Ann S. Epstein writes novels, short stories, memoir, essays, and poems. Please use the links or site menu to go to the HOME PAGE; learn about her NOVELS, SHORT STORIES, MEMOIR, ESSAYS, and POEMS; find interesting facts in BEHIND THE STORY; read REFLECTIONS on writing; check NEWS for updates on publications and related events; see REVIEWS; learn about her END-OF-LIFE DOULA credentials and services; and CONTACT US to send webmail.
Please join me and five other Vine Leaves Press authors for our event at the SMOL 2022 Book Fair, titled “Unhappy in Its Own Way,” featuring novels and memoirs about dysfunctional families. The virtual session is on March 24, 2022 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time and the event is FREE and open to all via the Zoom webinar link. See a complete description on the SMOL Fair Events page. I’ll read and answer audience questions about The Great Stork Derby, in which a husband pressures his wife to have babies for a large cash prize, with disastrous results. I’ll also act as the event moderator. Thanks for attending! Please spread the word.
Six authors present an event on dysfunctional families at the SMOL 2022 Book FairA story about a family that proves Tolstoy was right
I’m happy to announce that Vine Leaves Press will publish my next novel, One Person’s Loss, which asks whether the marriage of young German Jewish refugees can survive their clashing personalities and the traumas of the Holocaust. Set in Brooklyn from 1937 to 1951, Petra and Erich Wedler’s parents send them to America to start a family before the Nazis systematically decimate their community. The novel is told from both perspectives, as the couple find themselves at odds over losses — a miscarriage, the abrupt end of a job, the slaughter of loved ones. Confronting birth and death, their relationship seesaws until a final crisis tests their ability to sustain a balance and stay together. The book is due out in September 2022. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
German Jewish refugees arrive in U.S. on eve of World War II
I’m doing a virtual reading of my new novel, The Great Stork Derby, at Literati Bookstore on December 1, 2021 at 7:00 PM Eastern Time. Author and colleague Danielle LaVaque-Manty will also interview me, followed by a Q and A with online participants. The event is free. No preregistration is required and you can join the Zoom webinar from anywhere. Go to the Literati event page and click the link on the page to join the event.
You can also order copies of The Great Stork Derby from Literati, as well as copies of my other novels, using the “Add to Cart” feature on that page. Support a great independent bookstore.
The Great Stork Derby, based on a bizarre chapter in Toronto’s history, asks whether an overbearing father deserves the chance to make amends with his alienated offspring. Widower Emm Benbow, who 50 years ago pressured his late wife to win a contest by having many babies, must now move in with one of his many children or go to a dreaded old age home. As he lives with each child in turn, Emm discovers that the true value of fatherhood is not measured in big prizes, but in small rewards.
Read more about the “bad dad” in The Great Stork Derby in NOVELS. See NEWS for information about other upcoming events. I look forward to “seeing” you at the event. Thanks for your interest and support.
The story of a “bad dad” and his dysfunctional family, based on a bizarre but true event
I’m pleased to report that I was named a semi-finalist in the 2021 St. Lawrence Book Award for my story collection Women, Working. Visit the Black Lawrence Press website for the list of finalists and semi-finalists .
About the book: The fourteen stories collected in Women, Working dramatize women’s ongoing fight to balance work and family, intimacy and independence, tradition and progress. Spanning two centuries, the narratives highlight a forward march impeded by social upheaval, physical and psychological assault, and patriarchal resistance. The women — including an 1820 mill worker, a 1911 Triangle fire survivor, a Depression packhorse librarian, a chicken catcher in feminism’s early days, a contemporary trucker — are notably different, yet they share an unsinkable spirit, unflagging determination, and unwavering peer support.
Thank you to Booksweet Bookstore in Ann Arbor for hosting the launch of The Great Stork Derby on November 5, 2021. I was one of four authors who read from their work to a capacity but socially-distanced and masked audience. People were intrigued by the novel’s bizarre but true premise, and asked thoughtful questions about the book and the writing life. Read more about the “bad dad” in The Great Stork Derby in NOVELS. Next up is a virtual reading at Literati Bookstore in Ann Arbor, open to all, on December 1, 2021. See NEWS for details about this and other upcoming events.
Launching The Great Stork Derby at Booksweet BookstoreFour authors hosted at Booksweet Bookstore in Ann ArborA bizarre but true tale of having babies to win a large cash prize
The Great Stork Derby received a laudatory write-up in the latest issue of Historical Novel Review. Here’s an excerpt from the review: “Based on a true event, this is a touching and poignant look at family life and how it is never too late to effect change.” Read the full review in the November 2021 issue of Historical Novel Review. Read more about The Great Stork Derby in NOVELS and buy it at your favorite bookstore or order the book online. If you enjoyed this book, and my other novels, I’d be grateful if you wrote your own review on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Thanks so much!
A timeless historical novel about complex family relationships
My short story “Housewidow” is now online at The Woven Tale Press, 2021, Volume IX, No. 9. Set during the post-WWII housing shortage, “Housewidow” portrays how a third-grader’s world is upended when her family is evicted after her father’s uncharacteristic outburst against their demanding landlady. Read more in SHORT STORIES.
A beautifully produced journal of art and literatureWhy writers write: “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” – Anne Frank
I’m thrilled by this thoughtful interview about my writing in general, and my newest novel The Great Stork Derby, by author and blogger Roz Morris. Read the interview to learn how I became a writer and how my fiction is connected to my work as a developmental psychologist and visual artist. Read more about The Great Stork Derby in NOVELS.
Based on a bizarre but true event in Toronto history
The Great Stork Derby is delivered (released) today. A tale of obsession and forgiveness, based on real events. Toronto, 1926. A husband pressures his wife to have many babies to win a large cash prize. Now old and widowed, can a bad father redeem himself with his grown children? More at NOVELS. Order online or at your favorite bookstore. Goodreads and Amazon reviews appreciated. Many thanks.
I’ll be launching my new novel, The Great Stork Derby at Booksweet Bookstore, 1729 Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan on Friday, November 5, 2021 at 7:30 PM Eastern Time. Visit the event website to learn about my reading and the three other authors who will join me. The event is free but registration is required and capacity is limited due to COVID-19 restrictions. To attend, please register ASAP at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/making-worlds-an-evening-with-local-authors-booksweet-tickets-190624913247?aff=ebdssbdestsearch. The Great Stork Derby, based on a bizarre chapter in Toronto’s history, asks whether an overbearing father deserves the chance to make amends with his alienated offspring. Widower Emm Benbow, who 50 years ago pressured his late wife to win a contest by having many babies, must now move in with one of his many children or go to a dreaded old age home. As he lives with each child in turn, Emm discovers that the true value of fatherhood is not measured in big prizes, but in small rewards. Read more about the book in NOVELS.
The Great Stork Derby will be delivered on October 19, 2021; launch event November 5, 2021
