An autumnly amount of authors: Ellen Hopkins, Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece, Eoin Colfer (with Andrew Donkin and Giovanni Rigano), David Patrikarakos, David Pederson, plus next week's Ben Austen. Alas, Wade Weissmann event at Villa Terrace is sold to capacity.

An autumnly amount of authors: Ellen Hopkins, Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece, Eoin Colfer (with Andrew Donkin and Giovanni Rigano), David Patrikarakos, David Pederson, plus next week's Ben Austen. Alas, Wade Weissmann event at Villa Terrace is sold to capacity.

Tuesday, September 11, 7:00 PM, at Boswell:
Ellen Hopkins, author of People Kill People.

The author of 14 bestselling YA novels and 3 adult novels, Hopkins comes to Boswell with her latest, a compelling, complex story that tackles gun violence and white supremacy.

A gun is sold in the classifieds after killing a spouse, bought by a teenager for protection. Who was it? Each character has the incentive to pick up a gun. Was it Rand or Cami, married teenagers with a young son? Was it Silas or Ashlyn, members of a white supremacist youth organization? Daniel, who fears retaliation because of his race and possessively clings to Grace, the love of his life? Or Noelle, who lost everything in a devastating accident and sunk quietly into depression?

As Boswellian Jenny Chou wrote in her recommendation: "Someone will shoot. And someone will die. Ellen Hopkins infuses the poetry and prose in People Kill People with such emotional depth that all six of her teen characters are beautifully complicated."

Ellen Hopkins is the author of Crank, Love Lies Beneath, and Burned, and several more novels. She lives in Carson City, Nevada, where she founded Ventana Sierra, a nonprofit youth housing and resource initiative.

Wednesday, September 12, reception 5:30 PM, presentation 6:30 PM, at Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum:
Wade Weissmann, subject of Heirloom Houses: The Architecture of Wade Weissmann.

Alas, our cosponsored event with Wade Weissman, founder of Wade Weissmann Architecture, is sold to capacity. Please check back to see if signed copies are available after the event.

Wednesday, September 12, 7:00 PM, at Boswell:
Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece, author of The Optical Vacuum: Spectatorship and Modernized American Theater Architecture.

Assistant Professor of English and Film Studies at UWM expounds upon exhibition history and the captivating way the architecture of movie theaters impacts viewers’ experience.

Movie theaters are not just places to see a film. They are sites in which to experience new technologies, explore immersive environments, and to innovate new modes of seeing and hearing. This fascinating book shows us that movie theaters have long been irretrievably shaped by dynamic debates across fields such as modernism, architecture, design, and commercial entertainment, inviting us to look beyond the screen and at the spaces in which movies have long been embedded.

This is essential reading for those interested in the history of theaters and cinema, as well as those interested in modernity, entertainment, and the persistent transformation of the human senses by technological design.

Jocelyn Szczepaniak-Gillece earned a BA in English and Film from Notre Dame and an MA and PhD in Screen Cultures from Northwestern University. Her writing has been published in academic journals such as Screen and magazines such as 2ha. She is Assistant Professor of English and Film Studies at UWM.

Thursday, September 13, 6:30 PM, at Boswell:
Eoin Colfer, Andrew Donkin, and Giovanni Rigano, creators of Illegal

Eoin Colfer, author of Aretmis Fowl, appears at Boswell with the creative team behind the Artemis Fowl graphic novel series for a powerful, moving new graphic novel that explores the current plight of migrants around the world. Colfer and Donkin will discuss the creation of Illegal as Rigano creates live illustrations. Yes you can bring Colfer books from home to be signed.

You can still register for this free event at colferdonkin.bpt.me. Or, upgrade to a book-with-ticket option. It’s $15.75 for paperback, $21 for hardcover, and includes the selected copy of Illegal, one event reservation, and signing line priority. This event is cosponsored by Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, which provides comprehensive resettlement services to refugees fleeing from war and persecution around the globe since 1974.

Please note this event will most likely not be at capacity. Registration is optional, though it will help us determine how many chairs to put out. And upgrading will still get you signing line priority. Read more about Illegal in this Publishers Weekly profile.

Please consider bringing packaged toiletries for refugees in need to this event, which will be given to Lutheran Social Services. Bar soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, and toothpaste are most desired. And don't forget to watch the Artemis Fowl movie preview trailer here.

Eoin Colfer spent four years between 1992 and 1996 working in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Italy. His first book, Benny and Omar, was based on his experiences in Tunisia. He is author of the bestselling Artemis Fowl series. Andrew Donkin is a graphic novelist and illustrator who has also written for adults. Giovanni Rigano has illustrated many graphic novels.

Thursday, September 13, 6:30 PM, at University School of Milwaukee, 2100 W Fairy Chasm Rd, River Hills:
David Patrikarakos, author of War in 140 Characters: How Social Media Is Reshaping Conflict in the Twenty-First Century.

Boswell and the University School of Milwaukee Global Scholars Read program present leading foreign correspondent David Patrikarakos with a discussion of how social media has transformed the modern battlefield and the way wars are fought today.

You can still RSVP to this free event, at usmk12.org/page/patrikarakos.

Modern warfare is a war of narratives, where bullets are fired both physically and virtually. Whether you are a president or a terrorist, if you don't understand how to deploy the power of social media effectively you may win the odd battle but you will lose a twenty-first century war.

Patrikarakos draws on unprecedented access to key players to provide a new narrative for modern warfare. He travels thousands of miles across continents to meet a de-radicalized female member of ISIS recruited via Skype, a liberal Russian in Siberia who takes a job manufacturing "Ukrainian" news, and many others to explore the way social media has transformed the way we fight, win, and consume wars - and what this means for the world going forward.

David Patrikarakos is a Poynter Fellow in Journalism at Yale and an Associate Fellow of the Institute of Iranian Studies at the University of St Andrews, author of Nuclear Iran: The Birth of an Atomic State, a contributing editor at The Daily Beast, and a contributing writer at Politico. He has written for The New York Times, Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Saturday, September 15, 7:00 PM, at Boswell:
David S. Pederson, author of Death Checks In.

Wisconsin author David S. Pederson returns to Boswell with the latest installment of his mystery series, the adventures of Milwaukee Detective Heath Barrington.

All Detective Barrington and his partner Alan Keyes want is a get-away weekend of romance and relaxation, but they find murder instead when a missing tie leads them to the body of the peculiar Victor Blount, and Heath can't resist the urge to investigate.

Clues turn up around every corner and lead down a strange and winding road of mystery and danger. As Heath and Alan work together to solve the case, they encounter various and eccentric suspects, old friends, and a hostile Chicago Detective who doesn't like Milwaukee police involved in a Chicago crime. Forced to act on their own, out of their jurisdiction, they race against time to find the killer before the case is closed for good.

David S. Pederson grew up in Wisconsin, where he currently lives with his longtime partner and works in the furniture and decorating business. The author of the Heath Barrington mystery series, including Death Comes Darkly and Death Goes Overboard, he is passionate about mysteries, old movies, and crime novels.

Monday, September 17, 7:00 PM, at Boswell:
The Rose Petranech Lecture featuring Ben Austen, author of High-Risers: Cabrini-Green and the Fate of American Public Housing.

Cohosted by Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity, Boswell is pleased to host the inaugural edition of the Rose Petranech Lecture, which presents journalist Ben Austen speaking about his book High-Risers, which braids personal narratives, city politics, and national history to tell the timely and epic story of Chicago’s Cabrini-Green, America’s most iconic public housing project.

From Daniel Goldin at Boswell: "From slums to shantytowns, housing for the poor has always been a hot-button issue. In contemporary times, nothing has captured American consciousness like public housing. And no housing project has captured our attention like the former Cabrini-Green on the near North Side of Chicago. Maybe it was because the buildings were so close to the wealth of the Gold Coast, or perhaps it was due to it being the setting of the television show Good Times. Journalist Ben Austen expertly chronicles Cabrini-Green’s rise and fall, focusing on the lives of a half-dozen long-time residents and their stories, while also chronicling the disinvestment, corruption, gang violence, and the rising neighborhood property values, which is this case, doomed Cabrini-Green, despite at least one success story of tenant management. If you’re looking for a book to read after Evicted or The Color of Law, this is a great choice. And what a perfect author and book to highlight for our first Rose Petranech Lecture"

Speaking of The Color of Law, author Richard Rothstein reviewed the book for The New York Times, writing: "Until the sociologist William Julius Wilson published The Truly Disadvantaged, in 1987, few comprehended the terrible consequences of cleansing urban neighborhoods of the stably employed. In 2018, Ben Austen has illustrated these repercussions; we can now better consider remedies by contemplating the lessons High-Risers offers." I should also note that Matthew Desmond recommended High-Risers when he last stopped by Boswell.

About the Rose Petranech Lecture: When Rose Petranech died unexpectedly earlier this year, the family wanted to create a lasting memorial in her name. An annual lecture would honor her love of learning, advance knowledge about subjects of interest to her, such as social justice, and contribute to the already rich intellectual life in her beloved hometown.

So much more coming! Your next favorite event is listed on our upcoming event page.