Writers Salon: Tony Horwitz

 The Algonquin Club of Boston will welcome national and New York Times bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Horwitz on Thursday, February 23, 2012. The author will discuss his latest and highly acclaimed best seller, the riveting Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War, as well as the life of an author and his process of writing.

Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City and In the Garden of the Beasts, and another master of narrative history, has said about Midnight Rising:

“There’s a brilliance to this book that put me in mind of Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, only Horwitz’s Midnight Rising is set deeper in America’s dark past.  With stunning, vivid detail, he has captured the sheer drama and tragedy of John Brown and that bloody raid at Harper’s Ferry that helped propel America toward civil war.”

The evening will begin with an informal reception during which attendees will have the opportunity to meet Tony Horwitz and speak individually with him.  He will then read an excerpt from his work and give his remarks, followed by questions and answers.  

A light buffet supper will follow.  There will also be an opportunity to purchase copies of Midnight Rising, inscribed by the author, before the formal program and for a short period following supper.  Those interested in a book purchase should so indicate when reserving to attend.

Tony Horwitz was born in Washington, D.C., graduated with a major in history from Brown University and received his Master’s degree from the Columbia School of Journalism.  His career as a writer began as a newspaper correspondent and included a ten-year stint as a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal. He won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in1995.  Tony Horwitz was also a staff writer for The New Yorker.  Now a full-time author, he has written one praised best seller after another.  His other works include Baghdad Without a Map, Confederates in the Attic, Blue Latitudes and A Voyage Long and Strange.  He is married to Geraldine Brooks, Australian author and journalist, a 2006 Pulitzer Prize in fiction.  They reside on Martha’s Vineyard with their two sons.

6:00 p.m. – Reception with the Author

6:30 p.m. – Reading, Remarks and Questions & Answers

7:30 p.m. – Light Buffet Supper

Charge: $35/person for Algonquin Club members and guests*

* Wine, soft drinks and bottled water included; cocktails, house charge and tax additional

For reservations please contact Ruth at

617-266-2400 or ruth@algonquinclub.com