Writer In The Loft, 3/30: Best-loved Columnist And Novelist Anna Quindlen

On Friday, March 30, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and #1 New York Times bestselling writer Anna Quindlen visits The Music Hall Loft as part of its Writers in the Loft series to discuss her latest novel, ALTERNATE SIDE, in which an unexpected act of violence exposes tensions in a tight-knit neighborhood and seemingly happy marriage.

The 7pm event includes an author presentation and moderated Q+A, plus a book signing and a meet-and-greet. It will be held at The Music Hall Loft at 131 Congress Street, in downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

"It is a great honor to welcome back Anna Quindlen, a master writer across genres. She visited us the historic theater in 2012 with her nonfiction work, Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake - a book that has many of us laughing and thinking still," said Margaret Talcott, producer of Writers in the Loft and the evening's moderator. "It's no surprise that she's won a Pulitzer Prize and is loved for her bestsellers. Anna Quindlen is indeed a reporter by training, but, she is 'a storyteller at heart' (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). I cannot wait to talk to her about her latest, ALTERNATE SIDE."

ABOUT THE BOOK

Some days Nora Nolan thinks that she and her husband, Charlie, lead a charmed life. And why not? New York City was once Nora's dream destination, and now her clannish dead-end block has become a safe harbor, a tranquil village amid the urban craziness. The owners watch one another's children grow up. They use the same handyman. They trade gossip and gripes, and they maneuver for the ultimate status symbol: a spot in the block's small parking lot.

Then one morning, Nora returns from her run to discover that a terrible incident has occurred, shaking the tightly knit community and opening the fault lines among Nora's neighbors, at her job, and in her marriage.

With crisp relief and sharp humor, Anna Quindlen rips the cover off of an idealistic façade and explores what it means to be a mother, wife, and woman at a moment of reckoning -- all while showcasing her fiction prowess at its most brave, most heartbreaking, and most satisfying.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Anna Quindlen is a novelist and journalist whose work has appeared on fiction, nonfiction, and self-help bestseller lists. She is the author of many novels: Object Lessons, One True Thing, Black and Blue, Blessings, Rise and Shine, Every Last One, Still Life with Bread Crumbs, and Miller's Valley. Her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, published in 2012, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her book A Short Guide to a Happy Life has sold more than a million copies. While a columnist at The New York Times she won the Pulitzer Prize and published two collections, Living Out Loud and Thinking Out Loud. Her Newsweek columns were collected in Loud and Clear.

TICKETS

The ticket package for Writers in the Loft: Anna Quindlen on Friday, March 30, at 7pm, is $42 ($40). In addition to a reserved seat, the package includes a copy of ALTERNATE SIDE ($28, hardcover), a bar beverage, author presentation, Q+A, and book signing meet-and-greet. 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.

For further information, or to request an author interview, please contact: Margaret Talcott, Producer, The Music Hall, at mtalcott@themusichall.org or Patricia Lynch, Executive Producer, at plynch@themusichall.org

About Writers in the Loft

Akin to The Music Hall's anchor literary series, Writers on a New England Stage, Writers in the Loft features bestselling authors in a smaller, more intimate space. The series brings audiences today's top authors, the best of fiction and nonfiction, and award-winners across categories. The evening package includes a reserved seat and bar beverage, author presentation and Q+A, a copy of the book, and a meet-and-greet book signing with the featured writer.

Series Sponsor: RMC Research Corporation

Contributing Partner: The University of New Hampshire

Season Sponsors: Carey & Giampa Realtors; Portwalk Place; The River House restaurant

About The Music Hall

The Music Hall is a performing arts center featuring curated entertainment from around the world in two theaters in its downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire campus - one, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, designated an American Treasure for the Arts by the National Park Service's Save America's Treasures Program, the other the intimate Music Hall Loft around the corner, named "best performing arts venue" by Yankee Magazine and the recipient of the NH AIA award for design excellence.

With acclaimed signature series including Writers on a New England Stage - a partnership between The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio - and the Intimately Yours music series, we bring top authors and artists to both stages. Also, HD broadcasts from The Metropolitan Opera and the National Theatre of London as well as extraordinary cinema fill both screens almost every night of the year.

This dynamic arts center urges patrons to Explore + Learn via master classes, post film panel discussions, and matinees for children. An anchor organization in this historic working seaport, The Music Hall is one of downtown Portsmouth's biggest employers and largest contributors to the regional economy: The Music Hall and its patrons contribute $7.1 million annually to the local economy through show and visitor related spending.

Innovative in its outlook, the organization is community oriented and committed to making the Seacoast flourish. The Music Hall is a 501(c)3 nonprofit managed by a professional staff with the assistance of a volunteer board. Though global in the scope of its artists and programs, The Music Hall operates independently with the support of 3,000 members, 300 corporate partners and 58 community partner organizations. Welcoming more than 100,000 patrons (including 20,000 children) each year from the tri-state area and beyond, The Music Hall is the region's center for the performing arts, literature and education...easy to get to, impossible to forget.

Web: www.TheMusicHall.org

Author photo Anna Quindlen (c) Maria Krovatin

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