Daniel Kraus: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life

Have you ever watched a movie 300 times? For Daniel Kraus, the New York Times-bestselling horror author and frequent collaborator of Guillermo del Toro, that movie is Night of the Living Dead. In Kraus's eyes, the masterpiece by filmmaker George Romero is not only the pinnacle of the zombie genre, it's a deeply personal artefact, related to his own childhood trauma and pointing the way forward as an artist and a man. In Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World, Kraus analyzes Romero's masterpiece frame by frame, and uses it as a springboard to explore its massive cultural significance, his own fraught background, and his eventual collaboration with the visionary filmmaker himself – George Romero. At turns hilarious and aggrieved, this radical collision of memoir, film studies, and cultural criticism is one of the definitive explorations of Romero's work, written by a master of horror in his own right, and someone who knew the complex figure behind the camera.

This conversation with film critic Adam Nayman will also include an appearance by special guest Suzanne Desrocher-Romero.

ABOUT THIS EVENT'S GUESTS:

Daniel Kraus is a New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. His latest novel, Angel Down, was a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2025. His novel Whalefall won the Alex Award, was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, and was named a Best Book of 2023 by NPR, The New York Times, Amazon, Chicago Tribune, and more. With Guillermo del Toro, he cowrote The Shape of Water, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film.

Adam Nayman is a critic, teacher, and author, whose books include critical surveys of the Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, and most recently, in Mind Games, the filmmaker David Fincher. He is a regular contributor to The Ringer, a lecturer at the University of Toronto's Cinema Studies Institute, and he has written on film for The New Yorker and The New York Times.

Suzanne Desrocher-Romero is the founder and president of the George A. Romero Foundation, which seeks to preserve George’s legacy in filmmaking, but also supports emerging horror creators. She is the widow of George A. Romero.

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This event is part of our signature Salon Series, where we host local and international authors, artists and thinkers in conversation about their new books and big ideas.

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PLAN YOUR VISIT:

Location: Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge Street), 2nd floor

Time: Doors open 6:00pm, Event starts 7:00pm.

Tickets: Free registration required.

Ticket policy: We oversell these events to make sure that the greatest number of people have an opportunity to attend. Tickets are guaranteed until 6:45pm or until capacity is reached. Any remaining space will be opened up to the rush line beginning at 6:45pm. Seating first come, first served. Tickets do not guarantee seats.

Accessibility: TPL is committed to accessibility. If you are Deaf or have a disability and would like to request accommodation for this event, please contact [email protected] or 416-393-7099 at least three weeks prior to the event.

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