John Irving To Launch New Novel Virtually On WRITERS ON A NEW ENGLAND STAGE

On Tuesday, October 18, international and #1 New York Times bestselling author John Irving visits The Music Hall's virtual stage as part of the Writers on a New England Stage series, presented in an intimate, online format. He will discuss his first book in seven years, THE LAST CHAIRLIFT, which follows Adam, the son of former skier Rachel "Little Ray" Brewster, as he travels to Aspen looking for answers to the eventful past his family evades.

The 7 p.m. event will take place Tuesday, October 18 - 7pm EST (livestream) and include an author interview with Rick Ganley, host of NHPR's Morning Edition, followed by an audience Q&A. The event on October 18 falls on publication day and includes a copy of the book! The event will be hosted on Crowdcast and tickets & books can be purchased through The Music Hall's Box Office.

About the Author: John Irving was born in Exeter, New Hampshire in 1942. A visionary voice on the subject of sexual tolerance, Irving is a bard of alternative families. In 1980, he won a National Book Award for his internationally successful novel The World According to Garp. The following decades would see Irving receive various other awards including an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules and the Lambda Literary Award for his novel In One Person. His novels have been translated into almost forty languages. A dual citizen of the United States and Canada, John Irving lives in Toronto.

Tickets: Tickets for Writers on a New England Stage: John Irving on Tuesday, October 18, at 7pm are $49, and include a copy of The Last Chairlift ($38 hardcover). Packages can be purchased online at TheMusicHall.org, over the phone at 603.436.2400, or in person at the B2W Box Office at the Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street.

This award-winning author series, launched in 2005, has presented such celebrated writers as Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, United States Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Dan Brown, David McCullough, Judy Blume, Tom Brokaw, and Jodi Picoult all on stage at The Music Hall's Historic Theater in downtown Portsmouth, NH. Each literary evening features an author presentation followed by an onstage interview with a New Hampshire Public Radio host. Live music is performed by the award-winning house band Dreadnaught. Portions of these literary conversations are rebroadcast on New Hampshire Public Radio.

The Writers on a New England Stage series is a partnership between The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio.

About New Hampshire Public Radio

NHPR is New Hampshire's only statewide radio news service, broadcasting from 14 sites across the Granite State. Our award-winning journalism is available to read and listen to 24/7 at NHPR.org and by asking your smart speaker to "Play NHPR." NHPR journalists deliver local news, programs, newsletters, and podcasts, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Civics 101, Outside/In, Document, The Weekender, The Rundown, Primarily Politics, The Folk Show, and the N.H. News Recap. NHPR is the exclusive outlet for NPR News in the Granite State and broadcasts national weekly programs such as The Moth Radio Hour, Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!, and This American Life. At NHPR, our vision is that through trustworthy journalism, we enrich lives and build stronger communities, in New Hampshire and beyond. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core to our mission. We strive to build an inclusive culture that links us to the communities we serve and to produce journalism and programming that reflect those communities' diverse cultures, backgrounds, and viewpoints.

About The Music Hall

The Music Hall is an active and vital cultural center in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire, dedicated to the advancement of the tri-state region's cultural life through the performing arts, literature, and education. A community-supported 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, it presents entertainment from around the world and around the corner-the greatest musicians, writers, and performers of the time, extraordinary films, and award-winning documentaries. Its 600 yearly events delight an annual audience of 130,000 (including 20,000 children) in two theaters-an 1878 Victorian-era Historic Theater and the modern and intimate Lounge venue. The Music Hall was recently named Editors' Choice "Best All-Around Entertainment" by Yankee Magazine and is a designated "American Treasure for the Arts." Through innovative community partnerships, it subsidizes thousands of tickets each year to make the arts accessible to all. The Music Hall is community-oriented and committed to helping the Seacoast region flourish.

Media Partner: Yankee Magazine

Season Sponsors: Carey & Giampa Realtors; JGroup Hospitality; Portwalk Place

Contributing Partner: The University of New Hampshire

Lead Sponsor: B2W Software

Praise for John Irving

"It is impossible to imagine the American - or international - literary landscape without John Irving.... He is as close as one gets to a contemporary Dickens in the scope of his celebrity and the level of his achievement." -Time

"He is more than popular. He is a Populist, determined to keep alive the Dickensian tradition that revels in colorful set pieces...and teaches moral lessons." -The New York Times

"Irving's characters can beguile us onto thin ice and persuade us to dance there. His instinctive mark is the moral choice stripped bare, and his aim is impressive." -The Washington Post Book World

"At the base of Irving's own moral concerns is a rare and lasting regard for human kindness." -The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Irving's novels are not just page-turners. Time and time again, he forces readers to consider important social issues...in a way reminiscent of Dickens." -The Guardian

"Wickedly knowing, mischievously post-modern and magical realist along the lines of Günter Grass, Gabriel García Márquez and Robertson Davies." -Time Out, London

"When reading an Irving novel, the outside world becomes just a distraction, and real life happens inside the reader's head." -Der Spiegel, Hamburg

"Irving offers...a faith in patient storytelling and the conviction that narrative hunger is part of our essence." -The Globe and Mail, Toronto

"Because of his relentless determination...John Irving has become the incarnation of the 'great American novelist' par excellence with his fabulous gift as a storyteller and ability to give food for thought." -L'Express, Paris

"More than forty years [after Garp], thanks to his devastating irony, quiet provocation, comical obsessions, priapic debauchery, sex and neuroses on all levels, John Irving remains unrivaled." -Le Monde, Paris

"Irving's sometimes burlesque but always moving novels are a plea for mercy and tolerance." -De Groene Amsterdammer, Amsterdam

--
Brittany Wason
(she/her/hers)
Literary Producer & Content Manager
The Music Hall - Portsmouth, NH
O: 603.766.2192 | C: 603.475.3821BWason@TheMusicHall.org
All the links: https://linktr.ee/musichallnhFacebook: @MusicHall | Twitter: @MusicHall | Instagram: @MusicHallNH

To post a comment, you must register and login.