GRAMERCY BOOK CLUB SELECTS "BEAR!" JULIA PHILLIPS JOINS VIA ZOOM!

From the bestselling author of Disappearing Earth which was a finalist for the National Book Award, Julia Phillips, the Gramercy Book Club selection for August is Bear, a book that has been called wondrous, suspenseful, heartbreaking, and humane. Leading story scientist and author Angus Fletcher will facilitate the group discussion and interview Phillips, who will join via Zoom in the latter portion of the evening.

Kittie’s will be open only to attendees, beginning at 5:00 pm, with beverages and sweet and savory snacks available for purchase. Book discussion begins at 6:30 pm.

A ticket to this program includes a signed copy of Bear. It is strongly encouraged that registrants read the book prior to the program.

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH is Gramercy’s Community Partner for this program.

They were sisters and they would last past the end of time.

Sam and Elena dream of another life. On the island off the coast of Washington where they were born and raised, they and their mother struggle to survive. Sam works on the ferry that delivers wealthy mainlanders to their vacation homes while Elena bartends at the local golf club, but even together they can’t earn enough to get by, stirring their frustration about the limits that shape their existence.

Then one night on the boat, Sam spots a bear swimming the dark waters of the channel. Where is it going? What does it want? When the bear turns up by their home, Sam, terrified, is more convinced than ever that it’s time to leave the island. But Elena responds differently to the massive beast. Enchanted by its presence, she throws into doubt the desire to escape and puts their long-held dream in danger.

A story about the bonds of sisterhood and the mysteries of the animals that live among us—and within us—Bear is a propulsive, mythical, richly imagined novel from one of the most acclaimed young writers in America.

Julia Phillips is the bestselling author of the novel Disappearing Earth, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year. A 2024 Guggenheim fellow, she lives with her family in Brooklyn.

Angus Fletcher is the author of Wonderworks: Literary Invention and the Science of Stories. He is a professor of story science at Ohio State’s Project Narrative, the world’s leading academic think-tank for the study of stories. He has dual degrees in neuroscience and literature, received his PhD from Yale, taught Shakespeare at Stanford, and has published two books and dozens of peer-reviewed academic articles on the scientific workings of novels, poetry, film, and theater. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has done story-consulting for projects for Sony, Disney, the BBC, Amazon, PBS, and Universal, and is the author/presenter of the Audible/Great Courses Guide to Screenwriting.