Suzy Vitello with Michael N. McGregor — 'Griftopia'

Third Place Books welcomes author Suzy Vitello to our Ravenna location for a conversation about her new book : a biting but big-hearted jaunt through modern malaise featuring a family in free fall who turn to Internet grifting for survival. Michael N. McGregor joins in conversation.

“Griftopia is both a brilliant and zany send-up of American culture in an age of instant celebrity and perpetual deceit and a wrenching parable about the inevitable betrayals that family members inflict on one another. [...] This is a novel with the umph to make you snort with laughter and sob in anguish. Dig in.”
—Steve Almond, author of All the Secrets of the World and Truth Is the Arrow, Mercy Is the Bow

This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured books!

This event is free to attend. Registration is recommended in advance.

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Orphaned and separated as young children, the Freischin sisters are nothing if not survivors. Now, in middle age, Pearl is blindsided by a sexual harassment allegation, while her son Declan, a college student and track star struggling with anxiety, quits school when he becomes entangled with a young con-artist. Meanwhile, Pearl's sister Scarlett is left penniless after her husband is imprisoned for embezzling, and Scarlett's daughter Helena turns to pickleball coaching as a side hustle when her six-year-old child, Burkleigh-who'd achieved meteoric social media fame for her ability to sing like Billie Holiday-is canceled for appropriation.

Close to destitute, the Freischin clan is in danger of homelessness unless they can pull themselves out of financial instability. Leveraging Burkleigh's talent, they arrive at a series of progressively dubious internet scams that lead them to an unexpected alliance.

Griftopia explores the struggles of a modern family in free fall who turn to grifting for survival.

Although Suzy Vitello’s first novel, A Plot to K*ll a King, never made it out of her sixth-grade classroom, writing it fueled her interest in themes of justice sprinkled with humor. In one form or another, she’s been writing about power imbalance ever since and Griftopia is just that kind of social comedy. Her other notable novels include Bitterroot (Sibylline Press), The Bequest (Running Wild Press), and Faultland (Ooligan Press). As the Managing Editor of Sibylline Press, Suzy enjoys deep-diving into the minds and hearts of other writers. She lives and writes in Portland, Oregon with her husband and an elderly Rottweiler.

Michael N. McGregor is an award-winning author and former professor of creative writing whose first book, Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax, was a finalist for a Washington State Book Award and several other prizes. The American Association of University Publishers named Pure Act one of its top ten books in American Studies. McGregor’s second book, The Last Grand Tour, received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews, and his essays have been cited in the Best American Essays and Pushcart Prize series.

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.

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