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Author: Amy Jo Burns in Conversation with Anica Mrose Rissi

A Book Brunch Event

The author discusses her novel "Wait for Me" with Anica Mrose Rissi. Doors open at 10:45 a.m. for coffee, pastries and live music by The Roly-Polys. The conversation begins at 11 a.m.

A book signing will follow the conversation. Registration requested, but not required.

"Wait for Me" has been selected by the "Today" show's Jenna Bush Hager as a Read with Jenna Book Club pick.

About the Books (from the publisher): 

Young folk singer Elle Harlow reaches the height of her prowess in 1973, with two wildly beloved albums to her name and a hidden history of impossible heartbreak. When she sets foot on the famed Grand Ole Opry stage, a far cry from the mountain that raised her, Elle gives the biggest performance of her life. Then, to the dismay of shocked fans, her producer, and the man who still loves her, she vanishes.

Almost two decades later, eighteen-year-old Marijohn Shaw is spending her summer pumping gas, writing songs on her broken mandolin, and longing for a mother. Her father, Abe, has always sworn he was the last person to see Elle Harlow alive, but when a meteor strikes the woods of their sleepy Pennsylvania town and a piece of Elle’s past emerges from the wreckage, the truth of her disappearance sets fire to everything Marijohn believes about herself, her music, and her ability to love with abandon.

"Wait for Me" exalts the lush hills of Appalachia and the bright lights of Nashville as it reveals the legacy of Elle Harlow, the bold voice that defined her, the intimate betrayal that undid her, and the unexpected faith of another young woman determined to resurrect her.

In Conversation: 

Amy Jo Burns is the author of the memoir "Cinderland" and the novel "Shiner," which was a Barnes & Noble Discover Pick and an NPR Best Book of the year. She is also the author of the novel, "Mercury," is a Barnes & Noble Book Club Pick, a Book of the Month Pick, a People Magazine Book of the Week, and an Editor’s Choice selection in The New York Times.

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Anica Mrose Rissi is the award-winning author of more than a dozen books for kids and teens, including picture books, chapter books, middle grade, and YA. Her essays have been published by "The Writer" and the "New York Times," and she plays fiddle in and writes lyrics for the band Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves. Anica grew up in Maine and spent many years in New York City, where she worked as an executive editor in children’s book publishing. She currently lives in central New Jersey with her very good dog, Sweet Potato.

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