Two of the country’s most popular authors are having a conversation, and they’re inviting literally everybody to listen in.
John Grisham and Stephen King will be holding an online event next Wednesday, April 29, at 7 p.m EDT, publisher Doubleday said in a news release. The two will “catch up and discuss their latest books.”
In addition to being mainstays of the bestseller lists for decades, Grisham and King have something else in common: They’re both releasing new books at one of the weirdest times for authors (and everybody else) in world history.
Grisham’s Camino Winds is slated for release next Tuesday. A reviewer for Kirkus called the novel a “pleasure for Grisham fans and an undemanding addition to the beach bag.” (Remember beach reads? From the Before Times?)
King’s latest, a collection of novellas called If It Bleeds, was originally scheduled for publication in May, but ended up being released earlier this week. Kirkus’ reviewer called it “a pleasure for his many fans and not a bad place to start if you’re new to him.”
The authors have known each other for quite a while. “We go way back, 20 some odd years,” Grisham told the Bradenton, Florida, Herald in 2016. “We’ve done two or three similar functions and always have a whole lot of fun hanging out and talking about books and movies and writing and stuff like that.”
The conversation will be broadcast on King’s YouTube channel, and readers can also register to watch it at Eventbrite. There’s no charge to virtually attend the event, but the authors are encouraging anyone who watches to donate to the Book Industry Charitable Foundation, which assistats booksellers with financial emergencies.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
