This will be a virtual event. If you’d like the Zoom link to join this event, please register here.
Join us for a virtual book launch with author Sharon Harrigan, who will read from her debut novel, Half. A conversation with author Kristen-Paige Madonia will follow. This event will be cosponsored by WriterHouse and is free to attend virtually.
About the Book: What if two people were so close they shared everything? Paula and Artis are thirty-year-old identical twins who speak in one voice—until they can’t anymore. Their father’s sudden death threatens their uncanny bond. While growing up, they believed he possessed magical powers, but they also lived in fear of him. At his funeral, they retrace their early life—one year per chapter. Will they find their way back to each other, or finally discover the singularity of their true selves?
Written in spare, lyrical prose, Half is an achingly beautiful coming-of-age story, sprinkled with Greek mythology, magical realism, and murder mystery. In her thought-provoking debut novel, Sharon Harrigan gives voice to the complex relationships within families, showing how our fierce love for one another can also be the very thing that leads us to betrayal.
About the Author: Sharon Harrigan is the author of the new novel Half. In a starred review, Booklist said, “Fans of Jeffrey Eugenides, Andre Dubus III, and Jane Smiley will adore Harrigan’s suspenseful, lyrical, and consuming exploration of two difficult lives, intertwined…Raw and powerful, Half will stay with you.” Publishers Weekly said, “Harrigan’s bold stylistic choices and memorable voice lend the novel a sense of mystery and magic, well suited to the themes of childhood fears and adult disillusionment. Riveting and inventive, this is a cut above the average coming of age tale.” Foreword Reviews called Half “gripping” and New York Journal of Books called Half’s point of view “astonishingly effective.” Sharon is also the author of the memoir Playing with Dynamite. She teaches at WriterHouse in Charlottesville, Virginia, where she lives with her family.
About the Moderator: Kristen-Paige Madonia is the author of the young adult novels Invisible Fault Lines (2016) and Fingerprints of You (2012), both published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. She holds an MFA from California State University, Long Beach and has taught creative writing at the University of Virginia, James Madison University, Goochland County High School, WriterHouse, and the Key West Literary Seminar. She lives in Charlottesville, VA, and is a faculty mentor with the University of Nebraska’s low-residency MFA in Writing Program.
"Harrigan’s bold stylistic choices and memorable voice lend the novel a sense of mystery and magic, well suited to its themes of childhood fears and adult disillusionment. Riveting and inventive, this is a cut above the average coming-of-age tale."
—Publishers Weekly
Order your copy of Half by filling out the contact form below. Please let us know how many copies you would like to order. We will give you a call when your book is ready, and you will be able to pay for your order over the phone at that time.