The Nashua Public Library is thrilled to announce that this year’s Nashua Reads: One City, One Book selection is “Hell of a Book” by Jason Mott.

Mott, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, will visit the library on October 15 for a special “Beyond the Book” author discussion.

Beyond the Book

Nashua Reads programming begins this fall with lively special events, discussions, films, readings, and more as an opportunity for the entire community to engage around the themes of the chosen work.

The program culminates on Sunday, October 15, at 2 pm when Mott will visit the library for a “Beyond the Book” discussion moderated by James McKim and sign copies of the book. Tickets for the event are $10 and can be purchased online or at the library’s main desk.

About the Book

In Jason Mott’s “Hell of a Book,” a Black author sets out on a cross-country publicity tour to promote his bestselling novel. That storyline drives “Hell of a Book” and is the scaffolding of something much larger and urgent: since Mott’s novel also tells the story of Soot, a young Black boy living in a rural town in the recent past, and The Kid, a possibly imaginary child who appears to the author on his tour.

As these characters’ stories build and build and converge, they astonish. For while this heartbreaking and magical book entertains and is at once about family, love of parents and children, art and money, it’s also about the nation’s reckoning with a tragic police shooting playing over and over again on the news. And with what it can mean to be Black in America.

Who has been killed? Who is The Kid? Will the author finish his book tour, and what kind of world will he leave behind?  Unforgettably told, with characters who burn into your mind and an electrifying plot ideal for book club discussion, “Hell of a Book” is the novel Mott has been writing in his head for the last ten years. And in its final twists it truly becomes its title.

About the Author

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Jason Mott lives in southeastern North Carolina. He has a BFA in Fiction and an MFA in Poetry, both from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His poetry and fiction have appeared in various literary journals. He was nominated for a 2009 Pushcart Prize award and Entertainment Weekly listed him as one of their 10 “New Hollywood: Next Wave” people to watch.

He is the author of two poetry collections: “We Call This Thing Between Us Love” and “…hide behind me…” He is the author of three novels: “The Returned,” “The Wonder of All Things,” and “The Crossing.”

“The Returned,” Jason’s debut novel, was adapted by Brad Pitt’s production company, Plan B, in association with Brillstein Entertainment and ABC. It aired on the ABC network under the title “Resurrection.”

Start Reading Today

The library has over 75 print copies of “Hell of a Book” available in circulation for cardholders to borrow, as well as copies in large print, audiobook, and ebook formats.

Our Sponsors

Jason Mott’s appearance is sponsored by:

• The Friends of the Nashua Public Library
• The Ella Anderson Trust

Questions?

For more information about Nashua Reads, contact our programming team at marketing@nashualibrary.org. 

About Nashua Reads: One City, One Book

Now in its 21st year, the Nashua Reads: One City, One Book is a citywide literary event that encourages members of the Nashua community to read and discuss the same book. By uniting readers around one book, the program helps the community come together to learn, have fun, and find common ground.