Hillary Clinton plans virtual appearance at Anderson’s Bookshop
It’s a political thriller with an insider’s point of view.
Considered one of the most anticipated books of the season, “State of Terror” is a collaboration between two bestselling authors: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and mystery novelist Louise Penny.
The authors will talk about their new work in a virtual discussion, hosted by Anderson’s Bookshops at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 18. The purchase of the novel is required to attend the virtual event. All books will be signed by the authors.
“We’re very excited to have them. We’re looking forward to a great read and great conversation with the two of them,” Ginny Wehrli-Hemmeter, event coordinator at Anderson’s, said.
A ticket for books that will be picked up at Anderson’s costs $34, tickets for books shipped to locations within the United States cost $44 and a ticket for books shipped to Canada costs $65.
Tickets can be purchased by linking to the “get your tickets here” tab at andersonsbookshop. com/event/hillary-rodham-clinton-louise-penny.
The novel, “State of Terror,” is a political thriller in which a newly appointed Secretary of State, a young foreign service officer and a journalist work together to dismantle an international conspiracy.
“Between us, I think people believe this is just another cookie-cutter thriller, and so expectations are low. Especially since it’s written by two ‘older’ women — one of whom has never written a thriller and the other who has never written fiction,” Penny
wrote in her October newsletter to fans.
“I love being underestimated. Though as a woman it does get a little tiresome at times. However, in this case, it’s fun to see people’s faces when they realize that ‘State of Terror’ is so much more than a standard potboiler.”
Penny, who writes the award-winning Chief Inspector Armand Gamache novels, said in her newsletter that thanks to Clinton, readers get to “see into rooms few people in the world ever get access to.”
While both Clinton and Penny have had numerous bestsellers, this is the fist book they wrote together.
“It’s quite a cute story. Hillary has been a fan of Louise for years, and Hillary and her best friend from when she was a child growing up in the Chicagoland area used to read Louise’s books together all time,” Wehrli-Hemmeter said. “So when the idea for the novel came about it sounds like it just made a lot of sense for them to work together on it because they sort of had a mutual respect for each other and were excited to work together.”
During the virtual discussion the presenters will be visible to the audience, but audience members will not see each other.
“You’re only going to be able to see the presenters, because it’s going to be large and we want to keep it as secure as possible,” Wehrli-Hemmeter said. “Most of our (virtual) events are in that format as well.”
So far, tickets have been selling well, she said, but they anticipate more sales as the event date nears.
“We know based on voting history of the demographics of our area and our history of having Louise here, we definitely have the audience for them,” Wehrli-Hemmeter said.
“The interesting thing about sales for virtual events is that folks don’t really know what their world is going to look like that day so a lot of this is a last minute thing, which I totally understand. … So we see a lot of last minute sales across the board for all our virtual events.”
While this is the first time Anderson’s is hosting an event with Clinton, the bookshop has hosted Penny several times to huge crowds, Wehrli-Hemmeter said.
“We definitely have her fan base here, and she’s a fantastic writer so were just really glad to be able to host them virtually,” she said. “Obviously we wish we could host them in person, but virtually is what we’re going to go with now.”
Anderson’s is known for hosting big name and bestselling authors over the years. The store’s October schedule is filled with mix of virtual and in person events, including Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, on Oct. 21 at Community Christian Church in Naperville. The store has a long history of working with publishers and authors for decades, Wehrli-Hemmeter said.
“That history is fantastic and we have great partnerships with the publisher,” she said. “When you know a big book like this is coming out, we can definitely be in touch with them and let them know we’ve got the audience for it.”