain the above:

Tangled Webs is a look into the problem of perjury in the modern judicial system by way of the documented (though rarely convicted) instances of major perjury that have taken place during some of the biggest trials in recent years.

James’ statement only becomes funny in light of some of the facts and quotes from his book that he shared with us.  Here’s a sampling:

Bernie Madoff’s continual lies kept his investigation going for so long that he was able to swindle another 45 billion on top of the 20 billion he had already.

After spending a full weekend conferring with her family and lawyer about an incriminating email, Martha Stewart said, when asked what was in the email, “I don’t remember”.

Apparently the excuse that has become the go-to for any athlete involved in steroid scandals (besides flat-out lying) is that they thought it was flax seed oil.

The thing I found most interesting about the whole talk, though, was how little this seemed to be a truly legal or regulatory problem, in the sense that there aren’t any new laws that can be written to solve this.  Perjury and that lack of prosecution of perjury, according to Stewart, is a problem inherent in current social norms.  Not only is it basically assumed that people, especially powerful people, will probably lie under oath, but the act is looked on as an annoying speed bump in the judicial process.  Stewart spoke of a U.S. Senator reacting to the Scooter Libby trial that said they hoped he would be indicted for a real crime and not just a technicality, like perjury.