Books

GBH is proud to present master of suspense Dean Koontz for January’s Beyond the Page virtual event! Dean Koontz is a New York Times bestselling author of many novels - including Star Quest (1968), Phantoms (1983), Watchers (1987), Odd Thomas (2003), The Silent Corner (2010), The House at the End of the World (2023) and many more!

Koontz will share his insights, tips and tricks for the writing and editing process. He’ll also share more information about his newest book The House at the End of the World, releasing on January 24. This novel follows Katie as she seeks solace in her art, only to be drawn into a web of danger by the arrival of enigmatic government agents. As she confronts this peril, a courageous young girl becomes her unexpected ally in a battle against an otherworldly terror that threatens to unravel the very fabric of existence. Explore a thrilling journey through a dark and foreboding landscape in this epic tale of survival.

Bring any questions you have about writing, editing and publishing, or any of the books in Koontz’s library.

At Beyond the Page, we believe in the power of knowledge, the magic of stories and the beauty of shared experiences. This event series features interactive sessions with renowned authors discussing their latest work and their writing process. Whether you're seeking profound discussions or heartfelt emotions, these events offer something truly special for everyone.

Photo Credit: Rick Loomis/ LA Times

This event will be hosted by GBH's Emmy award-winning Executive Arts Editor and Host of the Culture Show, Jared Bowen.

How it works:
This virtual event will take place via Zoom Webinar. Zoom is free to the public but requires a computer download. You can download Zoomhere.

By RSVPing for this event, you agree to receive timely news and updates on events, films, and special offers from GBH.

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Captions will be provided for this event using the Zoom Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) Transcription feature. Zoom’s Live Transcription service allows participants to see automatically generated captions and transcriptions of spoken audio in real time during a meeting or webinar. If you would like to request an accommodation or have questions about digital access for this event, please email info@wgbh.org.

If you have questions or can no longer attend, please contact Audience and Member Services Department. Audience and Member Services can be reached during regular business hours M-F, 9am-5pm at 617-300-3300 or via email: info@wgbh.org.

Celebrating one of America’s greatest female novelists, this biography brings to life Willa Cather -- her artistry and endurance, her immigrant family and the prairies on they lived, and her trailblazing success as a journalist and writer.

In the early 20^th century, Willa Cather leapt into the forefront of American letters with the publication of her novels O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the Lark (1915), and My Antonia (1918). At the time, she was well into middle age. Her success followed years of working in journalism in Nebraska, brief spells of teaching, and editorial work on magazines. Chasing Bright Medusas is her story told by of another mature and highly accomplished writer, the award-winning biographer Benjamin Taylor, a lifelong lover of Willa Cather’s work. Taylor’s elegant exploration of her artistic endurance and of her early years and family, bring us back in time to portray vividly the challenges of being an immigrant family, a woman, and a literary trailblazer -- one the greatest authors of the twentieth century.

The author, best known for "The Hours," returns to his single-day structure in "Day," a novel following a family before and during the pandemic

What does it mean to be Asian in a country where everything is Black and white? Author and associate professor Julia Lee explores the state of being caught in a racially stratified America in her new memoir, "Biting the Hand: Growing Up Asian in Black and White America."

It’s the month of all things spooky and scary, from horror movies to haunted mansions. But what about gardens? Turns out there's an unexpected sinister side to gardening, and writer and gardener Marta McDowell traces the connection between gardening and crime fiction in her book, "Gardening Can Be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim Gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers."

Romance books featuring spooky characters are on the rise and filling the shelves of bookstores year round, not just during Halloween season.

Rick Riordan, famous for writing the "Percy Jackson & the Olympians" series, spoke with GBH News ahead of his keynote address at the Boston Book Festival.

Hear from the author of a revelatory memoir about a 330-mile walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City—an unforgettable pilgrimage to the heart of America across some of our oldest common ground.

Neil King Jr.’s desire to walk from Washington, D.C., to New York City began as a whim and soon became an obsession. By the spring of 2021, events had intervened that gave his desire greater urgency. His neighborhood still reeled from the January 6th insurrection. Covid lockdowns and a rancorous election had deepened America’s divides. Neil himself bore the imprints of a long battle with cancer.

Determined to rediscover what matters in life and to see our national story with new eyes, Neil turned north with a small satchel on his back and one mission in mind: To pay close attention to the land he crossed and the people he met.

What followed is an extraordinary 26-day journey through historic battlefields and cemeteries, over the Mason-Dixon line, past Quaker and Amish farms, along Valley Forge stream beds, atop a New Jersey trash mound, across New York Harbor, and finally, to his ultimate destination: the Ramble, where a tangle of pathways converges in Central Park. The journey travels deep into America’s past and present, uncovering forgotten pockets and overlooked people. At a time of mounting disunity, the trip reveals the profound power of our shared ground.

Following the discussion that will happen both in-person in the Rabb Lecture Hall of the Central Library in Copley Square and online over Zoom webinar, there will be time for an audience Q&A. At approximately 7:00 PM, there will be an author signing facilitated by Trident Booksellers and Cafe for in-person attendees. During the program, online attendees will be provided with a link to order copies of the book from Porter Square Books.


This program is part of the American Inspiration Series from American Ancestors/NEHGS and presented in partnership with with the Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library and the GBH Forum Network.

For 20 years Neil King Jr. traveled to more than 50 countries in all continents to write and report and poke around as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. During his years in Washington, DC, he served as chief diplomatic correspondent, national political reporter and, at the end, the Journal’s global economics editor. He now travels and writes on his own. He is the founder and editor of Gotham Canoe, an online journal dedicated to life out of doors. American Ramble: A Walk of Memory and Renewal is his first book. He lives with his wife in Washington DC.

In this dual biography of two famous women whose sons changed the course of the 20th century, the award-winning historian Charlotte Gray breathes new life into Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt. Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons offers a fulsome portrait of how leaders are not just born but made. 

Sara Delano, the mother of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Jennie Jerome, the mother of Winston Churchill, were both born into upper-class America in 1854. A vivacious extrovert, Jennie married Lord Randolph Churchill, a rising politician and scion of a noble British family. Deeply conventional Sara Delano married a man as old as her father. As mothers, both woman turned their energies toward enabling their sons to reach the epicenter of political power on two continents. Set against one hundred years of history and filled with intriguing social insight, Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons reveals how these two remarkable individuals with dramatically different personalities shaped the characters of their adoring sons, men who would go on to change the world.