The Ivy invites you to a book launch for a one-of-a-kind debut novel: Time's Breath by Deborah Brown English! The novel includes the author's own paintings and illustrations in oil and graphite, and this form itself participates in the story, which opens with the discovery of a book within the remains of a small Norwegian boat. She will be joined in conversation with accomplished author Martha Anne Toll.

Over the course of Time's Breath, the story emerges in both words and pictures to create a storytelling style at the intersection of the timeless and the contemporary.

We look forward to hearing the author's perspective on her unique creation, and hope you will join us to hear more.

TIME'S BREATH will be available for purchase at the event.

Deborah Brown English grew up on Maryland’s Upper Eastern Shore, and originally intended to be a fiction writer, studying English and creative writing at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She graduated from MICA with honors in 1985, and her work has been exhibited in Maryland at Steven Scott Gallery, Paper Rock Scissors, the Annual Gala Show of the Choral Arts Society of Baltimore, the Academy Museum, and at the former Sales and Rental Gallery at the Baltimore Museum of Art; as well as in galleries in Pennsylvania and Nebraska. She and her husband, Philip, live in Baltimore and are known together for their joint collecting and support of the arts.

Martha Anne Toll is a novelist and literary and cultural critic. Her debut novel, Three Muses, was shortlisted for the Gotham Book Prize, with New York's Vulture noting, "by the time you finish this, you’ll realize you’re in the hands of a maestro.” Her new novel, Duet for One, another love story set in the high-pressure performing arts world, takes place in the classical music scene around Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square. Toll is a recipient of Fellowships from the Vashon Artist Residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Virginia and France, Monson Arts, and Dairy Hollow. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle and serves on the Board of Directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. A graduate of Yale, Toll holds a B.A. Degree in Music, and her classical music training informs her artistic practice. She holds a J.D. Degree from Boston University School of Law, and comes to writing professionally after a career dedicated to social justice. Toll grew up in Philadelphia, and lives in Washington, D.C.

Book Launch for Deborah Brown English: TIME'S BREATH (With Martha Anne Toll