Alice Sebold
Author of the Number One Bestsellers
Lucky, The Lovely Bones and The Almost Moon

Rarely has an author had such an impact on international literature with her first novel, especially when it focuses on the dark subjects of rape, child murder, and the dissolution of families. Yet with The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold seemed to manage the impossible.

“My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was 14 when I was murdered on December 6, 1973.” So begins The Lovely Bones, one of the best-reviewed novels of the decade. The book quickly became an unprecedented international bestseller, with translations in over 45 languages and American sales alone of over five million copies. In 2009 it was chosen by the Young Adult Library Association as one of its recommended titles for all students (the list is revised every 5 years and used by educators and librarians across the country). Three months after the original publication of The Lovely Bones, Sebold’s 1999 memoir Lucky, an account of her rape at the age of 18 and the trial that followed, also rose to number one on The New York Times bestseller list.

2007 saw publication of The Almost Moon, Sebold's controversial second novel, which began with yet another gripping first sentence: "When all was said and done, killing my mother came easily." Another #1 bestseller, The Almost Moon generated more critical discord -- both laudatory and negative -- than any other novel in memory as Sebold plunged into taboo territories of matricide, mental illness and profound ambivalence about mother/daughter relationships.

Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Sebold grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and attended Syracuse University as well as the University of Houston and UC Irvine. She has contributed to numerous anthologies and is currently editing The Best American Short Stories 2009.

A film version of The Lovely Bones is in production for a 2009 release, written and directed by Peter Jackson, the Academy Award winning director of “The Lord of the Rings.” 

 

Glen David Gold
Author of Carter Beats the Devil and Sunnyside

Glen David Gold was born into storytelling and bizarre circumstance: he arrived on March 29, 1964 (both Easter and Passover), at Cedars of Lebanon hospital, which several years later became the Scientology center for Hollywood, California. On his tenth birthday, at the Magic Castle, Gold’s mother was sawn in half – or so she claims – before his very eyes. Though he represses that memory, it does perhaps explain a life-long fascination with fiction, memoir, mystery and wonder.

His first novel, Carter Beats the Devil, is based on a real San Francisco stage magician who performs for President Harding the evening of Harding’s mysterious death. Published by Hyperion in 2001, Carter Beats the Devil was a national bestseller and was translated into 13 languages. His most recent novel, Sunnyside, a story of early Hollywood, was published in May of 2009.