What a year it’s been for the National Writers Series, with one rock star author after another visiting Traverse City to talk about their newest books, including Bonnie Garmus, Chasten Buttigieg, Mitch Albom, Heather Cox Richardson, and celebrity cook Erin French. With a record of nearly 10,000 in-person and livestream tickets sold this year, it’s clear: the dreary isolation of 2020 and 2021 is over. But not our love of reading.
Of course, success adds some pressure to hit it out of the park once more. To be honest, it’s all a bit of a nail-biter. But once again, we convinced some of America’s top authors to weather our weather and bask in northern Michigan’s passion for the written word. We hope you love what we have to offer. Here’s who’s coming:
Jan. 27: An Evening with Bonnie Jo Campbell
Bonnie Jo Campbell is one of our most highly acclaimed authors in Michigan — a national bestseller, a finalist for both the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and a Guggenheim fellow award winner.
In her newest book, “The Waters,” the young and beautiful Donkey Zook’s mother leaves her to grow up wild in the Great Massasauga Swamp near Whiteheart, Michigan. The 11-year-old spends her days immersed in the lush woods and her math books, waiting for her wayward mother to come back. Soon her idyllic days are broken by family secrets, love, and rough men. Our guest host for this event is author Anne Marie Oomen.
Feb. 7: An Evening with Kaveh Akbar
The National Writers Series rarely invites a debut novelist to the City Opera House stage, but we’ve made an exception with acclaimed poet Kaveh Akbar. That’s because early praise for his book was simply phenomenal.
Author John Green wrote, “Kaveh Akbar’s first novel is so stunning, so wrenching, and so beautifully written that reading it for the first time, I kept forgetting to breathe. I will carry this story, and the people in it, with me for the rest of my life.”
Feb. 22: Twin Flames Universe — Burned! An Interview with a TFU Survivor and Cult Psychologist
Northern Michiganders were stunned when two major documentaries appeared about Twin Flames Universe, a self-help and wellness cult, with its leaders stationed in Suttons Bay. How did such an explosive story escape the radar of our close-knit region?
Journalist Jacob Wheeler will interview Keely Griffin, a survivor of Twin Flames Universe, who joined the online group with the goal of improving her life, relationships and finding her “twin flame”—her divine soulmate. She has since left the cult, having lost everything that was dear to her, and is committed to helping protect others.
Keely will appear with Dr. Janja Lalich, author of “Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships.” Her book includes advice for those who have escaped cults where the charismatic leader was engaged in criminal conspiracy, polygamy, slave labor, and/or sexual abuse of members, including minors.
March 11: An Evening with Barbara McQuade (Presented in partnership with the International Affairs Forum)
America is under attack and the weapon is disinformation. So says Barbara McQuade, a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, a former U.S. District Attorney of Eastern Michigan, and a University of Michigan law professor.
In her new book “Attack from Within,” Barbara writes about how authoritarians throughout history have manipulated the truth to advance their own agendas — the psychological tactics they use, why they work, and how the digital age is making the threat more potent everyday. She offers immediate solutions and aims to inspire a national conversation about renewing this country to a democracy. She’ll talk with guest host John Bacon.
April 7: An Evening with Don Winslow
Legendary author Don Winslow has announced that “City in Ruins” is the last novel he’ll publish in his extraordinary career. He will talk with author and NWS co-founder Doug Stanton about the riveting conclusion of his epic Danny Ryan trilogy. And no worries, you don’t have to read the first two novels (“City on Fire,” “City of Dreams”). You can jump into any one of these books and make sense of the plot.
Winslow is the international bestselling author of 25 award-winning books. Many have been made into movies or TV shows or are currently in development.
April 24: An evening with Tommy Orange
NWS asks for suggested authors, and year-after-year, we’ve received requests for Tommy Orange, author of the bestselling novel, “There, There.”
A Pulitzer-Prize finalist, Orange has delivered still another masterpiece: “Wandering Stars,” which traces the legacies of the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864 and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School (the nation’s first Indian boarding school) through three generations of a family in a story that is a devastating indictment of America’s war on its own people.
Kirkus Reviews called it “a searing study of the consequences of a genocide.”
May 1: An Evening with Hampton Sides
The award-winning author of “Blood and Thunder” and “Ghost Soldiers,” Hampton now tells the epic tale of Captain James Cook’s last and fatal journey that began in 1776.
In “The Wide Wide Sea,” we learn of the dramatic and disturbing change in Cook’s personality. Lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, Cook was admired throughout his life for his fair leadership and respectful treatment of Indigenous societies. But on his last voyage, Cook was hot-tempered, lashing his crew members and leading his two vessels into danger time and again. Tensions came to a head between his men and the natives of Hawaii, where their exploitative treatment of the islanders led to Cook’s last fatal encounter. Our guest host is Doug Stanton.