Author Event with J.R. Dawson/The First Bright Thing

Join Anderson’s Bookshop for an in-person event and signing line with author J.R Dawson, to celebrate the release of The First Bright Thing, on Wednesday, June 14th, at 7pm CT in our Naperville store. Dawson will be in conversation with the award-winning novel Remembrance, Rita Woods. After their talk, Dawson will answer audience questions, have a signing line and take photos with attendees, if they wish!

This event will be held in our Naperville store location (123 West Jefferson Ave), and pre-registration is required as space is limited.

More About The First Bright Thing

If you knew how dark tomorrow would be, what would you do with today?

"This is the magic circus book that I have been looking for all my life."―Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart A Doorway

Ringmaster — Rin, to those who know her best — can jump to different moments in time as easily as her wife, Odette, soars from bar to bar on the trapeze. And the circus they lead is a rare home and safe haven for magical misfits and outcasts, known as Sparks.

With the world still reeling from World War I, Rin and her troupe — the Circus of the Fantasticals — travel the midwest, offering a single night of enchantment and respite to all who step into their Big Top.

But threats come at Rin from all sides. The future holds an impending war that the Sparks can see barrelling toward their show and everyone in it. And Rin's past creeps closer every day, a malevolent shadow she can’t fully escape.

It takes the form of another circus, with tents as black as midnight and a ringmaster who rules over his troupe with a dangerous power. Rin's circus has something he wants, and he won't stop until it's his.

About the Author

J.R. Dawson (she/they) has published shorter works in places such as F&SF, Lightspeed, and The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy. She lives in Omaha with her spouse and three dogs in the middle of a city park. Having earned a BFA from The Theatre School at DePaul and an MFA in Creative Writing from Stonecoast, Dawson works at Nebraska Writers Collective and other Midwestern nonprofits that teach kids the power of performance and storytelling. The First Bright Thing is her first novel.

Rita Woods (conversation partner) was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. She received a BS in Microbiology from Purdue University before graduating from Howard University College of Medicine. She completed her training at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and served as Medical Director of a Wellness Center that provides care for members of one of the largest Trade Unions in the nation. Rita lives in suburban Chicago with her family, where she also serves as a Trustee on her local library board. She loves magic, books, history, coffee and traveling, not necessarily in that order.  She is the author of the award-winning Remembrance and the recently released The Last Dreamwalker.

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An important note about your tickets:

To expedite the check-in process, please have your ticket(s) with the QR code(s) pulled up on your phone or printed out when you come to the event. Please check your confirmation, open the PDF with the ticket/QR code and reprint if needed from the EventCombo website or app.

Please read these Event Policies carefully:

Anderson’s Bookshop reserves the right to change the format of this event to a virtual one at any time if it becomes necessary. Please be advised that Anderson’s Bookshop assumes no responsibility or liability for any personal injury or other loss you may incur as a result of your decision to attend an event, including the transmission of Covid-19 or related illnesses. We expect that for the protection of everyone, all applicable Covid-related protocols will be followed.  Failure to treat all participants with courtesy and respect may result in your expulsion from the event.