In conversation with James McBride
Tickets are now available for our exclusive virtual engagement with Ethan Hawke! He'll be joining BookPeople live on Zoom on March 1st at 7PM CDT to discuss A Bright Ray of Darkness, his utterly transfixing book about art and love, fame and heartbreak. His first novel in nearly twenty years, A Bright Ray of Darkness showcases the talent of one of our most beloved creators.
Event Tickets & Guidelines
- Tickets are required to join this live event and are available exclusively through Eventbrite.
- Tickets begin at $32.95 (+ sales tax and Eventbrite service fees)
- Each ticket includes a signed copy of the book and a link granting you access to the live event.
- Additional shipping charges apply for international orders.
- You will receive your link approximately two hours prior to event start time. If you don't receive it by 5PM Central Time, please email us at online@bookpeople.com. BookPeople will not be responsible for missing links.
- Digital Doors Open at 6:45PM CDT.
- Event Begins at 7:00PM CDT.
- Books will begin shipping on the week of publication. You will receive tracking information as soon as the book leaves our store.
NOTE: Because this is a virtual event that will be hosted on Zoom, you will need access to a computer or other device that is capable of accessing and sufficient Internet access. If you have not used Zoom before, you may consider referencing Getting Started with Zoom.
ABOUT A BRIGHT RAY OF DARKNESS
The blistering story of a young man making his Broadway debut in Henry IV just as his marriage implodes—an utterly transfixing book about art and love, fame and heartbreak from the acclaimed actor/writer/director.
Hawke’s first novel in nearly twenty years is a bracing meditation on fame and celebrity, and the redemptive, healing power of art; a portrait of the ravages of disappointment and divorce; a poignant consideration of the rites of fatherhood and manhood; a novel soaked in rage and sex, longing and despair; and a passionate love letter to the world of theater. A Bright Ray of Darkness showcases Ethan Hawke’s gifts as a novelist as never before.
Hawke’s narrator is a young man in torment, disgusted with himself after the collapse of his marriage, still half-hoping for a reconciliation that would allow him to forgive himself and move on as he clumsily, and sometimes hilariously, tries to manage the wreckage of his personal life with whiskey and sex. What saves him is theater: in particular, the challenge of performing the role of Hotspur in a production of Henry IV under the leadership of a brilliant director, helmed by one of the most electrifying—and narcissistic—Falstaff’s of all time. Searing and raw, A Bright Ray of Darkness is a novel about shame and beauty and faith, and the moral power of art.
ABOUT ETHAN HAWKE
A four-time Academy Award nominee, twice for writing and twice for acting, Ethan Hawke has starred in the films Dead Poets Society, Reality Bites, Gattaca, and Training Day, as well as Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise trilogy and Boyhood. He is the author of Rules for a Knight, The Hottest State, and Ash Wednesday. He lives in Brooklyn with his four children and his wife.
ABOUT JAMES MCBRIDE
James McBride is an accomplished musician and the author of the National Book Award–winning novel The Good Lord Bird, the bestselling American classic The Color of Water, the novels Song Yet Sung and Miracle at St. Anna, the story collection Five-Carat Soul, and Kill ’Em and Leave, a biography of James Brown. The recipient of a National Humanities Medal, McBride is also a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University.
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