Do you love books? Are you interested in hearing from the author and looking behind the curtain at what the author was thinking while writing? Perhaps have the author respond to a question or two that has been on your mind about a particular scene or character.
Look no further than the Maine Public Book Club! Hosted by Bill Nemitz, the Maine Public Book Club takes on eight or so books a year in a series of virtual book club events.
Maine Public Book Club: All Books Considered is made possible by the generous support of:
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Not a member? Take a moment to sign up! It’s a free and great way to satisfy one’s love of books and to connect with authors of books you’ve enjoyed.
2025 Book Club Selections
Thursday, July 24 at 7:00 pm
Granite Harbor by Peter Nichols
Author Bio:
Peter Nichols is the author of the bestselling novel The Rocks, the nonfiction bestsellers A Voyage for Madmen, Evolution's Captain, and three other books of fiction, memoir, and non-fiction. His novel Voyage to the North Star was nominated for the Dublin IMPAC literary award. His journalism has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Peter has an MFA degree from Antioch University Los Angeles and has taught creative writing there and at Georgetown University, Bowdoin College, and New York University in Paris. Before turning to writing full-time, he held a 100-ton USCG Ocean Operator’s license and was a professional yacht delivery captain for 10 years. He also worked in advertising in London, as a screenwriter in LA, a shepherd in Wales, and sailed alone in a small boat across the Atlantic. He is a member of the Explorers Club of New York.
Reviews:
Thursday, August 28 at 7:00 pm
Love & Lobsters by Shannon M. Parker
Author Bio:
Shannon M. Parker is the author of three novels, including critically-acclaimed The Girl Who Fell and The Rattled Bones, which explores the history and cultural erasure of Maine’s Malaga Island. Set in midcoast Maine, Love & Lobsters is her adult debut and was immediately optioned for film.
Shannon has a deep reverence for kindness and laughter, wide and wild philanthropy, and leaving a quiet, impactful footprint. She’s traveled to 38 countries across 5 continents and is always honored to call Maine home. As an author and educator, she holds degrees in English Literature, Applied Linguistics, and Educational Leadership from Saint Michael's College, UMass Boston, and University of Southern Maine respectively. She currently attends Harvard University because she thought it was about time to study creative writing. She can usually be spotted kayaking or venturing to the water in her happy, blue 1972 pick-up.
Reviews:
Thursday, September 25 at 7:00 pm
How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
Author Bio:
Monica Wood is a novelist, memoirist, and playwright; the 2024 recipient of the Sarah Josepha Hale Award for excellence in the arts in New England; the 2019 Constance Carlson Prize for contributions to the public humanities in Maine; and the 2018 Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Distinguished Achievement Award for her contributions to the literary arts.
Her newest novel, How to Read a Book, has already secured translation rights in five countries. Her previous novel, the bestselling The One-in-a-Million Boy, was translated into 20 languages in over 30 countries. She is also the author of When We Were the Kennedys, a New England bestseller and winner of the May Sarton Memoir Award. Her other fiction, Any Bitter Thing, Ernie’s Ark, and My Only Story, have also won awards and made bestseller lists. Her short stories have been widely anthologized and featured on Public Radio International. Her nonfiction and reviews have appeared in O, the New York Times, Literary Hub, Down East, the San Francisco Chronicle, Martha Stewart Living, Parade, and many other publications. She is also the author of several books for aspiring writers and three plays, Papermaker, The Half-Light, and Saint Dad.
She lives in Portland with her husband, Dan Abbott, and their cat, Susie.
Reviews:
Wednesday, October 22nd at 7:00 pm
The Children in the Lake by Mark Edward Hall
Author Bio:
Mark Edward Hall was born in Maine and grew up there. He is the author of more than twenty books including the bestselling Blue Light Series. He successfully crosses many genre boundaries; mystery, thriller, suspense, romance, horror, science fiction and matters of the heart, drawing compelling characters whom readers are sad to leave behind when the book is finished. He lives in Maine and Florida with his wife Sheila.
Mark is also a musician. While in Maine, his band “The Maniacs” have a regular weekend gig at the Lobster Wharf in Boothbay Harbor.
"Mark Edward Hall writes like a master. I'm one of his fans." ~Kiana Davenport, Internationally bestselling author of SHARK DIALOGUES, and THE SPY LOVER
"Hall has an uncanny knack for blending vivid, almost poetic prose with visceral images of jaw-dropping horror to great effect." ~Bram Stoker Award-Winning Editor, Vince Liaguno
"Poetic and eerily seductive, Hall pushes you to the edge, until you get lost in the beautiful madness of his creations." ~Midwest Book Review
"Hall is rapidly climbing the ladder to stake a claim as one of the dark fiction elite." ~Morpheus Tales
"Original! Captivating! Powerful! Look out world, Mark Edward Hall is re-writing the expectations of supernatural thrillers and he's here to stay." ~Book Monster
Reviews:
Need to buy a 2025 Maine Public Book Club selection? Visit one of our bookstore partners to receive a member discount!
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Maine Public Book Club Meeting Archive
For more information or if you have questions about our Maine Public Book Club please email fun@mainepublic.org.