Montana Book Festival 2018

How does an author effectively write about a culture that is not their own? What are the limits and tensions around doing so, and how can the author write about another culture with respect? Join us for a reading and discussion on this topic between three respected authors, Bruce Holbert, Danell Jones, and Gwen Florio.

BRUCE HOLBERT is the author of Whiskey. Three generations of a Native American family struggle with hard lives, bad choices, and alcohol in this impressive novel. In the state of Washington, two brothers sit in their local tavern at a critical time. Andre is heading toward his second divorce from Claire, and Smoker is hunting his wayward wife so he can retrieve his 10-year-old daughter, Raven. The siblings embark on an odyssey that weaves through the book in scattered sections.

DANELL JONES is the author of An African In Imperial London: The Indomitable Life of A.B.C. Merriman-Labor. The book provides an intimate view of London through African eyes as Merriman-Labor navigates streets bustling with millionaires made rich by South African gold mines, suffragettes demanding the vote, and destitute women selling matches to feed their starving children.

GWEN FLORIO is the author of the Lola Wicks mystery series. Silent Hearts is her first literary novel. For fans of A Thousand Splendid Suns comes a stirring novel set in Afghanistan about two women—an American aid worker and her local interpreter—who form an unexpected friendship despite their utterly different life experiences and the ever-increasing violence that surrounds them in Kabul.