BookPeople welcomes Rachel Cochran in conversation with Deb Olin Unferth to celebrate the release of The Gulf. The event will include a moderated discussion, an audience Q&A, and a signing line.
EVENT INFO:
- This event is free and open to the public.
- Start time: 7:00 PM
- Run time: 45-60 minutes, followed by a signing line.
- Location: The Second Floor of BookPeople
- The author will be signing copies of their book after the speaking portion of the event.
- To get a book signed, a copy of the event book or an item of equal value must be purchased from BookPeople.
EVENT GUIDELINES:
- Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
- There will not be a live stream or recording available.
- BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary.
- If you have any other questions, please email us at online@bookpeople.com
ABOUT THE GULF:
“Exquisite and gripping. . . . The Gulf is a page turner to be savored; Cochran is a master of both prose and plot.”—Ilana Masad, author of All My Mother’s Lovers
In this electrifying debut literary thriller, set on the gulf coast of Texas in the 1970s at the height of the women’s liberation movement, a closeted young woman attempts to solve her surrogate mother’s murder in a tight-knit, religious small town.
In Parson, Texas, a small town ravaged by a devastating hurricane and the Vietnam War, twenty-nine-year-old Lou is diligently renovating a decaying old mansion for Miss Kate, the elderly neighbor who has always been like a mother to her. Mourning her brother’s death in Vietnam, Lou dreams of enjoying a more peaceful future in Parson. But those hopes are crushed when Miss Kate is murdered, and no one but Lou seems to care about finding the killer.
The situation becomes complicated when Joanna, Miss Kate’s long-estranged daughter and Lou’s first love, arrives in Parson—not to learn more about her mother’s death but for the house. Her arrival unearths sinister secrets involving the history of the town and its residents . . . revelations that may be the key to helping Lou discover the truth about Miss Kate’s death and her killer.
A gorgeously written, gripping story of forbidden love and devastating secrets that is a surprising twist on the traditional small-town story, The Gulf is a riveting and unsettling mystery that holds up a mirror to the values—and failures—of America.
ABOUT RACHEL COCHRAN:
Rachel Cochran was raised in Texas and received her PHD in English from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she currently teaches literature and creative writing. She is also an assistant editor of Machete, an imprint of Ohio State University Press. Her short stories and essays have appeared in The Rumpus and The Masters Review, and have won the Mari Sandoz/Prairie Schooner fiction award, and the New Ohio Review’s nonfiction contest.
ABOUT DEB OLIN UNFERTH:
Deb Olin Unferth is the author of six books, including the novels Barn 8 and Vacation, the memoir Revolution, two story collections, and a graphic novel. Her essays and fiction have appeared in Harper’s, the New York Times, The Paris Review, Granta, Vice, and McSweeney’s. She teaches for the Michener Center for Writers and the New Writers Project at the University of Texas at Austin and directs the Pen City Writers.
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Thank you for supporting Rachel Cochran, Deb Olin Unferth, and your local independent bookstore!