Description

In conversation with Matthew Thomas (We Are Not Ourselves), and with a few extra special guests dropping in, the National Book Award Finalist launches his most recent novel on our virtual stage. A Calling for Charlie Barnes is a tender, arrestingly funny, and deeply personal portrait of a modern American father and family, based closely on Ferris' own early life. In a nod to the autofictional nature of the book, a couple of the main characters (Ferris' three real-life siblings) join him to reflect on the experience of being fictionalized. Actor and comedian Michael Ian Black (Wet Hot American Summer) performs an excerpt from the novel.

“Dazzling. Mind-blowing. About as much fun as you can have without risking arrest.” ―Richard Russo

Pre-order a signed copy of A Calling for Charlie Barnes from our friends at Strand here and use code "SymphonySpace" to receive a 10% discount.

This is a live virtual event. Ticket holders will receive an e-mail with information on how to access the event close to its start time. You must tune in at the set start time and date to view this show.

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Michael Ian Black is known for such seminal television programs as The State, Stella, and Michael and Michael Have Issues, all of which he co-created, wrote, and starred in. In addition to performing stand-up across the country, Black has appeared in many films and television shows, including Ed, Wet Hot American Summer, Burning Love, They Came Together, The Jim Gaffigan Show, Inside Amy Schumer, VH1’s I Love the '80s, The Good Fight, Dogs in a Park, Another Period, Insatiable, Reno 911!, and Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later. Black hosted the podcast How to Be Amazing and has written best-selling books for both children and adults, including A Better Man: A (Mostly Serious) Letter to My Son, published in 2020. Upcoming projects include Linoleum and Spinning Gold.

Joshua Ferris is the author of three previous novels, Then We Came to the End, The Unnamed and To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, and a collection of stories, The Dinner Party. He was a finalist for the National Book Award, winner of the Barnes and Noble Discover Award and the PEN/Hemingway Award, and was named one of The New Yorker's "20 Under 40" writers in 2010. To Rise Again at a Decent Hour won the Dylan Thomas Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. His short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Granta, and Best American Short Stories. A Calling for Charlie Barnes was published on September 28.

Matthew Thomas’s New York Times bestselling novel We Are Not Ourselves was shortlisted for the James Tait Black Prize, the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and the John Gardner Fiction Book Award, longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, the Guardian First Book Award, and the Folio Prize, named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times, and and named one of the best books of the year by a number of publications. It has been translated into a dozen languages. Matthew teaches at Xavier High School in Manhattan, as well as in NYU’s Low-Residency MFA Program in Paris.

At the Thalia Book Club, readers and writers meet for intimate conversations about compelling new books and favorite classics in fiction, essay, biography and more.

Expected Run Time is 75 minutes