Writers In The Loft to Welcome Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis

On Tuesday, March 16, award-winning authors and former military officers Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis come to The Music Hall's virtual stage as part of the Writers on in The Loft series, now being presented in an intimate, online format. Ackerman and Stavridis will discuss their new novel 2034, a chillingly authentic, geopolitical thriller that imagines a naval clash between the US and China-and the path to a nightmarish global conflagration.

The 7pm event includes an audience Q&A and interview with Jonathan Day, managing partner at Centrus Digital and Major in the US Air Force Reserve. The event will be hosted on Crowdcast and books can be purchased on TheMusicHall.org or through The Music Hall's Box Office-available for pick-up or shipment.

"Authors and officers Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis have brought to life a scenario we hope to never see come to fruition in 2034," says Day, the evening's moderator. "I'm looking forward to learning about the idea behind this novel and the journey of co-authoring."

On March 12, 2034, US Navy Commodore Sarah Hunt is on the bridge of her flagship, the guided missile destroyer USS John Paul Jones, conducting a routine freedom of navigation patrol in the South China Sea when her ship detects an unflagged trawler in clear distress, smoke billowing from its bridge. On that same day, US Marine aviator Major Chris "Wedge" Mitchell is flying an F35E Lightning over the Strait of Hormuz, testing a new stealth technology as he flirts with Iranian airspace. By the end of that day, Wedge will be an Iranian prisoner, and Sarah Hunt's destroyer will lie at the bottom of the sea, sunk by the Chinese Navy. Iran and China have clearly coordinated their moves, which involve the use of powerful new forms of cyber weaponry that render US ships and planes defenseless. In a single day, America's faith in its military's strategic pre-eminence is in tatters. A new, terrifying era is at hand.

Elliot Ackerman is a National Book Award finalist, author of the novels Waiting for Eden, Dark at the Crossing, and Green on Blue, and of the nonfiction book Places and Names. His work has appeared in Esquire, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times Magazine, and The Best American Short Stories, among other publications. He is both a former White House Fellow and a Marine, and he served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he received the Silver Star, the Bronze Star for Valor, and the Purple Heart. He divides his time between New York City and Washington, D.C.

Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret.) spent more than thirty years in the US Navy, rising to the rank of four-star admiral. He was Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and previously commanded US Southern Command, overseeing military operations through Latin America. At sea, he commanded a Navy destroyer, a destroyer squadron, and an aircraft carrier battle group in combat. He holds a PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, where he recently served five years as dean. He has published nine previous books and hundreds of articles. Admiral Stavridis is Chief International Security and Diplomacy Analyst for NBC News, and a columnist at both Time magazine and Bloomberg Opinion. Based in Washington, D.C., he is an operating executive of the Carlyle Group, an international private equity firm, and chair of the board of counselors of McLarty Associates, an international consulting firm.

The ticket package for this event on Tuesday, March 16, at 7pm is $5. In addition to access to the livestream, the ticket package includes a virtual author discussion and audience Q&A. Books and tickets can be purchased online at TheMusicHall.org or through the B2W Box Office over the phone at 603.436.2400. Books are sold through The Music Hall's Box Office, and are available for pick-up or shipment.

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