SWAMPSCOTT — Local community arts organization ReachArts has announced its first series of author talks.
The first event, to be held over Zoom at 7 p.m. February 18, will feature North Shore native David Newell Townsend.
“We’ve identified that there’s a large literary audience in Swampscott,” said Laura Smith, who will moderate the author talks. “This is a hope to grow the community and connect people with the hope of someday having a festival at ReachArts.”
Townsend’s new book, published in November, is “Retracing Steps: An Exploration of Nature and History on the Massachusetts North Shore.” The book is a memoir of Townsend’s time hiking and exploring the environment in Swampscott, Lynn, Marblehead and Salem, which also includes descriptions of the area’s rich history.
Townsend also published the book “Rock and Roll and War and Peace” in 2016, and runs a podcast titled “My Comical Romance” with his daughter, which focuses on vintage romance comic books. Townsend is a full-time telecommunications consultant. His talk will go into his works, as well as the process of self-publishing.
“One of the goals was to show that there’s a lot of opportunity and a lot of different ways to write a book,” Smith said. “After many years of being frowned upon, I think (self-publishing) is experiencing a resurgence, because the big publishers can’t afford to take a chance. There’s so many good writers out there, so why not?”
Next month’s author will be Steven A. Rosenberg, editor and publisher of the Jewish Journal and author of “Middle Class Heroes: Voices from the Boston Suburbs.” Other speakers will be artist and writer Barbara Call, New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary, and award-winning playwright Barry Brodsky.
Each event will include an interview between Smith and the author, a reading from the author’s work and a question-and-answer session with the audience.
For more information or to register for the event, visit reacharts.org.
Tréa Lavery can be reached at [email protected].
