News

Book Tour, Summer 2014

Announcing the Hundred-Year House book tour, Summer 2014! Many details still to come… Please feel free to share the Facebook pages and/or to kidnap bystanders with the intent of bringing them along.

NEW YORK, NY

MONDAY JULY 14

7:00 PM Reading & Signing

in conversation with David Daley of Salon.com

Launch Party

MCNALLY JACKSON BOOKS

52 Prince St

New York, NY 10012

www.mcnallyjackson.com

212-274-1160

Facebook event page here

BOSTON, MA

WEDNESDAY JULY 16

7:00 PM Reading & Signing

BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH

279 Harvard St

Brookline, MA 02446

www.brooklinebooksmith.com/

617-566-6660

Facebook event page here    

PORTLAND, ME

THURSDAY JULY 17

7:00 PM Reading & Signing

LONGFELLOW BOOKS

One Monument Square

Portland, ME 04101

207-772-4045

DAMARISCOTTA, ME

FRIDAY JULY 18

7:00 PM Reading & Signing

MAINE COAST BOOK SHOP

158 Main St.

Damariscotta, ME 04543

www.mainecoastbookshop.com

207-563-3207

ROCHESTER, VT

SUNDAY JULY 27

6:00 PM Reading, Signing (PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE)

BIG TOWN GALLERY READING SERIES

with Henriette Lazadris Power

Details here

CONCORD, NH

WEDNESDAY JULY 30

7:00 PM Reading & Signing

GIBSON’S BOOKSTORE

45 S. Main St.

Concord, NH 03301

http://www.gibsonsbookstore.com

603-224-0562

Facebook event page here

NAPERVILLE, IL

TUESDAY AUGUST 5

7:00PM Party/Reading

ANDERSON’S BOOKSHOP

123 W. Jefferson Ave.

Naperville, IL 60540

http://andersons2.indiebound.com/

630-355-2665

MILWAUKEE, WI

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 6

7:00PM Reading, Q&A, and Signing

with Cristina Henriquez, author of The Book of Unknown Americans

BOSWELL BOOK COMPANY

2559 N Downer Ave

Milwaukee, WI 53211

http://boswell.indiebound.com/

414-332-1181
MINNEAPOLIS, MN

THURSDAY AUGUST 7

7:00PM Reading, Q&A, and Signing

COMMON GOOD BOOKS

38 S. Snelling Ave.

St. Paul, MN 55102

http://www.commongoodbooks.com

651-225-8989

CHICAGO, IL

SATURDAY AUGUST 9

7:00PM Reading, Q&A, and Signing

Cosponsored by StoryStudio Chicago

BOOK CELLAR

4736-38 North Lincoln Ave

Chicago, IL 60625

http://www.bookcellarinc.com

773-293-2665

LAKE FOREST, IL

THURSDAY, AUGUST 14

1:00 PM Reading and high tea

Lake Forest Bookstore at Lake Forest Academy

A reading and tea on the historic grounds of Lake Forest Academy

Call Lake Forest Bookstore for reservations or more information

847 234-4420

GURNEE, IL  

TUESDAY AUGUST 26

7:00PM Reading, Q&A, and Signing

Warren Newport Library

Hosted by Lake Forest Book Store

847-234-4420

ATLANTA, GA  

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 27

A CAPPELLA BOOKS/Offsite

West Side Provisions

Howell Mill at 14th St.

(1198 Howell Mill Road)

Atlanta, GA

Scavenger Hunt and dinner (by registration) in the Upper Courtyard, 6-7:30

Reading in Lower Courtyard, 8:00, with sales by A Cappella Books

More info: (404) 872-7538 x3

Event link

DECATUR, GA

DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30

1:45-2:30 PM–  “Family Secrets” panel with Sarah Creech

Old Courthouse Stage

CHICAGO, IL

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 9

6 pm reading and discussion

Harold Washington Library with author Cristina Henriquez

Sponsored by the Society of Midland Authors

Cindy Pritzker Auditorium

CHICAGO, IL

WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 10

6:30PM  Reading, Talk & Signing with author Renee Rosen

Speakeasy Theme (Chicago in the 20s)

CITY LIT BOOKS

2523 N Kedzie Blvd, Chicago, IL 60647

http://www.citylitbooks.com

773-235-2523

WINNETKA, IL

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 18

7:00PM Reading, Q&A, and Signing

THE BOOKSTALL AT CHESTNUT COURT

811 Elm Street

Winnetka, IL

http://www.thebookstall.com/

847-446-8880

LINCOLNSHIRE, IL

TUESDAY OCTOBER 14

Vernon Area Library

7 pm reading and signing

Posted in News on June 10 2014· Tagged: events, hundred-year house, in conversation, q&a, readings, schedule, tour

Starred Review in Library Journal

Library Journal has given The Hundred-Year House a glowing starred review, saying “This novel is stunning: ambitious, readable, and intriguing. Its gothic elements, complexity, and plot twists are reminiscent of Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin. Chilling and thoroughly enjoyable.” Read the whole review here.

Posted in News, Reviews on June 10 2014· Tagged: hundred-year house, praise, the-hundred-year-house

Starred Review in Booklist

The Hundred-Year House has received a lovely starred review in Booklist, which you can read here. From the review: “…Such close quarters provide the perfect setup for farce and scandal, and Makkai choreographs both in a dazzling plot spiked with secrets and betrayals hilarious and dire. Her offbeat characters and suspenseful story could have added up to a stylish romp. Instead, Makkai offers that and much more as she stealthily investigates the complexities of ambition, sexism, violence, creativity, and love in this diverting yet richly dimensional novel”

Posted in News, Reviews on May 31 2014· Tagged: booklist, praise, reviews, the-hundred-year-house

Starred Review for The Hundred-Year House in Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly has given The Hundred-Year House a starred review, calling it “lively and clever… exceptionally well constructed, with engaging characters busy reinventing themselves throughout, and delightful twists that surprise and satisfy.” Read the full review here.

“Makkai’s (The Borrower) second novel is a lively and clever story starring an estate with an intricate history.”

Posted in News, Reviews on April 9 2014· Tagged: praise, the-hundred-year-house

Story in Ecotone Anthology

My short story “The Way You Hold Your Knife,” originally published in Ecotone and a Distinguished Story in The Best American Short Stories 2012, is included in the new anthology Astoria to Zion: 26 Stories of Risk and Abandon from Ecotone’s First Decade. Featuring an introduction from Ben Fountain and stories by Kevin Brockmeier, Steve Almond, Benjamin Percy, Edith Pearlman, Marisa Silver and others, the collection highlights stories about place. (Inexplicably, my story seems to be the only one about bog mummies.)

Posted in News on March 5 2014· Tagged: anthologies, short stories, stories, the way you hold your knife

2014 NEA Literature Fellowship

I’m thrilled to be eating the government cheese… I’ve been awarded one of 38 NEA Literature Fellowships for 2014. Hooray for another year when I don’t have to take up either poll dancing or telesales! To see the complete list of recipients, click here and then on “Creative Writing Fellowships.”

Posted in News on January 2 2014· Tagged: awards, grants, makkai, nea, news

B. A. Shapiro on The Hundred-Year House

“The Hundred-Year House is a funny, sad and delightful romp  through the beginning, middle and end of an artists’ colony as well as the  family mansion that sheltered it and the family members who do and don’t survive  it. Told backwards from the viewpoints of an array of eccentric and intertwined characters, the story’s secrets are revealed with stunning acuity. An ambitious work, well-realized.”
—B. A. Shapiro, author of The Art Forger

Posted in News, Reviews on December 6 2013· Tagged: praise, the-hundred-year-house

Charlie Lovett praises The Hundred-Year House

“A mesmerizing story of self-reinvention that delights on every page, told with keen wit and a perceptive eye. Like the unforgettable characters in this gripping novel, Laurelfield will draw you into its spell.”
—Charlie Lovett, author of The Bookman’s Tale

Posted in News, Reviews on December 6 2013· Tagged: praise, the-hundred-year-house

New Story in Michigan Quarterly Review

  I have a new story, “Dead Turtle,” in the summer issue (just out now in November) of Michigan Quarterly Review. Yes, it is about a dead turtle. This is a print journal — order it (it’s amazing!) or seek it out in the periodicals room of the savviest college libraries.

Posted in News on November 22 2013· Tagged: fiction, journals, new stories, new work, short stories, stories

New story in Harper’s; related interview at The Nervous Breakdown

I have a new story (a memoir/short story hybrid) called “Other Types of Poison” in the July issue of Harper’s Magazine. (Part is available online, though most is behind a pay wall.) The story is complicated — not just in the telling, but in the creation as well — and I break some of it down, nervously, on The Nervous Breakdown in an interview with Davis Schneiderman. The interview includes more historical detail about my grandparents (the subjects of the story), as well as photographs of both of them, and of me as a chubby baby and scrawny kid.

Posted in Essays, Interviews, News on June 18 2013· Tagged: harper's, interviews, memoir, new stories, other types of poison, short stories, the nervous breakdown