A Cappella Books and Center for Puppetry Arts present Heather Newton - The Puppeteer’s Daughters at Manuel's Tavern
Thursday, Oct 06, 2022 7:00 PM
Location:
Manuel's Tavern
602 North Highland Avenue, NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30307
A famed puppeteer and master manipulator surprises his three daughters by announcing there is a fourth at his 80th birthday party. An incomplete paternity test—and a will that places a condition on each daughter’s inheritance—suggest that the missing daughter isn’t a figment of his dementia.
A Cappella Books is delighted to welcome award-winning novelist of “Under the Mercy Trees,” Heather Newton, to Manuel’s Tavern to celebrate her fascinating new book, “The Puppeteer’s Daughters.” The author will appear in conversation with writer, podcaster, and activist Jill Cox-Cordova.
The author event will include a special presentation by Center for Puppetry Arts.
This event is free and open to the public, and copies of the book will be available for purchase.
About the Book
Jane, the eldest daughter of legendary puppeteer and master manipulator Walter Grayis tired of her father’s eccentricities. She remembers the scarcity of her childhood and doesn’t want another sister to share the birthright.
Rosie, born out of wedlock, sees the missing sister as her key to acceptance as a full member of the puppeteer’s family.
Cora, the youngest, born after Walter achieved fame and fortune, is most concerned with extricating herself from running Walter’s company so that she can pursue her own life.
The sisters each knew a different version of their enigmatic father, but all grew up in the presence of fairy tales acted out with marionettes and shadow puppets. If they are to find the fourth daughter and claim the legacy their father has left them, the three must confront their fractured relationships with their father and each other. Infused with fairy tales that sometimes spill magic into the sisters’ real lives, “The Puppeteer’s Daughters” is a stunningly-woven family saga about the cost and rewards of claiming a creative life.
About the Author
Heather Newton’s novel “Under The Mercy Trees” (HarperCollins, 2011) won the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award, was chosen by the Women’s National Book Association as a Great Group Reads Selection, and was named an Okra Pick by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance. Her short story collection, “McMullen Circle” (Regal House, 2022), was a finalist for the W.S. Porter prize. Her novel “The Puppeteer’s Daughters “(Turner, 2022) is her second novel. A practicing attorney, she teaches creative writing for UNC-Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program and is co-founder and program manager for the Flatiron Writers Room in Asheville, North Carolina.
