Abigail Hing Wen at The Brattle Theatre

Harvard Book Store welcomes Harvard alumna Abigail Hing Wen—tech leader, New York Times bestselling author of the Loveboat,Taipei series, and executive producer of the Paramount+ book-to-film adaptation Love In Taipei, now on Netflix—for a discussion of her New York Times bestselling middle-grade novel The Vale, which explores the nature of human-AI interaction, the ethics and possibilities of new technology, how children and adults can use technology responsibly, and the ways AI can change human lives. During the presentation, Abigail Hing Wen will share from her live action/animation short film prequel The Vale—Origins, starring three-time Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, along with behind-the-scenes materials and a discussion of the book. This event is perfect for parents, middle-grade readers, and anyone interested in AI.

There are two ticket options for this event.

1. Book-Included Tickets: Includes admission for one and one hardcover copy of The Vale pre-signed by Abigail Hing Wen.
2. Admission-Only Tickets: Includes admission for one.

Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.

Welcome to The Vale, a world that grows by the power of imagination.

A magical new phenomenon from the New York Times bestselling author and executive producer of the Loveboat, Taipei series (adapted to the Netflix film Love in Taipei).

Thirteen-year-old Bran Joseph Lee has spent half his life building the Vale, an immersive, AI-generated, virtual-reality environment using technology created by his inventor parents. It's a lush fantasy world complete with a Blue Forest, a Castle, and adventures with his mushroom-obsessed Elf named Gnomly—a much better place to spend his days compared to his real life, where his parents have suffered through the failed launches of one invention after another.

Bran wants nothing more than to see his Elves come fully to life, a hope that seems on the brink of reality when he enters the Vale in a multi-million-dollar competition to fund its further development. But instead, things in the Vale begin to go wrong: The sunlight is fading. A beautiful girl appears from nowhere. A wizard is stealing from the Vale’s inhabitants. And the strangest part of all is that none of this is the young inventor’s doing.

Can Bran and Gnomly uncover the truth of what is happening before both their worlds are destroyed?

Look out for The Vale—Origins, the short film prequel to The Vale starring three-time Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, coming to film festivals and screenings near you!

Abigail Hing Wen is a New York Times bestselling author and former Intel AI podcast host who has conquered both worlds of traditional publishing and technological disruption. Wen executive produced the movie adaptation of her novel, Loveboat, Taipei (Love in Taipei, Netflix) and directed the live action/animation short film prequel to her latest NYT best selling novel, The Vale, a story universe centered around a clean-AI generated virtual fantasy world that grows by the power of human imagination. Abigail serves on the Board of Harvardwood.

Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.

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