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History Book Festival to host virtual talk with Erik Larson June 25

May 31, 2020

The 2020 History Book Festival, normally a live weekend event in Lewes in late September, will become a virtual festival this year, launching with a keynote presentation by one of America’s most popular authors.

Erik Larson, author of the bestseller “The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz,” will appear live via Zoom at the virtual festival’s inaugural Spirited Discussion at 5 p.m., Thursday, June 25.

This ticketed event is presented in cooperation with the Lewes Public Library and sponsored by Delaware Humanities and the Lee Ann Wilkinson Group.

Larson will be interviewed by Virginia Prescott, award-winning host of “On Second Thought” for Georgia Public Broadcasting, and will take audience questions.

Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports, “The Splendid and the Vile” sheds new light on a pivotal year in London during World War II through the day-to-day experiences of Winston Churchill and his family. Larson takes readers back to a moment of true leadership when, in the face of unrelenting horror, Churchill’s eloquence, courage and perseverance bound a country and a family together.

Larson’s other bestsellers include “Dead Wake,” “In the Garden of Beasts,” “Thunderstruck,” “The Devil in the White City” and “Isaac’s Storm.” His books have been published in nearly 20 countries.
Ticket prices cover the cost of one hardcover copy of “The Splendid and the Vile” with the author’s signed archival book plate. Books will be mailed to ticket holders, with the History Book Festival paying shipping costs. 

To purchase tickets for this event, go to www.historybookfestival.org. and click on the Virtual Keynote Address button on the home screen. Login information for A Spirited Discussion with Erik Larson will be emailed to ticketholders the day before the event.

Additional copies of “The Splendid and the Vile,” as well as other Erik Larson titles, are available at the time of ticket purchase (also with free shipping) or may be purchased directly from the festival’s official bookseller, Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach.

The 2020 Virtual History Book Festival: Bring History Home will roll out over the next six months. The festival board is scheduling authors for future free Spirited Discussions, as well as the popular monthly History Book Discussion groups held in conjunction with the Lewes Public Library. Some authors will also participate in special events with children and youth.

For the most up-to-date information, subscribe to the festival’s e-newsletter by going to www.historybookfestival.org and clicking on the Connect button on the home screen.

The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. Led by a volunteer board and funded in part by tax-deductible contributions through the Greater Lewes Foundation, the festival’s organizers believe in the power of history, literature and civil dialogue to influence the future for the better. 

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