Monica Wood

In this program, Monica Wood will read from and discuss her latest novel, How to Read a Book, and answer audience questions. The novel centers on themes of found family and forgiveness. Wood will also detail the research that went into writing the book and her writing process.
Monica Wood is a novelist, memoirist, and playwright, recipient of the Carlson Prize for contributions to the public humanities in Maine, and the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Distinguished Achievement Award for contributions to the literary arts. Her new novel, How to Read a Book, has already secured translation rights in five countries. Her new play, Saint Dad, debuted in October 2023 at Portland Stage. Her previous novel, The One-in-a-Million Boy, was translated into 20 languages in over 30 countries. She is also the author of When We Were the Kennedys, a New England bestseller and winner of the May Sarton Memoir Award. Her short stories have been widely anthologized and featured on Public Radio International. Her nonfiction has appeared in the The New York Times, Literary Hub, Oprah Magazine, Down East, The San Francisco Chronicle, Martha Stewart Living, Parade, and many other publications. Her play Papermaker, which broke attendance records for its debut at Portland Stage, has enjoyed many subsequent productions, and The Half-Light, which also broke attendance records, had its second production in October 2023 at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills. She lives in Portland, Maine.
This event will take place in the Community Room, with the option to Zoom in from home. For more information or for Zoom links, please email elewis@rocklandmaine.gov by 4 p.m. on August 1.