Author Bonnie Jo Campbell With Local Author Kelsey Ronan
Join the War Memorial & Next Chapter Books for an engaging author talk, just in time for the holiday season. On Monday November 9th, we’ll welcome Author Bonnie Jo Campbell, in conversation with local author Kelsey Ronan, for an in-depth discussion of her latest book, The Spirits.
About The Spirits
In this contemporary Christmas Carol, Bonnie Jo Campbell has created a complex, gritty, spooky, and ultimately heartwarming holiday story that unfolds in an isolated farmhouse. It is the night before Christmas in a small town in Michigan, and a young woman is haunted by her father’s death. She has been silently penitent for nine years, but being stuck in the past has embittered her, made her cut herself off emotionally from her community and her family, despite her deep devotion to them.
When a surprising guest appears at the (dreaded) Christmas Eve dinner, the family opens up to reveal their secrets. Redemption is never easy or wholesale, but sometimes a family needs a good story as much as they need to face the truth. In this remarkable exploration of crime and punishment, salvation arrives at the darkest hour. The power of familial love and a sense of humor promise a brighter and more joyful new beginning for the whole family.
Tickets
All tickets include a pre-signed copy of the book. Limited tickets are available for a meet and greet with Bonnie Jo Campbell, with the opportunity to have your book personalized. Meet & Greet tickets include a complimentary beverage.
General Admission: $35
Meet & Greet: $55
About The Speakers
Bonnie Jo Campbell is the author of The Waters, a Today Show “Read with Jenna” Book Club selection. Her other novels include Once Upon a River, a National Bestseller adapted into an award-winning film, and Q Road.
Campbell’s short story collections include American Salvage, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award, and Women and Other Animals, an AWP Grace Paley Prize winner, and Mothers, Tell Your Daughters. She is a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow and a recipient of the Eudora Welty Prize and Mark Twain Award. She lives outside Kalamazoo on a small farm with her husband and donkeys. Visit www.bonniejocampbell.net
Kelsey Ronan's short stories and essays have appeared in Lit Hub, Michigan Quarterly Review, Indiana Review, Electric Literature, Kenyon Review, and elsewhere.
She is the author of the novel Chevy in the Hole (Holt, 2022), which was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice and a Michigan Notable Book. She lives in Metro Detroit and teaches at St. Clair County Community College.
Ticket Fees: Event sales incur a $3 fee per ticket to help offset ticketing expenses. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we strive to keep our fees as low as possible.