Here’s the line-up for the Summer Literary Picnic season!

We are so excited to announce the 28th season of Summer Literary Picnics, featuring readings from five authors with Ohio connections. The picnics are held on the Thurber House lawn at 77 Jefferson Avenue and you can purchase a boxed dinner from us, or bring your own. Here’s the line-up for 2013:

Wednesday, June 12: Alexis Wilson

Alexis Wilson is known to many as the wife of musician Byron Stripling, but her memoir, Not So Black and White, shows that she is much more than wife and mother. She shares the story of her father, a Tony-award winning choreographer, and her mother, a talented ballet star. This book is a fascinating look at the life of an exceptional woman.

Wednesday, June 26: Julia Keller

Pulizer Prize-winning journalist Julia Keller has written her first novel, a mystery called A Killing in the Hills. In the book, prosecuting attorney Bell Elkins investigates the gruesome murder of three elderly men in a diner. The book takes place against the backdrop of poverty-stricken West Virginia, and Keller plans to make this the first book in a new series.

Wednesday, July 10: Sharon Short

Sharon Short’s column, “Sanity Check,” appeared in the Dayton Daily News for over ten years. She is now the director of the Antioch Writers’ Workshop in Yellow Springs, and her first novel, My One Square Inch of Alaska, was just published. It follows the story of two siblings and their dog as they escape their small Ohio town and travel to Alaska.

Wednesday, July 24: John Kachuba

If you are interested in paranormal investigations, be sure to check out John Kachuba’s Ghosthunting Ohio: On the Road Again. In the book, there are 25 ghostly spots to visit in the Buckeye State, from the home of President  James A. Garfield to Columbus’s own Thurber House. Kachuba is the author of several entries in the “Haunted Road Trip” series.

Wednesday, August 7: Charlene Fix

Poet and professor Charlene Fix takes a look at one of the Marx brothers in her book, Harpo Marx as Trickster. In history, folklore, and myth, tricksters have held a special place in people’s lives and hearts. Through photos and words, Fix examines Harpo’s trickster personality in each Marx Brothers film, demonstrating his affinity for mischief and magic.

Here’s how the Literary Picnics work:

• 5:30 p.m. – Our Young Docents offer guided tours of Thurber House.
• 5:30 – 6:50 p.m. – If you pre-ordered a boxed dinner from us, you may pick it up anytime within this timeframe. If you would like to order dinner, please make your reservation by 4:00 p.m. on the Monday before the picnic.
• 7:00 p.m. – The reading begins. Thurber House remains open after the reading for touring, book buying, and book signing.

Please bring your own lawn chairs or blankets. You are also welcome to bring alcoholic beverages.

Click here for more information (including menus), and to purchase tickets to any and all of our upcoming picnics!

Summer Literary Picnic: Jeni Britton Bauer

We were incredibly proud to host Jeni Britton Bauer, founder of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on Wednesday for a sold-out picnic on the Thurber House lawn. Her cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, won the 2012 James Beard Award for Best Baking and Dessert Cookbook – and features over 100 recipes to re-create her delicious ice creams using a home ice cream maker.

Take a look at these pictures from the event – as always, thanks to Leslie Miller for the use of these images.

Jeni never goes anywhere without ice cream – she brought everyone a scrumptious treat of Juniper and Lemon Curd ice cream on lemon macarons. James Thurber inspired this flavor in her summer collection; it is reminiscent of a gin martini with a twist.

Jeni spoke about her vision of summer flavors inspired by writers, including James Thurber.

The sold-out crowd asked Jeni questions about writing her first cookbook and the creative process of making new ice cream flavors.

Fans gathered for a book signing with Jeni after the picnic and talk.

Many thanks to Jeni Britton Bauer for spending the evening with Thurber House and making the night so delicious!

 

 

 

Summer Literary Picnic: Mark Titus

Sports fans and humor fans alike joined us on the Thurber House lawn on Wednesday to hear Mark Titus speak about his book, Don’t Put Me In, Coach: My Incredible NCAA Journey From the End of the Bench to the End of the Bench. Mark read some (PG-13) stories from his book and shared tales of the pranks he pulled on his fellow team members on the Ohio State basketball team.

Mark spoke with fans and enjoyed dinner on the lawn before reading from his new book.

Fans enjoyed the beautiful July evening during the picnic portion of the event.

Thurber House board member Linda Logan welcomed the crowd.

Mark’s funny stories about his teammates and experiences created laugh-out-loud moments throughout the evening.

Mark answered questions from the crowd about his time on the Buckeye basketball team and about how his book came to be.

After his talk, Mark made time to talk to his fans and sign their books.

Special thanks to Leslie Miller for these fantastic photos of the evening!

Summer Literary Picnic: Karen Harper

We had such a lovely time on Wednesday with author Karen Harper. Thanks to everyone who braved the hot weather and joined us for a delicious dinner and a fascinating chat. Check out these pictures of the evening, thanks to Thurber photographer extraordinaire Leslie Miller:

Author Karen Harper and her husband enjoy a picnic dinner while chatting with fans.

Children’s Writer-in-Residence Donna Gephart attended the picnic and was able to meet Thurber House fans and friends.

Board member Steve Miller warmed up the crowd before Karen took the podium.

Karen chatted about researching her novels, how a book gets published, working with editors, and gave us a preview of her newest book.

Karen talked with her fans and signed their books.

 

 

Summer Literary Picnics Are Underway!

Last Wednesday, our Summer Literary Picnic season kicked off with a salute to Columbus in celebration of the city’s bicentennial. Here are some pictures of the evening:

Picnickers enjoyed a delicious dinner on a perfect Ohio evening.

 

The Thurber Chamber Theatre entertained the crowd with a tale of Thurber’s college days and a reenactment of one of his famous fables.

Thurber House Board of Directors President Barbie Tootle welcomed the crowd to our bicentennial celebration.

Joe Santry of the Columbus Clippers told stories of baseball’s beginnings in Columbus.

Columbus and Thurber expert Jim Tootle spoke about Thurber’s time at Ohio State University and his connections to Columbus.

Doreen Uhas-Sauer of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation shared her love of Columbus architecture and some stories behind famous Columbus buildings.

The speakers gladly answered Columbus questions from attendees.

Picnickers enjoyed our first evening of good friends, good food, and great books.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our first picnic of the season! Our next picnic, which will be held on June 27, features author Karen Harper. Tickets are available here. More information about the rest of our picnic season is available here.

Summer Picnics Featured by the U.S. Travel Association

The U.S. Travel Association recently included the Thurber House Summer Literary Picnic series on their blog, SeeAmerica. Check out the link and see what they had to say about our summer plans!

Evenings With Authors: J. Courtney Sullivan – And a Look Ahead to the Summer Season!

By Susanne Jaffe, Thurber House Executive Director

Last night we wrapped up our 2012 Winter/Spring Evenings With Authors season with a visit from J. Courtney Sullivan, chatting about her bestseller, Maine – a novel about generations of women visiting a family beach house and dealing with problems both personal and familial. This was the perfect book to lead into our summer season.

Attendees sign up to win a copy of J. Courtney Sullivan’s latest book.

Sullivan spoke about her books, her writing practices, and how she researches the settings of her novels.

Audience members asked many thoughtful questions of Sullivan during the Q&A portion of the program.

Sullivan took the time to chat individually with attendees while signing their books.

This was quite a packed season of author events, including two Special Events, and all of us at Thurber House hope you enjoyed them. We want to say a big THANK YOU for your support. We love bringing the diversity of writers to you and are already starting to consider our Fall line-up.

Finish one season of author events, and just around the corner is another—this time the 27^th season of our Summer Literary Picnics. In years past, the picnics have always spotlighted Ohio authors, but this year, in honor of  the Columbus Bicentennial, all five picnics will focus on Columbus authors. Information about each author can be found on our website. All the picnics—weather angels permitting!—are on the side lawn of the House. Bring quarters for those pesky parking meters along Jefferson!

Our picnics offer the option of ordering a delicious boxed dinner from Party Panache catering, or you can bring your own picnic spread – and you are welcome to bring alcoholic beverages as well. Tickets for dinner and the reading are $30, and tickets for the reading only are $15 (or $5 for children under 12). You can order tickets online here or by calling 614-464-1032 x.11.

The first picnic is Wednesday, June 13 and then June 27, July 11, July 25 and August 8. We can’t wait to see you there!

But wait—there’s more from Thurber House this summer! Also in honor of the bicentennial, Thurber House in partnership with Ohio State University’s Rare Books Libraries will have a special exhibit in the Center, next door to the House. It’s all about Columbus and Thurber: Past and Present with fantastic archival photos and even copies of Thurber’s report cards! It’s free and you can visit anytime but it might be fun to come early to the picnic and take a look before you eat dinner.

Mark your calendars, everyone, for a summer of Thurber fun beginning June 13!

Spring Preview: Exciting Events to Add to Your Calendar

Spring is in the air – and you won’t want to miss any of the great events Thurber House has planned for the season!

Do you know a high school-aged student with a love for writing? Our Young Writers’ Studio gives them a chance to get together with like-minded peers and work with a professional writer to hone their talent. Remaining dates for this season are: March 28, April 11, April 25, May 9, and May 23. Call 614-464-1032 ext. 13 for registration information.

Spaces are available in several of our Adult Writing Workshops – are you interested in writing graphic novels, journaling, plotting a romance novel, or composing poetry? Click here to check out the classes and our award-winning lineup of instructors.

Speaking of graphic novels, we will be welcoming graphic novelist (and OSU alum) Paul Hornschemeier to Thurber House next week as our latest Writer-In-Residence. We’re excited to be partnering with the Columbus Museum of Art for his stay here. Welcome back to Columbus, Paul!

The application deadline for the John E. Nance Adult Writer-In-Residence Program has been extended to May 1. This program is a residency for a working writer in James Thurber’s boyhood home, and it gives the writer the gift of time to develop his or her work-in-progress.

Have you heard about the Kente project? We are partnering with Columbus Children’s Choir, Thiossane West African Dance Institute and Columbus Children’s Theatre for this project – the four organizations will work together to present West African folktales through dance, drama, spoken word, and song. We will host Dr. Buchi Offodile for a week-long residency while he teaches students at Thurber House and local library branches about folktales. You can find out more about the Kente Project via their website, Facebook page, Twitter, and YouTube channel.

We have four more Evenings with Authors events left in the Winter/Spring season. What a fantastic opportunity to meet some of your favorite best-selling authors! Lisa Lutz will be here March 20, Beth Gutcheon will be here April 4, Anne Perry will be here April 18, and J. Courtney Sullivan wraps up the season on June 5. Tickets are still available for all four events – order them here or call 614-464-1032.

And if you’re like us and can’t help but look forward to summer, we’ve got you covered there too. Summer Writing Camp registration is underway! Fabulous programs for kids in grades 2 – 8 are planned. Need more information? Click here. We also have an exciting lineup for our summer Literary Picnics, so keep an eye on this blog and our website for more information as they are announced.

For more information about these offerings (and two very special literary events we have coming up in May), be sure to like us on Facebook.

Summer Picnic Series Concludes with Dispatch Sports Columnist Bob Hunter

Hard to believe, but Wednesday’s picnic with Bob Hunter is the last event in the summer series! (Seriously, where has the summer gone?!) We’re pleased to announce that Linda Logan and the Columbus Sports Commission will be the hosts for this final picnic.

Hunter is a sports columnist with the Columbus Dispatch and author of Chic, the untold story of the unassuming schoolboy, Chic Harley, who laid the groundwork for Ohio stadium. It is also the story of the building of America’s greatest athletic institution, the OSU program. A Dispatch sports columnist since 1993, Hunter’s popular Friday “Rumblings” column has been a paper mainstay since 1997. He also has a blog called The Daily Hunter.

It’s not too late to get your tickets for the reading. Purchase them online at
http://www.thurberhouse.org or call (614)-464-1032. Hope you can join us August 3rd at 6:15 for the reading and discussion.

New Voices Picnic Features ProMusica Chamber Orchestra and Ohio Authors

Summer is in full swing and so is our Summer Picnic series! We hope you’ll join us on Wednesday for the third annual New Voices picnic– an evening of literary and musical pieces from some of Ohio’s up-and-coming talent.

Students with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra will perform before the readings. Pictured from left to right is Paige Sibeveih, Alina Wungsirivesh, Jason Ng.

As an added bonus, we excited to collaborate with ProMusica Chamber Orchestra who will kick off the evening with a performance by a string quartet comprised of Hilliard Davidson High School students from ProMusica’s Student Advisory Board, and participants in the Musicians in the Schools program. The students will play Presto from Mozart’s String Quartet No. 4 in C Major as well as a few short duets.

The event will also feature the following emerging Ohio authors: Amanda Flower debuting her novel Maid of Murder; Ellen Waddell presenting from her book of essays, She Said, Looking Forward; and Lee Kravitz sharing a novel based on a year of his life called Unfinished Business.

The picnic begins at 6:15 pm on the Thurber House lawn. Tours of the house are available before and after dinner. Tickets are $15 for the reading. You’re welcome to bring some snacks and beverages. For more information about the New Voices Picnic and to purchase tickets, click here or call 614-464-1032.

We hope to see you there!