ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Left Bank Books presents St. Louis native Scott Alexander Hess, who will sign and discuss his new novel, River Runs Red (Lethe Press, August 2019) in conversation with the St. Louis LGBTQ History Project's Steven Louis Brawley on Thursday, August 1, 7 p.m. at Left Bank Books (399 N. Euclid Ave.). This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of River Runs Red from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line.
Calhoun McBride and Clement Cartwright are men from different worlds. Young Calhoun works backbreaking midnight shifts at the Snopes Brewery...and earns a little extra selling his body to eager men. Clement left St. Louis to pursue his architectural ambitions and returns to great fanfare as the man planning the city's first skyscraper. But one steamy night, by the Mississippi River, both men find themselves drawn to one another. But what chance has brought together, the machinations of a bitter and cruel man, Belasco Snopes, who thinks St. Louis belongs to him...down to its people, victims for all his appetites. Lamda Literary Award finalist Scott Alexander Hess's new historical novel offers readers a sultry story with menace.
Amy Dupcak, author of Dust, says of River Runs Red, "Through lush, lyrical prose and intricate storytelling, Hess examines the emotional intensity at the heart of the human condition. Writing authentic dialects that reflect a richly textured time and place, Hess crafts the unique voices of four distinct characters, whose ambitions, terrors, and illicit desires clash dramatically on the banks of the Mississippi that contains all their secrets."
Scott Alexander Hess earned his MFA in creative writing from The New School. He blogs for The Huffington Post and his writing has appeared in Genre Magazine, The Fix, and elsewhere. Hess co-wrote Tom in America, an award-winning short film starring Sally Kirkland and Burt Young. His novel The Butcher's Sons was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2015 and his novel Skyscraper was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Hess now lives in Manhattan, New York, with his partner.
For the past three decades, Steven Louis Brawley has been an active member of St. Louis's LGBTQIA+ community. In 2007, he founded the St. Louis LGBT History Project, partnering with local archives, colleges/universities, community elders, historians, and researchers to preserve and promote St. Louis's vibrant LGBTQIA+ past. The Project conducts historical tours, displays rare artifacts at regional events, and provides speakers for educational forums. In 2016, he authored the first book to chronicle St. Louis's LGBTQIA+ history. Gay and Lesbian St. Louis (Arcadia Publishing) highlights the pioneers, places, and moments that have created a lasting legacy for future generations to build upon.
Scott Alexander Hess will discuss River Runs Red in conversation with Steven Louis Brawley, answer questions, and sign books at this Left Bank Books event. This event is free and open to the public, but proof of purchase of River Runs Red from Left Bank Books will be required to enter the signing line. Books for signing are available from Left Bank Books in advance or at the event. For more information, call 314.367.6731 or visit left-bank.com.