Author Talks

Author Stephen B. Shepard offers a deep dive into the enigmatic life of J.D. Salinger in Salinger’s Soul. Fourteen years after his passing, Salinger remains as intriguing as ever—renowned for The Catcher in the Rye and his reclusive nature. Shepard explores key moments that shaped Salinger’s work, from his WWII experiences to his fascination with Eastern religions and his decision to stop publishing. Until Salinger’s unpublished works are released, Salinger’s Soul provides valuable insight into the man behind Holden Caulfield.

In 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, John Scopes was charged with breaking the new law that banned the teaching of evolution in public schools.  His trial became an international sensation, with brilliant and famous personalities – one, a former presidential candidate – representing the opposing sides during the so-called Roaring Twenties.  Keeping the Faith brings to life this trial, its combatants, and the way it exposed profound divisions in America that still resonate today, over the meaning of freedom, religion, education, and civil liberties in a democracy.

The past four decades have been the hottest in recorded history. Author and journalist Bob Reiss first sounded the alarm on climate change 25 years ago in The Coming Storm: Extreme Weather and Our Terrifying Future—recently re-released and praised by Bill McKibben as “the most readable and intelligent summary of global warming science and politics I have read.” He later explored the rapidly melting Arctic in The Eskimo and The Oil Man. Reiss will share insights from his work, reflect on where we are now, and take questions from the audience.

New York adman Jim Blandings is ready to say goodbye to his cramped city apartment and build from the ground up a Connecticut home with room enough for his growing family and dreams. All it will cost him is his time and money ... and perhaps his job, marriage, happiness and what's left of his sanity. Goodbye, Manhattan. Hello, comedy. Following the film, renowned actress and author Illeana Douglas will discuss her book “Connecticut in the Movies: From Dream Houses to Dark Suburbia” and take questions from the audience. A copy of the book is included with each ticket.

John Trumbull saw the American Revolution firsthand, including being shot at and jailed as a spy.  He was seen by his contemporaries as a painter, but he thought of himself as a historian, wanting “to preserve and diffuse the memory of the noblest series of actions which have ever presented themselves in the history of man.”  He knew John Jay well, having served as his secretary during the negotiations of the Jay Treaty, and he painted the only portrait in the Homestead’s collection that Jay actually sat for (the rest are copies).

James Frey, the literary force hailed as “America’s Most Notorious Author” (TIME) and the “Bad Boy of American Literature” (The New York Times), returns with his latest tour de force: Next to Heaven, a darkly funny, razor-sharp thriller that peels back the gilded surface of America’s wealthiest enclaves. This incendiary novel delivers an addictive and voyeuristic plunge into a world where privilege, scandal, and moral decay intertwine, culminating in betrayal, chaos, and murder. Moderated by Fran Hauser. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing.