An Afternoon with R.H. Nicholson

Join us at The Haunted Book Shop on June 27th for an Afternoon with R.H. Nicholson. Winner of the 2025 Chickasaw Playwriting Prize, Nicholson will be in conversation with Chickasaw Civic Theater director Hannah Roads. Nicholson will discuss his evocative debut novel, Justice House Shadows, as well as his award-winning play The King and Queen of Foggy Flats, which will be performed at CCT later that evening.

During this conversation, Ron Nicholson will share the inspirations behind his narratives and the challenges he faced in the creative process. After the conversation and audience Q&A, Nicholson will sign copies of the book and chat with guests.

About Justice House Shadows:
Betty Brogan is quite possibly the last Southern Belle. Born unbelievably beautiful into a prosperous family in an otherwise poor Appalachian town, Betty is spoiled, self-involved, entitled, and outrageous. She refuses to follow the rules because the rules are for everyone else. And yet, it’s nearly impossible to not like her because she is so full of life, kind, and generous. Betty is the sun and everyone else simply lives in her orbit. From her traumatized, shy housekeeper Cora to damaged war veteran Handyman Hank, and from tenacious Granny Sutton and her pet goose Clark Gable to Granny’s “adopted” daughter, Sissy, who is both physically disabled and Black, everyone in Summitville lives in Betty’s shadow and in the shadow of her grand home, Justice House. Here you’ll meet many of her lovers (and there are a lot of them), the rambunctious twins who wreck her house and steal her heart, the town’s football hero, Paul Ridley, as well as B.C., who can’t seem to outrun his youthful Summer of Betty, the befuddled Reverend Jonah, the tragic Everett Thornton, and so many others who populate this homage to small Southern towns and the colorful, secretive, but good people who live there. Not to mention her unique dog Hush Puppy.

Told through a series of short stories, Betty’s life breathes through her interactions with the citizens of Summitville, taking her through the tragic, sudden death of her parents, the turbulent Vietnam War, a series of love affairs, the loss of her greatest love, and the family she builds around her from childhood until her last breath at Justice House.

About R.H. Nicholson:
R.H. Nicholson is a professor emeritus of English who taught writing for forty years but is now (finally) focused on his own work which has appeared in Ignatian Magazine, Adelaide Literary Journal, Echo Ink, The Blue Lake Review, Big Window Review and elsewhere. His debut novel Justice House Shadows is now available. His play The King and Queen of Foggy Flats won the 2025 Chickasaw Writing Prize and will have its world premiere in June 2026. His short story collection Children of the Light will be published in late 2026. He and his wife live in a small Ohio River Valley town with their Russian Blue rescue cat Steinbeck. To learn more about his work visit www.thecountyquirk.com.

This is a conversation you don't want to miss! Join us on June 27th as we welcome R.H. Nicholson to Mobile.

Book purchase from The Haunted Book Shop required for entry to signing line. Copies of the book can be purchased as an add-on to your general admission ticket on Eventbrite.

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