Picnic food, blankets spread on the lawn, friends gathered together on a warm, summer evening — it’s time for the Thurber House 2008 Literary Picnics, featuring readings with authors who have an Ohio connection.
On selected Wednesdays from June through August, the side lawn of Thurber House, 77 Jefferson Ave., becomes the site for picnics and readings by nationally-known Ohio authors. The series, now in its 23rd season, will begin on June 11 with the Thurber Treat, a humor writing contest for writers that provides the opportunity to create a piece in the style of Thurber. The picnics that follow the Treat will include a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, a Columbus native with a love for the game of pool, and a thriller writer.
Guests can order a picnic dinner catered by Party Panache or bring their own. Each picnic offers a tour of James Thurber’s historic home given by the Thurber House pre-teen Young Docents. Tours begin at 5:20 p.m.; the picnics start at 6:15 p.m.; and the reading is at 7 p.m.
This 2008 line-up is listed as follows.
• A Thurber Treat, Wednesday, June 11
For the first time ever, writers participating in Thurber House’s Young Writers’ Studio (those in grades 9-12) as well as all adults, were invited to submit entries to the 2008 Thurber Treat humor-writing contest. The theme for this year’s contest is to write advice column parodies similar to Thurber’s “The Pet Department,” from his best-selling The Thurber Carnival. The hostess for the Treat is Katherine Moore, executive director of The Jefferson Center and The German Village Society.
• Lee Martin, Wednesday, June 25
Lee Martin is a professor and Director of Creative Writing at The Ohio State University. He is the author of several books including the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist, The Bright Forever. He will read from his latest novel, River of Heaven, a striking story about the high cost of living a lie, the chains that bind us to our past, and the obligations we have to those we love.
• Katrina Kittle, Wednesday, July 9
Dayton native Katrina Kittle will read from her latest novel, The Kindness of Strangers, which creates a haunting vision of the secret lives of people we think we know. It is a powerful and poignant tale of how the tragedy of a single family can affect so many. She is also the author of Traveling Light and Two Truths and a Lie. The Kindness of Strangers was the Fiction Book winner for the 2006 Great Lakes Book Awards.
• Heather Byer, Wednesday, July 23
Born and raised in Columbus, Heather Byer is a freelance writer and editor in New York City whose writing has appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times. The title of her book, Sweet: An Eight-Ball Odyssey, recounts her fascination with the game of pool: the hypnotic pull of the sport; the netherworld of pool halls; and the constant quest for the win.
• Brock Clarke, Wednesday, August 6
Brock Clarke will read from his latest novel, An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England, the delightfully dark story of “accidental arsonist and murderer” Sam Pulsifier, who leads readers through a flame-filled adventure starting when he accidentally burned down the historic home of Emily Dickenson. Clarke teaches creative writing at the University of Cincinnati.
Guests must bring their own blankets or lawn chairs for seating. Parking is free after 6 p.m. at the meters on Jefferson Avenue. The neighboring rain site is State Auto Insurance, 518 E. Broad St.
Ticket prices: Full series, dinner/reading, $100; Mini-Series for three picnics, dinner/reading, $65; Individual dinner/reading tickets, $25; reading only, adults, $15; children 12 and under, $5.