BELFAST — Left Bank Books in downtown Belfast invites the public to a free talk and book signing by writer Morgan Talty on Thursday, June 13, at 6:30 p.m. The event celebrates Talty’s new novel, Fire Exit, and will be held at The First Church of Belfast, which is located across the street from the bookshop. Doors will open at 6 p.m.

Joining Talty in conversation will be fellow Maine writer Gregory Brown, author of the novel The Lowering Days.

Fire Exit tells the story of Charles Lamosway who, from the porch of his home, has watched the life he might have had unfold across the river on Maine’s Penobscot Reservation. It is a “wrenching story of dislocation and regret, sweetened with touches of humor. . . .[and] raises important questions about human connection and belonging.” (Booklist, starred review).

Talty’s collection of short stories, Night of the Living Rez (2022), won numerous major awards, and his work has been supported by the Elizabeth George Foundation and National Endowment for the Arts. A winner of the 2021 Narrative Prize, Talty is an Assistant Professor of English in Creative Writing and Native American and contemporary Literature at the University of Maine, Orono, and is on the faculty at the Stonecoast MFA in creative writing as well as the Institute of American Indian Arts. Talty is also a Prose Editor at The Massachusetts Review.

Gregory Brown is the author of The Lowering Days (2021), which the Boston Globe hailed as “Graceful and compassionate . . . a flashlight into the heart of a small Maine community perched on the precipice of the Penobscot River, its future and its past.” His work has appeared in Tin House, Narrative Magazine, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, LitHub, and The Rumpus. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and a past winner of the Narrative 30Below Prize, Brown’s work has been supported by the Bread Loaf writers’ Conference, the Napa Valley Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and MacDowell. He grew up along Penobscot Bay and lives on unceded Wabanaki territory in Maine.

Reservations for this event, which are strongly recommended, can be made by calling the bookshop (207.338.9009) or emailing: info@leftbankbookshop.com.