BookPeople Presents: Bonnie Garmus - Peck & Peck

Format:

• This event is ticketed.
• Venue: First Baptist Church of Austin (Please note that there is no designated parking for this venue so if you do park, we recommend you follow all signage, warnings, and fees.)
• Run time: 45-60 minute discussion, followed by a personalization line.
• Check-in time: 5:15 P.M. Please have a copy of your ticket available (either printed out or on your phone) for check in.
• Outside queuing may be required. Please check the weather forecast ahead of time and plan accordingly.

Signing/Event Guidelines:

• All tickets includes a pre-signed copy of Peck & Peck.
• Access to the post-talk personalization line is limited to those with a Personalization Line Access ticket. Please only purchase this ticket if you intend to get your book personalized after the speaking portion of the event.
• Personalization line placement is determined on a first-come, first-served basis.
• If you buy a ticket and are unable to attend, we will hold your book at BookPeople for 30 days after the event.

General Info:

• Eventbrite is the only authorized ticket system. Tickets purchased through other sites/vendors cannot be honored.
• Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is not guaranteed.
• If you have any accessibility concerns, please contact [email protected]

• If you have any other questions, please visit our Eventbrite FAQ. If your question isn't covered in the FAQ, feel free to email us at [email protected].
• BookPeople reserves the right to cancel or postpone this event if necessary.
• There will not be a live stream or recording available.
• All event guidelines are subject to change.

About the book:

The number one bestselling author of global sensation Lessons in Chemistry returns with an irresistible, delightful, and tender story about a young man whose life turns upside down when he is hired by the most prestigious, secretive, and dysfunctional poetry journal in the world: the renowned Peck & Peck of New York City.

Batter Gray is worried about his future. Even when he was eleven, his classmates seemed to have settled on a goal: doctor, lawyer, broker, engineer. Good jobs that automatically command respect, security, 401Ks. Now Batter is in his early twenties, living in New York City, and he wants something different; something that alienates some readers and bores most. Poetry. And yet—to him and exactly thirty-nine editors at a company called Peck & Peck—poetry not only represents the power of humanity but holds the key to its survival.

Batter is named after his mother’s heroic dog. An identical twin who lost his brother at birth, he finds himself confronted by the everyday dualities that make up life: right vs. wrong, truth vs. lies, rejection vs. acceptance. It’s almost as if his dead brother is a reminder: there are always two sides to every story.

No, wait. Make that three.

About the author:

Bonnie Garmus is a coffee-dependent American novelist. Her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, a Goodreads Choice Best Book of the Year, spent nearly two years on the New York Times bestseller list and was named by Times readers as one of the top 100 books of the 21st century. Translated into over forty languages, Lessons in Chemistry was honored with sixteen international literary awards and made into an Apple TV limited series. Peck & Peck is her second novel.

About the moderator:

Lucas Schaefer's debut novel The Slip released on June 3, 2025. His writing has appeared in One Story, The Baffler, Slate and elsewhere. He lives with his family in Austin.

By purchasing a book from BookPeople, you are not only supporting a local, independent business – you’re showing publishers that they should continue sending authors to BookPeople.

Thank you for supporting Bonnie Garmus, Lucas Schaefer, and your local independent bookstore!