Writers in Conversation: Litchfield County Writers Project Set for the Warner Theatre, 10/12

On Friday, October 12th at 7:00 pm, first-time author Charlotte Rogan will discuss her bestselling literary novel,The Lifeboat, with author and Litchfield County resident Dani Shapiro at the Warner Theatre's Nancy Marine Studio Theatre. The event is free and open to the public.

Charlotte Rogan spent 25 years writing novels in secret, usually while her husband was at work and her triplets were at school. After a decade of quietly crafting one of those novels,The Lifeboat, and just a few months after her 57th birthday, Ms. Rogan signed her first book contract. The novel, told from the captivating and unreliable perspective of its 22-year old anti-heroine, Grace, recounts the aftermath of a Titanic-like ocean-liner catastrophe on the eve of World War I. Equal parts mystery, high-seas adventure, historical novel, and legal thriller, The Lifeboat has been greeted with both critical and popular acclaim. Writing for The Guardian, Justine Jordan determines that The Lifeboat is, "vividly exciting, beautifully paced and surprisingly funny; in Grace, Rogan has found a voice that is both fresh and mysterious." The novel has reached #12 on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into 18 languages.

Charlotte Rogan will discuss the novel, her circuitous path to literary success, and the writer's life with Litchfield County's own Dani Shapiro, who published her first novel,Playing With Fire, when she was just 28. Ms. Shapiro has since published four more novels, two memoirs, and numerous short stories and essays for The New Yorker, One Story, Elle, The New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times, Tin House, N+1, and Bookforum among others. She has taught in the writing programs at Columbia, NYU, The New School, and Wesleyan University, and is co-founder of the Sirenland Writers Conference in Positano, Italy. She is a contributing editor at Travel + Leisure.

Kathy Knapp, the new director of the Litchfield County Writers Project, says, "The event will be a real treat, bringing together two graceful, talented, and substantive writers in a dramatic venue for what is sure to be a scintillating conversation. I couldn't think of a better event to relaunch the LCWP."

The Litchfield County Writers project provides programs that celebrate the creative work of Litchfield County and support the academic aims of the University of Connecticut. LCWP gratefully acknowledges the generosity of the Warner Theater for providing space and technical support for this event.

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