A Rite of Spring: Lunch and books, for the Morristown Junior League, May 6

Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, best selling author of Bittersweet.
Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, best selling author of Bittersweet.
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Fiddler's Elbow Country Club in Bedminster.
Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster.

By Peggy Carroll

An afternoon in May. A drive to a picturesque setting in Somerset County. Lunch in a charming country club. And an opportunity to talk about a fascinating topic: Books.

It’s a recipe for a bracing spring tonic that the Junior League of Morristown has been offering for a decade and a half.

David Ebershoff, author of 'The Danish Girl.'
David Ebershoff, author of ‘The Danish Girl.’

It’s called Lunch with the Authors – a time to meet and mingle with nationally recognized writers of fiction and catch up on their latest work.

This year, it will be held on Friday, May 6, 2016, at the elegant Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster.

And this year, for the 15th annual gathering, there is a bonus: Four authors, instead of three.

On hand to talk about their books will be David Ebershoff, whose debut novel, The Danish Girl, was adapted for the critically acclaimed film; Miranda Beverly-Whittemore , a prize-winning writer whose latest work comes out in May; Elisabeth Egan, a book editor for Glamour who has written her own first novel; and Kathleen Grissom, who has published a sequel to her best-selling Kitchen House.

Moving Up to Lunch

Lynn Eberenz, who chairs the event, said the authors day began as a breakfast in 1998. It proved so popular that members decided to take it up a notch and make it accessible to more people. They expanded the program and moved it to larger venues.

The move proved very successful.

Author Elisabeth Egan
Author Elisabeth Egan

Over the years, the lunch has become the League’s signature fund-raiser, producing $200,000 for its volunteer scholarship program, as well as hands-on community projects designed to improve the lives of women and children at risk in the Morris County area.

Over the years, too, the program has built up relationships with people in book publishing who help in the search for the authors.

What the League looks for, said Betsy Hollo, who helped set up the program at its onset, are popular writers who have a new book – either recently published or about to be.

Kathleen Grissom has published a sequel to her best-selling 'Kitchen House.'
Kathleen Grissom has published a sequel to her best-selling ‘Kitchen House.’

As a nonprofit, she said, it’s essential to keep costs down. All the authors donate their time.

The day begins at 10:30 a.m. with book sales ( the League partners with a book shop, Book Worm, in Bernardsville) and book signings and casual chat with the authors. After lunch, each of the writers speaks for 15 minutes.

It concludes with a question-and-answer period, allowing an opportunity to interact some more, Eberenz said.

There’s also a basket raffle and a silent auction to add to the funds. But it is the opportunity to talk to favorite writers and meet new ones that attracts patrons. The lunch draws people from throughout the area, the majority non-League members.

About the Authors

Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, best selling author of Bittersweet.
Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, best selling author of Bittersweet.

Miranda Beverly-Whittemore is the best-selling author of Bittersweet, as well as the The Effects of Light and Set Me Free, which won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for the best book of fiction by an American woman published in 2007. Her forthcoming novel, June, is due out May 31. A novel of suspense and passion, it tells the story of a mistake made 60 years ago that threatens to change a family forever. The title refers not to the month, but to the heroine’s grandmother. The book shifts between the past and the present.

David Ebershoff’s debut novel, The Danish Girl, was made into a major motion picture starring Academy Award-winner Eddie Redmayne. It’s the remarkable love story inspired by the lives and marriage of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener and their groundbreaking journey as trans-gender pioneers. Redmayne’s co-star, Alicia Vikander, picked up an Oscar this year. Mr. Ebershoff’s novel, The 19th Wife, tells the story of a wife of Brigham Young and polygamy in the Mormon Church. A New York Times bestseller, it was made into a television movie.

Elisabeth Egan is the books editor at Glamour. Her essays and book reviews have appeared in a long list of publications, from Self and Glamour, to the New York Times Book Review, the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and The Newark Star-Ledger. In A Window Opens, her debut novel, Ms. Egan tells of Alice Pearse, a longing-to-have-it-all, wife, mother and  part-time editor. When her husband makes a radical career change, Alice goes to work at Scroll, a digital book seller (reviewers compare it to Amazon). Her “balanced life” falls apart when her dad gets sick, her marriage flounders, her babysitter gets fed up and her kids start to grow up.

Kathleen Grissom is the author of the New York Times bestseller and book club favorite The Kitchen House, published in 2010. In her new novel, Glory Over Everything, she continues the story of Jamie Pyke, son of both a slave and master of Tall Oakes. After years of striving, Jamie has achieved acclaim and security…and love with an aristocratic woman. In this sequel, he loses everything and takes a treacherous journey through the Underground Railroad to save a servant and face the past.

Contributing to the Future

Since 1986, the League has awarded 126 scholarships totaling over $190,500. This year, it will award four high school volunteerism scholarships to Morris- and Somerset County-area students. The criteria for the awards include dedication for volunteerism, leadership, extra-curricular activities, scholastic effort and work or family responsibilities.

The League also will award two “Women Moving Forward” scholarships to women over 40 who are continuing their education and for whom, Hollo noted, there is little or no financial assistance.

Tickets start at $80. There are different fees for patron tickets and for seats at an author’s table. For more information, directions and tickets, visit the Junior League website.

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