{"id":28039,"date":"2025-07-28T17:57:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T17:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/28039\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T17:57:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T17:57:26","slug":"the-unexpected-ways-bostons-bestselling-authors-find-their-spark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/28039\/","title":{"rendered":"The unexpected ways Boston’s bestselling authors find their spark"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBooks\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tThere\u2019s more to the literary scene than book launches and author readings. See how four bestsellers find community and camaraderie in the city.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\n\tFrom left to right: Authors Karen McManus, Celeste Ng, Paul Tremblay, and Jennifer Haigh. \t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Annie Jonas<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 28, 2025 | 11:14 AM\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

4 minutes to read<\/p>\n

Boston has long been a city of words, from the transcendentalist writings of Emerson and Thoreau to contemporary greats like Jhumpa Lahiri and Dennis Lehane. But where do today\u2019s bestselling local authors go when they need inspiration?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"Lovestruck\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFans say new romance bookstores and online groups are giving the genre some overdue respect\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

In Boston, there\u2019s more to the literary scene than book launches and author readings; it\u2019s a place where writers gather in unexpected ways, fueled by coffee, camaraderie, and an underlying sense of community.<\/p>\n

For Jennifer Haigh<\/a>, who\u2019s lived in Roslindale<\/a> for over a decade, Boston has become a natural home for both her writing and her connections. She moved to the city in 2002 on an impulse, not realizing how much she\u2019d appreciate the distance it gave her from the cutthroat, business-centric atmosphere of publishing mecca\u2019s like New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The writer Jennifer Haigh. (Photograph \u00a9 Beowulf Sheehan)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were to try to live in New York as a working writer, it would be far more difficult because you\u2019re so close to the business of publishing, you constantly hear the gears grinding.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Haigh\u2019s novel \u201cRabbit Moon<\/a>\u201d was released this past spring, she and her husband, fellow writer Josh Barkan, hosted a celebration at the Boston Figurative Arts Center in Somerville. The guest list was a who\u2019s-who of local authors like Tom Perrotta (\u201cThe Leftovers,\u201d \u201cLittle Children\u201d) Allegra Goodman (\u201cKaaterskill Falls,\u201d \u201cParadise Park\u201d), and Marianne Leone (\u201cJesse,\u201d \u201cMa Speaks Up\u201d) \u2014 a testament to the vibrant, supportive literary community in Boston.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Haigh notes that when writers gather, \u201cpeople talk about what they\u2019re reading rather than industry gossip.\u201d It\u2019s the down-to-earth, book-nerdy atmosphere that she said helps draw writers to Boston.<\/p>\n

Celeste Ng, Henriette Lazaridis, and the sensory side of the literary scene<\/p>\n

Celeste Ng<\/a>, a Cambridge author of three novels including \u201cLittle Fires Everywhere<\/a>,\u201d echoes Haigh\u2019s sentiments about Boston\u2019s literary camaraderie.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Ng, the city is home to a number of cherished reading events, including The Earfull Series<\/a>, which pairs author readings with music from local artists, and the Arlington Writers Salon<\/a>, a quirky gathering where authors read together in a caf\u00e9 setting, often tied by a central theme and a sensory object.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Author Celeste Ng photographed in Cambridge, MA. (Photo by Kieran Kesner)<\/p>\n

Ng fondly recalls a 2016 reading at the Salon when author Henriette Lazaridis brought in seaweed scented cards for the audience to smell to complement her reading, she said.<\/p>\n

Lazaridis confirmed the seaweed with Boston.com and added that the scents corresponded to moments from her book, \u201cThe Clover House.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI had jasmine, and Seville orange, and a scent I made myself with a homemade alembic to produce the scent of the sea,\u201d she told Boston.com in an email. \u201cIt\u2019s possible that some seaweed flakes were involved in that process. I think I remain the only one in the history of the Salon to use scent!\u201d<\/p>\n

Bookstores are \u2018like the writers\u2019 bar\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe ultimate guide to independent bookstores in Greater Boston and beyond\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

The sense of community extends beyond formal events, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bookstores were mentioned by each author as a major gathering place for writers. They act as something of a literary watering hole, serving as event spaces for readings or the launch of a new book, or simply as hubs for authors to find community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re like the writers\u2019 bar,\u201d Ng said. Authors drop by to chat with booksellers, find new books, and meet other writers in a casual, non-industry setting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Ng, this is one of the biggest differences between Boston and cities like New York, where the focus can often be on the business side of writing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHere, it\u2019s not as much about the industry. It\u2019s very much about \u2013 as dorky as it sounds \u2013 being a reading nerd,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Bonding over game nights, writing sprints, and dinner meetups<\/p>\n

\"\"Author Paul Tremblay. (Photo by Cheryl Murphy)<\/p>\n

\"\"Author Karen McManus. (Photo by Kaitlyn Litchfield Photography)<\/p>\n

Paul Tremblay<\/a>, known for his literary horror novels<\/a>, has embraced more eccentric, playful gatherings with fellow writers \u2013 like Bracken MacLeod and Dana Cameron \u2013 including role-playing game nights that began as pandemic-friendly virtual meetups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just show up and roll dice and try to insult folks\u2026in a friendly way,\u201d he said describing these get-togethers as \u201cnerdy writer stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karen M. McManus<\/a>, who writes bestselling young adult thrillers, notes that Boston\u2019s children\u2019s lit community is particularly close-knit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since the release of her debut \u201cOne of Us Is Lying\u201d in 2017, she\u2019s found deep connections at professional events like literary festivals and readings. She explains that when a fellow author launches a book or hosts a reading, it\u2019s common for local writers to meet up for dinner afterward. <\/p>\n

They\u2019ll also meet up for informal \u201cwriting sprints\u201d at coffee shops.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all bring our laptops and do quick 20-minute bursts of writing, just to get something out there,\u201d she said. \u201cThen we socialize, and if the writing is going really well, we keep going for another sprint.\u201d <\/p>\n

These spontaneous meetups are a reminder that for many Boston writers, the real magic of the craft happens off the page.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"Profile\t<\/p>\n

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Book Club<\/p>\n

Stay up to date on local books news, events, and recommendations from Boston.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Books There\u2019s more to the literary scene than book launches and author readings. See how four bestsellers find…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[64,63,457,134],"class_list":{"0":"post-28039","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-books","11":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}