Author Talk: Erin Somers

Author Talk: Erin Somers at Bedford Books

We’re thrilled to welcome acclaimed author Erin Somers to Bedford Books! Join her in conversation with author & journalist Haley Cohen Gilliland as they discuss Erin's new book, The Ten Year Affair.

Books will be available for sale and signing, and light refreshments will be served.

Ticket price includes a $20 shopping credit to use at the event.

About the book:

“The best book about adultery since Madame Bovary.” —Tony Tulathimutte, author of Rejection

A hilariously acerbic sliding doors novel about a chance meeting between two young parents, both happily married (just not to each other) that sparks a will-they-won’t-they romance—perfect for fans of Big Swiss and Acts of Service.

When Cora meets Sam at a baby group in their small town, the chemistry between them is undeniable. Both are happily married young parents with two kids, and neither sees themselves as the type to engage in an affair. Yet their connection grows stronger, and as their lives continue to intertwine, the romantic tension between them becomes all-consuming—until their worlds unravel into two parallel timelines. In one, they pursue their feelings. In the other, they resist.

As reality splits, the everyday details of Cora’s life—her depressing marketing job, her daughter’s new fascination with the afterlife, her husband’s obsession with podcasts about the history of rope—gain fresh perspective. The intersecting and diverging timelines blur the boundaries of reality and fantasy, questioning what might have been and what truly matters.

The Ten Year Affair is a witty, emotionally-charged exploration of marriage, family life, and the roads not taken, that ultimately asks: do we really want our fantasies to come true?

About Erin Somers:

Erin Somers is a reporter and news editor at Publishers Lunch. Her first novel, Stay Up with Hugo Best, was a Vogue Best Book of the Year in 2019. Her writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New York Times Book Review, The New Republic, New York magazine, The Atlantic, Esquire, GQ, Best American Short Stories, and many other publications. She has been the recipient of an Emerging Writer Fellowship from the NYC Center for Fiction, a fellowship from the Millay Colony, and was a 2020 finalist for a National Magazine Award. She lives in New York’s Hudson Valley with her family.

About Haley Cohen Gilliland:

Haley Cohen Gilliland is the director of the Yale Journalism Initiative and the author of the highly acclaimed A Flower Traveled in My Blood. She previously worked at The Economist for seven years, four of which were spent in Buenos Aires as the paper’s Argentina correspondent. Following her time at The Economist, she has focused on narrative nonfiction—bringing history and current events to life through fact-based storytelling. She has published long-form feature articles in The New York Times, National Geographic, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Vanity Fair, among other publications. She lives in New York State with her husband, two children, and dogs.