About this Event
In New York City in 1964, Joan Cavanaugh, an uncertain young wife and mother, and Peter "Hutch" Hutchinson have a brief but passionate affair, yet during their almost 30 years of marriage, Joan and her husband Graham successfully raise their three daughters, Ceci, Anne and Carolyn. When Joan dies of metastatic breast cancer in 1989, she takes the truth of Anne's paternity to her grave.
In 2014 in Portland, Carolyn Cavanaugh and Julia Hutchinson are next door neighbors and the closest of friends. But when Carolyn’s father, Graham, visits for Thanksgiving, his path collides with Julia’s parents, Hutch and Alice, who have recently relocated from the East Coast. The revelation that unfolds following Graham’s trip upends both families, bringing a truth to light that will shake two families to their core.
Revisiting a family from Dugan's story collection, So Much a Part of You, The House of Cavanaugh explores the flaws of even the most seemingly stable and unblemished families, and how the ripple effects of a long-buried secret have the power to strengthen or destroy the closest ties between family and friends.
Polly Dugan is the author of the linked story collection, So Much a Part of You, and the novel, The Sweetheart Deal. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in The Dickinson Review, Narrative, Line Zero, ModernLoss.com and Huffpost.com. She is a contributing author to Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book by Courtney Maum. She is a graduate of Dickinson College and the Denver Publishing Institute, a former employee of Powell’s Books and Guide Dogs for the Blind, a Tin House Summer Workshop alumna and a former submissions reader for Tin House magazine. She lives in Portland and Manzanita, Oregon with her family.
Megan Williams is the author of One Bad Mother: A Mother’s Search for Meaning in the Police Academy. After graduating from Haverford College, Megan received her Ph.D. in English from Temple University and taught at Lafayette College and Santa Clara University. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, who runs Blue Dog Bakery and keeps their teenage twins, rescued cat, horse, and mastiff full of treats. Her next book—The House That Jack Built—is a memoir about the Fire of 1947 that destroyed most of Bar Harbor, Maine. It is forthcoming in the Spring of 2027.
Feel free to reach out to Village Books and Paper Dreams for further assistance at 360-671-2626!
Event venue & nearby stays
Village Books and Paper Dreams, 1200 11th Street, Bellingham, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.