National Writers Series announces first fall author events in Traverse City

National Writers Series has put its first fall dates on Traverse City’s calendar, opening Sept. 16 with Ariel Lawhon and ending the initial slate Oct. 6 with Jodi Picoult.

Lawhon’s event will start with doors opening at 6 p.m. and the conversation at 7 p.m. at Milliken Auditorium at the Dennos Museum Center. The evening includes a question-and-answer session and a signing afterward, and virtual tickets begin at 6:50 p.m. with access to a private video link and moderated-chat Q&A. The first fall stretch continues Sept. 23 with Lisa Foley’s Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel at City Opera House, followed by Picoult’s Hollow Bones on Oct. 6, also at City Opera House.

The broader National Writers Series calendar includes Barbara McQuade for July 13, Jillian Laine Henry for July 22, Marc Berman, Ph.D., for Aug. 2, Gregory Stock, Ph.D., for Aug. 9, Ruth Reichl for Aug. 20 and Martin Sorge for Aug. 21.

National Writers Series has brought more than 230 authors to Traverse City, welcomed 70,000 attendees and sold more than 18,000 books through local bookstores. Its Raising Writers program serves 1,200 students across a six-county region.

The organization traces its start to 2009, when Anne Stanton, Doug Stanton and attorney Grant Parsons asked what if bestselling authors came to Traverse City’s City Opera House to talk about their books. The series launched in 2010, and live events remain rooted in that historic downtown venue even as livestreams extend the audience far beyond Grand Traverse County.