The Thurber House 2010 Summer Literary Picnics are scheduled and offer another fantastic summer line-up of outdoor picnics and readings with authors who have an Ohio connection.
Each picnic runs as follows:
5:20 p.m. - Guided tours of the house given by our Young Docents.
6:15 p.m. - Dinner is served. Order one of our festive catered dinners, made fresh by Party Panache catering, or pack your own.
7:00 p.m. - The reading begins. Thurber House remains open after the reading for tours, book buying, and signing.
Please bring your own lawn chairs or blankets. You are also welcome to bring alcoholic beverages. Parking is free after 6:00 p.m. at the meters along Jefferson Avenue. In case of rain, join us at State Auto Insurance, 518 E. Broad St. for all picnics except July 14, which will be next door at Thurber Center.
Wednesday, June 16: A Thurber TreatThe season will kick off with our annual Thurber Treat writing contest. This year writers, of any age, are asked to choose one Thurber cartoon from a predetermined selection and come up with a new caption and then elaborate on the caption with an amusing story. Cheri Mitchell, Executive Director of BalletMet, will be the host for the evening. The top three winners will read their entries.
Wednesday, June 30: Carrie BebrisCarrie Bebris is the author of the beloved Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mysteries, which are known for capturing perfectly Jane Austen's Regency England. She will read from the latest in the series, The Intrigue at Highbury (Or Emma's Match), a tale complete with robbery, murder by poison, and a family with perhaps something sinister to hide.
Wednesday, July 14: New Voices- Back by popular demand, Thurber House presents a Summer Picnic highlighting emerging authors of fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. All three authors have been published, and all three are Ohio connected.
Fiction - Carla Buckley will read from her debut novel, The Things that Keep Us Here. With Columbus as a backdrop, it is a chilling and intimate look at one family's struggle as they try and survive a virulent pandemic that has paralyzed the world.
Poetry - Sarah Gridley is the author of two books of poetry, and has appeared in many print and online journals including Kenyon Review online and New American Poetry. She will share selected poems from her latest collection, Green is the Orator.
Non-Fiction - Paula McLain will read from her memoir, Like Family: Growing Up in Other People's Houses, a searing portrait of three young sisters who are raised as wards of the Fresno County court system. She has also written two books of poetry and the acclaimed novel A Ticket to Ride.
Wednesday, July 28: Craig McDonaldAward-winning journalist and crime writer, Craig McDonald is the author of the Edgar nominated Hector Lassiter series that includes Head Games and Toros & Torsos. He will read from the latest in the series, Print the Legend, a literary thriller about the death of Ernest Hemingway and the patina that perceived suicide lends the author's legend.
Wednesday, August 11: Sharon DaviesThe John C. Elem/Vorys Sater Designated Professor of Law at OSU's Moritz College of Law, Sharon Davies will read from her new book Rising Road: A True Tale of Love, Race, and Religion in America. It is a harrowing look at the all but forgotten murder of Father Coyle in 1912 Alabama, and the trial that followed.
The man behind the beloved column, "So to Speak," will lead a master class in humor and column writing for a limited number of enrollees in this special Thurber House Adult Writing Workshop!
Enter the first ever Thurber House Doggie Photo Contest, as part of the Evenings with Authors featuring consummate dog lover, Merrill Markoe, on Friday, January 23 at the Columbus Museum of Art at 7:30pm.