Caitlin Shetterly & Scott Simon in Conversation w/ Richard Russo

Two writers and old friends, Caitlin Shetterly and Scott Simon, will come together for an unusual evening of celebrating family, forgiveness, and the art of telling stories.

Caitlin Shetterly’s new novel The Gulf of Lions (May 19), is set in France and explores motherhood, cancer, daughters, love, and the ways the stories we tell become the fabric of our lives. She’ll be joined by NPR Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon, whose forthcoming book, Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known (May 2), is a charming and poignant collection of vignettes about the animals who have shaped his life and the deep, often surprising bonds between humans and animals.

Together, and in conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Richard Russo, they’ll explore such themes as living in France, memory, storytelling, and the relationships, human and animal alike, that accompany us through our lives. This promises to be the kind of evening we all need so badly right now: A warm, life-affirming, and lively discussion about writing, friendship, and the experiences that not only shape a story but make us better people along the way.

Wednesday, May 20 at 6:00 PM (doors 5:30 PM). $7 for Mechanics' Hall Members, $10 for General Admission, no one turned away for lack of funds at the door.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

is the author of Pete and Alice in Maine, which was reviewed by Allegra Goodman for The New York Times this way: “Shetterly’s debut achieves a subtle grace, a quality of light and shadow worthy of a Bergman film.” The standalone sequel is The Gulf of Lions.

Shetterly is also the author of three previous books: Modified, Made for You and Me, and the bestselling Fault Lines: Stories of Divorce. Modified won the Maine Literary Award in 2017 and was named one of the “Best Books of 2016” by both Publishers’ Weekly and Goop. Made for You and Me was based on a series of audio diaries that were featured on Weekend Edition on NPR and went viral. Fault Lines was an Indie Next pick and became a bestseller after being featured by Scott Simon on Weekend Edition.

Shetterly’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Orion, Elle, Self, The Boston Globe, LitHub, Romper, and on Oprah.com, as well as on This American Life, Hidden Brain, Studio 360, Weekend Edition, and various other public radio shows.

She is an editor at large for Frenchly, a French arts and culture online news magazine, for which she created the popular Le Weekend newsletter.

A Maine native, she graduated with Honors from Brown University and lives with her two sons and husband in her home state. She and her family travel to France regularly, where Shetterly reports for The New York Times, Frenchly, and public radio.

is one of America’s most admired writers and broadcasters. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.

Simon is a native of Chicago and the son of comedian Ernie Simon and Patricia Lyons Simon. He is married to Caroline Richard Simon, and their daughters are Elise and Paulina. His hobbies are books, theater, ballet, British comedy, and Mexican cooking and “bleeding for the Chicago Cubs.”

Richard Russo is the author of ten novels, most recently Somebody’s Fool, Chances Are..., Everybody’s Fool, and That Old Cape Magic; two collections of stories; and the memoir Elsewhere. In 2002, he received the Pulitzer Prize for Empire Falls, which, like Nobody’s Fool, won multiple awards for its screen adaptation, and in 2023 his novel Straight Man was adapted into the television series Lucky Hank. In 2017 he received France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine. He lives in Port­land, ME.

PARKING & TRANSPORTATION

The Greater Portland Metro’s Congress & Casco Street Stop is directly in front of our building, served by routes 1, 7, 8, and 9B.

Street Parking: Available on Congress, Casco, Cumberland, Free Street, and nearby streets. Pay by meter or the Passport Parking App. Free after 6pm, on Sundays, and between Parris and Alder Street. Some blocks may vary — look for posted signs.

Garages: The Arts District Garage (41 Brown St) has 250+ spaces, is open 24/7, and accepts credit card only, with entrances on Brown, Cumberland, and Casco. The Elm Street Garage (21 Elm St) is conveniently near the Portland Library. The Spring Street Garage is three blocks away at 45 Spring St.

ACCESSIBILITY

To enter our building, patrons will need to navigate a single step or use a modular ramp. There is a wheelchair-accessible elevator.

If you have a wheelchair or need accessibility accommodations/questions, please contact us at [email protected] or 207-773-8396.

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