Spring 2026 Series
Storytelling Boston’s Literary Past
Today’s novelists and poets on retelling Boston’s literary history
Boston has an incredibly rich literary history: the first printing press in the Colonies, the first published authors in the Colonies, authors who helped shape the American novel, the hub of nineteenth-century publishing, and the birthplace of Transcendentalism. But Boston’s literary past continues to influence and inspire today’s novelists and poets. Let’s explore that connection.
Each event will feature:
an author conversation and Q&A • guided small group discussion
snacks, drinks, and desserts • a signature literary cocktail
conversation and connection • a curated selection of books to purchase
Women Writing Against the System: Publishing in 19th Century Boston
featuring Virginia Pye, author of The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann
in conversation with Jessica A. Kent, Literary Boston
Thursday, April 2, 2026
Doors open at 6:30pm | Event begins at 7:00pm
Union Club of Boston, 8 Park St., Boston, MA 02108
Tickets: $79 | 40 seats
About “Women Writing Against the System: Publishing in 19th Century Boston”:
Boston was the hub of publishing in the 19th c., setting tastes and standards that shaped American literature’s creation and growth. But how did the rise of women authors fit into the publishing norms at the time — or did they?
Set among Gilded Age Boston, Virginia Pye’s novel The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann asks what happens when a successful author of romance and adventure novels yearns for something more — from her work, her publisher, and society.
In this conversation, we’ll explore how women writers flourished and pushed back in the late 19th c., the real literary history the novel is based on, and how women are making their way in publishing today. We’ll also talk about Virginia’s new novel, Marriage and Other Monuments.
About Virginia Pye:
Kirkus Reviews calls Marriage and Other Monuments, Virginia Pye’s recently published book, “A fascinating and audacious novel of family, marriage and a society in flux.” She is also the author of four previous award-winning works of fiction, including two post-colonial historical novels set in China, River of Dust and Dreams of the Red Phoenix, and the short story collection, Shelf Life of Happiness. Her previous novel, The Literary Undoing of Victoria Swann is a love story to writers and readers set in Gilded Age Boston. Virginia’s essays have appeared in The New York Times, Literary Hub, Publisher’s Weekly, and elsewhere. To learn more about her, please visit: www.virginia@virginiapye.com.
Reserve your seat April 2:
“Women Writing Against the System: Publishing in 19th Century Boston”
Writing Writers: Literary Lives in Historical Fiction
featuring Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club
in conversation with Jessica A. Kent, Literary Boston
Thursday, April 23, 2026
Doors open at 6:30pm | Event begins at 7:00pm
Union Club of Boston, 8 Park St., Boston, MA 02108
Tickets: $79 | 40 seats
About “Writing Writers: Literary Lives in Historical Fiction”:
Great historical fiction blends accuracy and imagination, and presents characters who lived in the past that today’s readers can empathize with and cheer for. The challenge, though, is how to represent real individuals and their lives in fiction.
Matthew Pearl has made that challenge a career. Published in 2004, The Dante Club brings to life the greats of Boston literary society — Longfellow, Holmes, Lowell, Fields — to solve a fictional mystery. Since then, Pearl’s work has fictionalized other great writers, from Poe to Dickens to Stevenson to Tennyson.
In this conversation, we’ll explore whether it’s easier or harder for a writer to write other writers, the research that goes into representing real historical figures in fiction, and how the lineage of writers writing writers continues today. We’ll also talk about Matthew’s new novel, The Award.
About Matthew Pearl:
Matthew Pearl is an acclaimed writer of fiction and nonfiction, including his latest novel, The Award, his latest nonfiction book, Save Our Souls, and historical fiction including The Dante Club. Matthew is the co-founder of the digital magazine Truly*Adventurous, and he produced the #1 Netflix docuseries Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders. After years residing in the northeast, Matthew lives in South Florida, where he grew up, with his family.
Reserve your seat for April 23:
“Writing Writers: Literary Lives in Historical Fiction”
The Enduring Conversation with Phillis Wheatley Peters
featuring Artress Bethany White, co-editor of Wheatley at 250: Black Women Poets Re-imagine the Verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters
in conversation with Jessica A. Kent, Literary Boston
Thursday, May 28, 2026
Doors open at 6:30pm | Event begins at 7:00pm
Union Club of Boston, 8 Park St., Boston, MA 02108
Tickets: $79 | 40 seats
About “The Enduring Conversation with Phillis Wheatley Peters”:
In 1773, 20-year-old Phillis Wheatley became the first Black American published author. Enslaved in West Africa and brought to Boston as a child, Wheatley’s voice and poetry soon bloomed, blending classical verse and heightened imagery to describe Colonial and Revolutionary Boston around her.
Her work continues to inspire, influence, and challenge poets today. Artress Bethany White co-edited Wheatley at 250: Black Women Poets Re-imagine the Verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters, which shows us how Wheatley’s work continues to endure, as does the creative interaction with it.
In this conversation, we’ll explore who Phillis Wheatley Peters was as a person and a writer, how the collection Wheatley at 250 came together, and why her poetry continues to resonate with and guide us today. We’ll also talk about Artress’s new poetry collection, A Black Doe in the Anthropocene.
About Artress Bethany White:
Artress Bethany White is a poet, essayist, and literary critic. She received a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, a master’s degree from New York University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. Her third poetry collection, A Black Doe in the Anthropocene: Poems (2025), chronicles her family’s history of enslavement in America. She is the recipient of the Trio Award for her poetry collection My Afmerica: Poems (Trio House Press, 2019), selected by poet Sun Yung Shin, and is co-editor, with Danielle Legros Georges, of the anthology Wheatley at 250: Black Women Poets Re-imagine the Verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters (Pangyrus, 2023), which writer Camille Dungy refers to as “a blessing and a balm.” This anthology received a 2025 grant from the Cambridge Arts Council. White’s recent work also appears in the anthologies Dear Yusef: Essays, Letters, and Poems for and About One Mr. Komunyakaa (Wesleyan, 2024), and Why I Wrote This Poem: 62 Poets on Creativity and Craft (McFarland, 2023). Her criticism appears in the collections Seeking Home: Marginalization and Representation in Appalachian Letters and Song (University of Tennessee Press, 2017) and Literary Expressions of African Spirituality (Lexington Books, 2013).White has received scholarships and residencies from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and Tupelo Press MASS MoCA. She is associate professor of English at East Stroudsburg University in the Poconos.
Reserve your seat for May 28:
“The Enduring Conversation with Phillis Wheatley Peters”
Modern Transcendentalists: Writing Nature, Identity, and Legacy
featuring Julie Carrick Dalton, author of The Forest Becomes Her
in conversation with Jessica A. Kent, Literary Boston
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Doors open at 6:30pm | Event begins at 7:00pm
Union Club of Boston, 8 Park St., Boston, MA 02108
Tickets: $79 | 40 seats
About “Modern Transcendentalists: Writing Nature, Identity, and Legacy”:
Transcendentalism was born in Concord. Emerson philosophized about our connection to nature, Thoreau went to the wood to live deliberately, Fuller reimagined a new social hierarchy, and Alcott translated its individualism into four March sisters.
Their influence is still felt today. “The lure of the Transcendentalists, the famous forests surrounding Concord, and the history of dead—but lingering—writers had drawn Hazel to the sleepy town on the outskirts of Boston…” So begins The Forest Becomes Her, Julie Carrick Dalton’s new novel about three women seeking to save the land, and themselves.
In this conversation, we’ll explore the Transcendentalist influences on these fictional characters, the rich literary setting of Concord, and how fiction can raise awareness around climate crisis.
About Julie Carrick Dalton:
Julie Carrick Dalton is the author of The Forest Becomes Her, The Last Beekeeper, and Waiting for the Night Song. She is the winner of the New Hampshire Book Awards' People's Choice for Best Novel, and was a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award, and the Siskiyou Prize for New Environmental Literature. Her novels have been named to Most Anticipated lists from CNN, Newsweek, USA Today, Parade, and others, and were selected as an Amazon Editor's Pick for Best Book of the Month. A former organic farmer, forest manager, and beekeeper, and a 2026 TEDx speaker, she is a frequent speaker on the topic of fiction in the age of climate crisis at universities, museums, and conferences, nationally and internationally. She currently serves on the teaching faculty of Drexel University's Creative Writing MFA program and is a frequent guest lecturer at Harvard. When she isn't reading or writing, you can probably find Julie kayaking, skiing, swimming, gardening, or trying to track down her four children and two dogs.
Reserve your seat for June 11:
“Modern Transcendentalists: Writing Nature, Identity, and Legacy”
