Liz Moore has been selected as the 2025 ‘West Hartford Reads!’ author for 2025.

By Ronni Newton

The West Hartford Public Library has announced the launch of its biggest literary event of the year – “West Hartford Reads!” – and tickets will be available at all three library branches beginning Sept. 10 for the culmination of the event, an author talk and book signing with this year’s chosen author, Liz Moore.

Liz Moore, author of The God of the Woods and Long Bright River, will appear at Sedgwick Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 23 for a talk and book signing beginning at 6:30 p.m. There is no charge to attend the event, but there are a limited number of tickets available.

In addition to being an award-winning, bestselling novelist, Moore is a television screenwriter and producer. “Over her prolific, two-decade career as an author, Moore has established herself as a virtuoso of the literary thriller, known for her intricate plots, complex characters, and ability to upend expectations. Her immersive, New York Times–bestselling hits Long Bright River and The God of the Woods have propelled over a million readers through twisting, multigenerational stories that are as moving as they are surprising and compelling. Moore brings the same authenticity to her work in screenwriting, having adapted Long Bright River into a television miniseries starring Amanda Seyfried,” the West Hartford Public Library said in the announcement of Moore’s selection.

Moore’s novels have been selected for discussion not just by local book clubs, but also by the monthly book clubs of Good Morning America, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and Barnes & Noble. Two of her novels have made the annual list of former President Barack Obama’s favorite books.

The West Hartford community selected Moore’s novel, The God of the Woods, from among 32 books as the 2025 Winter Madness Book Tournament winner. “We heard the readers of West Hartford loud and clear: Liz Moore should be the library’s first choice for this year’s West Hartford Reads! author,” Library Director Laura Irmscher said in the announcement. “And we rose to that challenge,” she added.

Moore, who lives in Philadelphia, is winner of the Rome Prize in Literature, has been nominated for an Edgar Award and an LA Times Book Prize, and is the the Director of the MFA program in Creative Writing at Temple University.

“West Hartford Reads! is an annual library celebration encouraging everyone to read the works of one notable author, culminating each year with the author visiting us here in West Hartford. Liz Moore will be the ninth author to participate in West Hartford Reads!” the library’s announcement stated. Previous authors have included Nick Hornby, Chimamanda Adichie, Anna Quindlen, Billy Collins, and Jacqueline Woodson.

Free tickets can be obtained beginning Sept. 10 at the Noah Webster Library (20 South Main Street), Bishops Corner (15 Starkel Road), and Faxon (1073 New Britain Avenue) branches, until all tickets are accounted for.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. for the event, which begins at 6:30 p.m. and will include a lecture, Q&A, and book signing. Books will be for sale through River Bend Bookshop.

The library will also host public book discussions of several of Moore’s works, Long Bright River and The God of the Woods, in advance of the final event. There will also be a presentation on the opioid crisis and a public Narcan (naloxone) training in partnership with the West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District. Registration for these events is available through the library’s website westhartfordlibrary.org.

The free event is possible through grant funding from the Thomas F. Kilfoil Bequest to the West Hartford Public Library Foundation. For more information, visit www.westhartfordreads.org or call the library at 860-561-6990.

West Hartford Public Library Noah Webster branch. Photo credit: Ronni Newton (we-ha.com file photo)

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