Writers In The Loft Presents J.Courtney Sullivan With SAINTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS

On Tuesday, July 24, J. Courtney Sullivan returns to The Music Hall Loft to talk about her national bestseller, SAINTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS, just out in paperback. A sweeping, unforgettable novel about the hope, sacrifice, and love between two sisters, the book was named a New York Times Critics' "Top Book of 2017," and one of the "Best Books of 2017" by the Washington Post and Harper's Bazaar.

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

"We're delighted to welcome back J. Courtney Sullivan, who was last with us in the Loft in 2013, with The Engagements. Her new novel, a phenomenal bestseller, is a wonderful, epic tale perfect for us New Englanders as it is set mostly on the streets on Boston and in rural Vermont. More important, this novel will be loved by anyone who has a family, who loves their family, and whose heart is in trying to do right by the group, whatever differences between sisters, between parents and children. SAINTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS is also a kaleidoscopic look at America's relationship with immigrants; and how Boston, like so many other dynamic cities, is made of people from afar. I look forward to talking more and going behind-the-scenes on these themes with our guest author on July 24," said Margaret Talcott, producer of Writers in the Loft and the evening's moderator.

Nora and Theresa Flynn are 21 and 17 when they leave their small village in Ireland and journey to America. Nora is the responsible sister - shy, serious, and engaged to a man she isn't sure she loves - while Theresa is gregarious, thrilled by their new life in Boston and besotted with the fashionable dresses and dance halls on Dudley Street. But when Theresa becomes pregnant, Nora must come up with a plan, a plan with repercussions they are too young to understand.

Fifty years later, Nora is the matriarch of a big Catholic family with four grown children, while her estranged sister Theresa is a cloistered nun living in a rural Vermont abbey. Then, after decades of silence, a sudden death forces Nora and Theresa to confront the choices they made so long ago.

A graceful, supremely moving novel, SAINTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS explores the fascinating, funny, and sometimes achingly sad ways a secret at the heart of one family both breaks them and binds them together.

J. COURTNEY SULLIVAN is the New York Times best-selling author of the novels The Engagements, Maine, and Commencement. Maine was named a 2011 Time magazine "Best Book of the Year" and a Washington Post "Notable Book." The Engagements was one of People Magazine's "Top Ten Books of 2013" and an Irish Times "Best Book of the Year," and has been translated into seventeen languages. Ms. Sullivan has contributed to The New York Times Book Review, the Chicago Tribune, New York Magazine, Elle, Glamour, Allure, Real Simple, and O: The Oprah Magazine, among many other publications. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

The ticket package for Writers in the Loft: J. Courtney Sullivan on Tuesday, July 24, at 7pm, is $31 ($29 for members). In addition to a reserved seat, the package includes a copy of SAINTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS ($16.95, paperback), 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.

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, Q+A, a copy of the book, and a meet-and-greet book signing with the featured writer.

Photo Credit: Michael Lionstar

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