About this Event
Format:
- This event is ticketed.
- Venue: First Baptist Church of Austin (Please note that there is no designated parking for this venue so if you do park, we recommend you follow all signage, warnings, and fees.)
- Run time: 45-60 minute discussion, followed by a personalization line.
- Check-in time: 5:15 P.M. Please have a copy of your ticket available (either printed out or on your phone) for check in.
- Outside queuing may be required. Please check the weather forecast ahead of time and plan accordingly.
Signing/Event Guidelines:
- All tickets includes a pre-signed copy of Peck & Peck.
- Access to the post-talk personalization line is limited to those with a Personalization Line Access ticket. Please only purchase this ticket if you intend to get your book personalized after the speaking portion of the event.
- Personalization line placement is determined on a first-come, first-served basis.
- If you buy a ticket and are unable to attend, we will hold your book at BookPeople for 30 days after the event.
General Info:
- Eventbrite is the only authorized ticket system. Tickets purchased through other sites/vendors cannot be honored.
- Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is not guaranteed.
- If you have any accessibility concerns, please contact [email protected]
- If you have any other questions, please visit our Eventbrite FAQ. If your question isn't covered in the FAQ, feel free to email us at [email protected].
- BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary.
- There will not be a live stream or recording available.
- All event guidelines are subject to change.
About the book:
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK FOR COUNTRY LIVING AND BOOKPAGE
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of global sensation Lessons in Chemistry returns with an irresistible, delightful, and tender literary novel set in the publishing world of 1980s New York City about a young man whose life turns upside down when he is hired by the most prestigious, secretive, and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world: the renowned Peck & Peck.Find originality. Reward creativity. Burn the rest.
It’s 1982, New York City. Crime is on the rise, muggings are in the streets, and Batter Gray, recent college graduate with a skill that no one wants—an “ear” for poetry—is worried about his future. While all of his friends have real jobs, he’s folding T-shirts at the Gap. As for love? No. Not unless you count Sallie Mae, the student loan tyrant. He hears from Sallie all the time.But when Batter gets a dream job at Peck & Peck, the most prestigious poetry quarterly in the world, his life moves into the literary fast lane. Soon Batter is knee-deep in the secret war between the two Editors in Chief, the famous Peck brothers—twins and enemies—as well as being privy to the private affairs of their thirty-nine editors, whose professed mission is the same: Find originality. Reward creativity. Burn the rest.And by burn, they mean incinerate. Because at Peck & Peck, “good” isn’t good enough, “interesting” doesn’t cut it, plagiarists aren’t tolerated, and parolees run the mailroom. Still want to submit your poem? Go with God.Welcome to another dazzling and unforgettable novel from Bonnie Garmus. If you loved Lessons in Chemistry, you will love Peck & Peck.
About the author:
Bonnie Garmus is a coffee-dependent American novelist. Her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, a Goodreads Choice Best Book of the Year, spent nearly two years on the New York Times bestseller list and was named by Times readers as one of the top 100 books of the 21st century. Translated into over forty languages, Lessons in Chemistry was honored with sixteen international literary awards and made into an Apple TV limited series. Peck & Peck is her second novel.
About the moderator:
Lucas Schaefer's debut novel The Slip released on June 3, 2025. His writing has appeared in One Story, The Baffler, Slate and elsewhere. He lives with his family in Austin.
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Thank you for supporting Bonnie Garmus, Lucas Schaefer, and your local independent bookstore!
Event venue & nearby stays
First Baptist Church of Austin, 901 Trinity Street, Austin, United States
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