Simon Winchester on Portsmouth Stage |
Writers on a New England Stage, the celebrated author series, welcomes to the stage the renowned journalist and author Simon Winchester. The bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman, Krakatoa, and The Map that Changed the World,
About The Book
In ATLANTIC: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discovers, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories, Winchester returns to his trademark blend of history, natural science, and keen observations with a fascinating “biography” of one of the world’s great oceans. Displaying the remarkable fluidity of narrative style and command of content that has earned him praise as “a master at telling a complex story compellingly and lucidly” (USA Today), the New York Times bestselling author delves deeply into the long, complicated story of a body of water that has been at the center of western civilization. “A focal point, an axis, a fulcrum, around which the power and influence of the modern world has long been distributed,” says
Early reviews of the book have been strong. Said Kirkus Review, “A lifetime of thought, travel, reading, imagination and memory inform this affecting account.” In a starred review, Booklist said the history was “amazingly educational and entertaining.”Publishers Weekly heralded it “necessary reading for those who want to understand the planet better.” Critics have also pointed to the book’s likely ascent onto bestsellers list. Said Tom Holbrook, owner of RiverRun Bookstore and a partner in the series, “Those of us at the store have loved
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About the Evening
Writers on a New England Stage is a signature series created by and presented at The Music Hall, a series of unique literary evenings in a rollicking radio show format. Following
For Writers on a New England Stage: Simon Winchester, The Music Hall has extended a special invitation to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, NH, a community partner of The Music Hall.
About the Author
Simon Winchester is an author, journalist and broadcaster. Since his graduation from
Winchester’s books cover a wide range of subjects, including a study of the remaining British Empire, the colonial architecture of India, aristocracy, the American Midwest, his experience of the months in an Argentine prison on spying charges, his description of a six-month walk through the Korean peninsula, the Pacific Ocean and the future of China. Most recently he has written The River at the Center of the World, about China’s Yangtze River; the best-selling The Professor and the Madman, which is to be made into a major film by the distinguished French director Luc Besson; The Fracture Zone; A Return to the Balkans, which recounts his journey from Austria to Turkey during the 1999 Kosovo crisis; and the best-selling The Map that Changed the World, about the nineteenth century geologist William Smith. His book, Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883was published in April 2003 and A Crack in the Edge of the World:
Simon Winchester was made Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by HM The Queen in 2006. He lives on a small farm in the Berkshires in
Tickets for Writers on a New England Stage: Simon Winchester ($13, $11 for members of The Music Hall) are available through The Music Hall Box Office, located at
Patrons who want to read the book before the writer’s event can buy an unsigned copy as soon as RiverRun Bookstore has them available. The 10% discount price will be in effect when they show their ticket to the author’s Writers on a New England Stage evening. The producers ask for patrons’ support of this vibrant series through the purchase of books through The Music Hall and/or River Run Bookstore.
At each Writers event, The Music Hall hosts local high school students selected by their teachers, who come free of charge to the event and get an opportunity to meet the author. The Music Hall welcomes local book clubs attending on the night to take part in a drawing to be guests at a private backstage book signing/reception with the featured writer. For more information on how to join the Writers on a New England Stage book club list and drawing, email Associate Producer Margaret Talcott at the Music Hall.
About the 2010-2011 Writers on a New England Stage series
Writers on a New England Stage was created by executive producer Patricia Lynch, also executive director of The Music Hall, and is presented in partnership with New Hampshire Public Radio and in collaboration with Yankee Magazine and Portsmouth’s independent RiverRun Bookstore. Since 2005, the series has spotlighted a broad range of celebrated authors including Alan Alda, Mitch Albom, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Dan Brown, Isabel Allende, Stephen King, Barbara Kingsolver, E.L. Doctorow, Anita Diamant, Madeleine Albright, the late John Updike, Wally Lamb, Jodi Picoult, Greg Mortenson, and Cokie Roberts, among many others.
Next up in the series Writers on a New England Stage is the Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Joseph J. Ellis with his new work, FIRST FAMILY: Abigail and John Adams on November 30.