Writers at the Wrecking Bar | Stephen Markley | Ohio
Named one of the best books of the summer by the New York Times, Vulture, The Millions and other publications, "Ohio" marks the fiction debut of a major talent in Stephen Markley. This lyrical and emotional novel is set in an archetypal small town in northeastern Ohio—a region ravaged by the Great Recession, an opioid crisis, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Ohio" depicts one feverish, fateful summer night in 2013 when four former classmates converge on their hometown, each with a mission, and all haunted by the ghosts of their shared histories.
At this September edition of the Writers at the Wrecking Bar, Markley will discuss the book with Alison Law, host of the Literary Atlanta podcast.
About the Book
Since the turn of the century, a generation has come of age knowing only war, recession, political gridlock, racial hostility, and a simmering fear of environmental calamity. In the country’s forgotten pockets, where industry long ago fled, where foreclosures, Walmarts, and opiates riddle the land, death rates for rural whites have skyrocketed, fueled by suicide, addiction and a rampant sense of marginalization and disillusionment. This is the world the characters in Stephen Markley’s brilliant debut novel, "Ohio," inherit. This is New Canaan.
On one eventful summer night in 2013, four former classmates converge on the rust belt town where they grew up, each of them with a mission, all of them haunted by regrets, secrets, and lost loves. There’s Bill Ashcraft, an alcoholic, drug-abusing activist, whose fruitless ambitions have taken him from Cambodia to Zuccotti Park to New Orleans, and now back to “The Cane” with a mysterious package strapped to the underside of his truck; Stacey Moore, a doctoral candidate reluctantly confronting the mother of her former lover; Dan Eaton, a shy veteran of three tours in Iraq, home for a dinner date with the high school sweetheart he’s tried to forget; and the beautiful, fragile Tina Ross, whose rendezvous with the captain of the football team triggers the novel’s shocking climax.
At once a murder mystery and a social critique, "Ohio" ingeniously captures the fractured zeitgeist of a nation through the viewfinder of an embattled Midwestern town and offers a prescient vision for America at the dawn of a turbulent new age.
About the Author
Stephen Markley is an author, screenwriter, and journalist. A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, Markley’s previous books include the memoir "Publish This Book: The Unbelievable True Story of How I Wrote, Sold, and Published This Very Book," and the travelogue "Tales of Iceland." He lives in Los Angeles.
About Writers at the Wrecking Bar
A Cappella Books presents Writers at the Wrecking Bar, a monthly fiction series at our neighborhood brewpub.
Join us and mingle with other fans of contemporary fiction each month, check out the Wrecking Bar's own unique beer selection, wine, and specially crafted cocktails. Enjoy complimentary snacks and meet and engage with some of today's most celebrated novelists and short story writers.
Each program includes authors in conversation with local book critics, audience Q&A, and a book signing. The bar opens at 7 p.m., with the author conversation starting at 7:30 p.m.
All events are free and open to the public.
If you are unable to attend this event, you may still pre-order a signed copy of the book.
