Happy St. Patrick's Day from Overlook!

It's Irish Book Day! We’re a proud sponsor of Irish Book Day in New York again this year, a city-wide celebration of Irish books hosted by our friends at the Irish Arts Center. This year we are offering lucky readers a hard-boiled Irish-American crime caper from the bestselling pen of Eoin Colfer, pride of County Wexford and author of the Artemis Fowl books for young adults. Plugged is decidedly NOT for young adults, and we nominate Eoin as Irishman of the Year for the most creative and humorous use of profanity in a novel. If you loved Plugged, get ready for the continuing adventures of Daniel McEvoy in Screwed, coming in 2013. Pictured here is NYC Council Member Diana Reyner with a lucky reader!

And with St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, we must also raise a glass to our friend Peter Quinn - historian, essayist, novelist and raconteur – who Irish America magazine calls one of the most influential Irish-Americans in the country. Quinn, a Bronx native, is the co-founder and past president of the Irish American Writers and Artists, Inc., and last week served as Grand Marshall of the 2012 St. Pat’s for All Parade in Sunnyside/Woodside, Queens. Overlook is the proud publisher of all of Peter Quinn’s books: the award-winning Banished Children of Eve, the acclaimed collection of essays Looking for Jimmy, and his two brilliant novels featuring the Irish-American sleuth, Fintan Dunne.

One of the biggest books of last season was Deadline Artists, an anthology of America’s greatest newspaper columns. This marvelous collection includes contributions from many Irish-American writers and journalists: Jimmy Breslin, Pete Hamill, Maureen Dowd, Jim Murray, and many more.

In October 2012, Overlook will publish another extraordinary new book of Irish-American interest: Circles Around the Sun by Molly McCloskey. Born and raised in America, Molly has spent the last 20 years in Ireland, where she published two acclaimed short story collections, a novel, and most recently a memoir, that will mark her first American publication. Circles Around the Sun is a poignant investigation of mental illness and a work of extraordinary intensity, as Molly pieces together her family history and her older brother's battle with schizophrenia, her own life in Ireland begins to unravel.

"Every once in a while, a writer's voice hits such a clear note, the resulting book has the kind of sweetness that makes you hold it in your hands a moment before finding a place for it on your shelves. Circles Around the Sun is this kind of book: it's a keeper." - Anne Enright, Guardian

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!

Peter Quinn at NYU's Glucksman Ireland House RECAP!!

As devotees of the Winged Elephant know, Peter Quinn read from THE MAN WHO NEVER RETURNED last Thursday night at NYU's Glucksman Ireland House. We were lucky enough to have some bloggers report back from the scene.

Here's some of the post from From the Balcony, A Publisher's Blog...

In a fulsome introduction, the representative of Ireland House noted that Peter Quinn's last opus, Looking for Jimmy, about Irish America, was a huge hit with students of NYU. "The one copy is always in demand and we are endlessly copying chapters for students," she said. Opening his reading, Peter Quinn spluttered in disgust: "Just one copy. And you're breaking the law by photocopying it. My attorney is present and I saw him take notes at that." He was only kidding, I think. Here he is signing copies. Fintan Dunne, the detective Peter created, rides again in the new novel. Read it.

...and here's some from Hell's Kitchen, the blog of TheWildGeese.com.

Quinn, never at a loss for words, talked colorfully and candidly about his work, his writing process, and the judge’s disappearance, more than he actually read. Quinn suggested, perhaps seriously, that readings such as his were archaic. They certainly do provide a vehicle for engaging with an auteur and his work, and the evening provided that in spades.

‘The Man Who Never Returned” took shape, Quinn said, during a conversation he had a few years back with Paul Browne, deputy commissioner of public information for the NYPD and a fellow Manhattan College alum. Quinn added later that his writing was driven by character, not plot, and his characters emerge from conversations he has and those he readily imagines. This process emerges for him, in part, because, he said, “you are always writing about yourself,” even in historical novels, which, he suggested, draw on the author’s experience and personal history. He is famously in love with the historical research his books require, but said to be averse to the writing part. Novel writing is not only autobiographical, he wryly noted, “but psychotic.”

What fun! We're glad you both enjoyed the event.

Peter Quinn at NYU's Glucksman Ireland House TONIGHT!

A rainy fall Thursday in New York City--sounds like the perfect time to head over to NYU's beautiful Glucksman Ireland House to hear Peter Quinn read from and discuss his acclaimed new book, THE MAN WHO NEVER RETURNED.

This event is made possible by the New York Council for the humanities and is free for all with an NYU ID (all others are asked to make a $10 donation at the door).

Thanks for supporting Glucksman Ireland House along with Peter and we hope you enjoy hearing about The Man Who Never Returned as much as the rest of his standing-room-only audiences have this summer and fall!

Peter Quinn in the WSJ

The Wall Street Journal introduced its Greater New York section earlier this year, and we've enjoyed it greatly as a companion to our other classic New York papers--the Times, the Post, the Daily News. Our author Peter Quinn always seemed like a great fit for the section, and Steve Kurutz agreed, featuring Peter and his new book, The Man Who Never Returned, in his weekly Q&A with a New York personality.

Click here to go to the site and read the full article, but a few of our favorite questions and answers below!

The book does a wonderful job of evoking mid-1950s New York, with references to Wanamaker's department store and the Herald Tribune.

That's the city I grew up in. I'm old enough to have been on the Third Avenue El. That city is gone. Of course, that's part of the magic and pain of living in New York—it's always going away.

So are New Yorkers forced to be less sentimental?

New Yorkers are incredibly sentimental. They're never quite happy in the city that is. They want the city that was. When I was a kid, my parents talked about the city at the end of the war. Now people are saying it was such a great city in the '70s. It was so alive and creative. Yes, but the crime was also so bad that you couldn't ride the subways.

...

How did your years as a speechwriter for two governors and five Time Warner chairmen influence your fiction?

It helped me write for the ear. I went through two mergers at Time Warner. I got to observe human behavior in extremis. It's all in my books.

You retired as a speechwriter in 2007. Without a day job, have you become more productive as a novelist?

The day I retired I took my dog down to the train station to say goodbye to the people I rode the 6:18 train with. Since then I haven't got up at 5:30 once. I get done in 12 hours what I used to get done in two. It's hard to write all day, although James Patterson seems to be very productive. He sat behind me in English class at Manhattan College. I tell people, "Jim and I together have sold 150 million books, worldwide. James Patterson has sold 149,996,000. I sold the rest."

For more information on Peter Quinn, check out our archives here on the Winged Elephant or his website, which has gotten praise from reviewers and bloggers alike. And if you're looking for a smart, fun, and unpredictable thriller, check out The Man Who Never Returned and let us know what you think!

Internet Housekeeping: Events on OverlookPress.com

Did you know that Peter Quinn is reading tonight in Tribeca? Or that Frank Deford is speaking Thursday in White Plains? If not, that means you're not keeping up with the Calendar section of Overlook's website. And you're missing out!

While our website has a ton of information about Overlook, our books and our authors (have you checked out the reader's guides?), it also constantly updates our author events with detailed information about the type of event as well as the time and location.

If you're a fan of our wonderful authors, check it out! And make sure to come back periodically--we try to publicize our events on Facebook, Twitter and right here on the Winged Elephant, but don't miss out!

80 Years Ago Today ... Judge Crater Never Returned

Last night, New York City raised a glass to Peter Quinn, author of the new book The Man Who Never Returned, a historical thriller based on the real-life story of Judge Joseph F. Crater.

If you're interested in the Judge Crater story (and, of course, the book!) check out this New York Times piece, where Quinn traces Judge Crater's last known steps with NYT reporter Alan Feuer.

The city is, itself, a sort of vanishing act — all those Broadway haunts replaced by condominiums — and Judge Crater can, perhaps, be thought of as its human embodiment: influential one day, annihilated the next. His memory lives on, but no more than his memory. Where did he go? Change the “he” to “it” and the question holds true for the Hotel Astor, the old Pennsylvania Station, the Automat.

Throw in some timeless specifics — sex, politics, the suggestion of corruption — and the Crater case could, without much effort, be discerned in the headlines of yesterday’s newspaper. Even its milieu — the anxious post-crash days when the severity of the Great Depression had not yet settled in — has relevance today. “When that guy disappeared, a lot went with him,” Mr. Quinn said. “It was the end of the whole 1920s era in New York.”

Today--on the anniversary of the judge's disappearance--the New York Daily News ran this op-ed by Quinn, reliving the story and the effect the Crater case had on the New York City culture.

The Crater case is one of eternal intrigue. It speaks to what New York will always be: seductive, exciting, filled with endless possibilities for getting rich and getting killed, a dynamic creator and consummate destroyer of celebrity.

Barnes and Noble is also featuring The Man Who Never Returned on their site. Click here for the full review.

Quinn's jaded cops quote Ecclesiastes and Poe, Dante and Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas's aesthetic of clarity is especially salubrious in Dunne's line of work—and true to the hardboiled genre, it arrives almost too late. But in the end it's not Aquinas but an older saint, Ambrose, who holds the key to the Crater mystery—and that's as close to a spoiler as this review will come. The presence of such ancient shades in The Man Who Never Returned seems fanciful, but they're a reminder that the diversions and demons Quinn's characters pursue are ancient ones, not limited to one era or generation. In the end, the mystery is unraveled—but history claims its prerogative, swallowing up the answers. Joseph Force Crater—his name like the open hole in which Fintan Dunne and his generation first saw death—remains missing to this day.

And you can check out the video from Quinn's previously-mentioned New York 1 interview. Unfortunately, we can't embed the video, but it really brings the story to life.

Enjoy a few pictures from Quinn's party last night. More to come!

Behind the Scenes with Overlook: With Peter Quinn and New York 1

Here's a sneak peek at Peter Quinn's interview on NY1, where he retraced the steps of Judge Joseph Crater on the last day he was seen alive. The New York State Supreme Court Justice disappeared on August 6, 1930, and was never seen again. It remains one of New York's most famous unsolved mysteries.

But it's not unsolved in Quinn's new book The Man Who Never Returned, on sale next Thursday from Overlook. Using his real-life knowledge of New York and extensive research, Quinn has crafted a story whose conclusion is both "logical and surprising" (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

A few photos of his walk down W. 45th Street in New York City with NY1 reporter Rebecca Spitz are below. Enjoy! And get excited for The Man Who Never Returned!

Missing Since August 6, 1930: The Man Who Never Returned

This is the original Missing Person poster for the Honorable Joseph F. Crater, gone missing on August 6, 1930. The story of Judge Crater is one of the most interesting unsolved cases in New York--the New York State Supreme Court Justice was last seen leaving a restaurant near Times Square, and simply disappeared.

80 years later, the case is still alive in the public consciousness (here's a quick primer for those who are unfamiliar with Judge Crater). Beloved Overlook author Peter Quinn has taken this story and woven together true crime and historical fiction in The Man Who Never Returned (coming August 5, 2010). Private investigator Fintan Dunne, the hero of The Hour of the Cat, is hired in 1955 to solve the crime.

Here's a picture of Peter Quinn holding one of the first copies of his new book fresh off the presses.

Early Praise for The Man Who Never Returned:

"Quinn delivers a satisfying solution to the real-life mystery of Joseph Crater... Quinn not only makes the existence of clues at such a late date plausible but also concocts an explanation that's both logical and surprising. The depth and complexity of the lead character is a big plus." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Freely mixing history, mystery, and novelistic license, Quinn offers a noirish tale... Quinn’s rich, insightful, evocative descriptions of New York, both in Crater’s time and in 1955, will certainly please fans of historical crime novels." --Booklist

"This hybrid of mystery and history builds a compelling case." --Kirkus

A Very Overlook Bloomsday

On June 16, fans of James Joyce's masterpiece Ulysses gather to celebrate--with costumes, food, drink, readings and music--the day on which the novel takes place. Named for Leopold Bloom, the main protagonist, Bloomsday celebrants in Dublin reenact events of the novel in the areas mentioned, and cities around the world put their own twist on the celebrations.

New York, with its strong Irish heritage and wonderful literary tradition, had a fantastic day of events. We were thrilled to be able to go see Overlook author Peter Quinn, whose new book The Man Who Never Returned comes out in August, at the celebration at Ulysses' Folk House in downtown Manhattan. With a lectern and microphone set up outside and picnic tables on the cobblestones, it was a place that lent itself to the dramatic reading style in which Joyce is best appreciated.

And what a celebration it was. Colum McCann, author of Let the Great World Spin, hosted readings from Ulysses that culminated with a dramatic take of Molly Bloom's soliloquy that brought the crowd gathered outside at picnic tables on the cobblestones to their feet.

It was an incredible experience to see so many people gathered, reading along with well-worn, well-loved copies of various editions of Ulysses, losing themselves in the music of the worlds, enjoying a glass of Burgundy or an ice-cold Guinness and the camaraderie of people who have not only read this rather daunting book, but loved it. They laughed--for to read Ulysses aloud is to realize the many wordplays of Joyce and the irreverent humor that he loved.

The readers left by six for the seven o'clock performance of Bloomsday on Broadway, broadcast on WNYC and featuring luminaries like Stephen Colbert, Ira Glass, Malachy McCourt and our own Peter Quinn.

We'd love to hear any of your Bloomsday stories and get recommendations for next year, although we can say with confidence that we'll definitely be back at Ulysses' for the party that begins with a lunch of gorgonzola and lasts late into the night.

Meet Peter Quinn, Author of THE MAN WHO NEVER RETURNED, at Book Expo America on May 26

Attention BEA Attendees! Peter Quinn, author of the forthcoming novel The Man Who Never Returned, will autograph advance reading copies on Wednesday, May 26, 1pm, at the BEA Autographing Area, Table 9.

Novelist, political historian, and foremost chronicler of New York City, Peter Quinn is the author of Banished Children of Eve, Hour of the Cat, and a collection of essays, Looking for Jimmy: In Search of Irish America.

Quinn co-wrote the script for the 1987 television documentary “McSorley’s New York,” which was awarded a New York-area Emmy for “Outstanding Historical Programming.” He has participated as a guest commentator in several PBS documentaries, including “The Irish in America;” “New York: A Documentary Film;” “The Life and Times of Stephen Foster,” as well as the Academy Award-nominated film, “The Passion of Sister Rose.” He was an advisor on Martin Scorcese’s film “Gangs of New York.” He helped conceive and script the six-part documentary “The Road to the White House,” which aired on TG4, in Ireland, in 2009.

Along with his book writing, Quinn was the editor of The Recorder: The Journal of the American Irish Historical Society from 1986 to 1993. He has published articles and reviews in The New York Times, Commonweal, America, American Heritage, The Catholic Historical Review, The Philadelphia Enquirer, The L.A. Times, Eiré-Ireland, and in numerous other newspapers and journals. At present, Quinn is on the advisory boards of the American Irish Historical Society, NYU’s Glucksman Ireland House, the Tenement Museum and the New York City Landmark Conservancy.

In 1979, Quinn was appointed to the staff of Governor Hugh Carey as chief speechwriter. He continued in that role under Governor Mario Cuomo, helping craft the Governor’s 1984 Democratic Convention speech and his address on religion and politics at Notre Dame University.

Peter Quinn joined Time Inc. as the chief speechwriter in 1985 and retired as corporate editorial director for Time Warner at the end of 2007. He received a B.A. from Manhattan College in 1969, an M.A. in history from Fordham University in 1974 and completed all the requirements for a doctorate except the dissertation. He was awarded a Ph.D., honoris causa, by Manhattan College in 2002.

Meet Overlook Authors Peter Quinn, Frank Deford, and P.F. Kluge at Book Expo America

Book Expo America is just around the corner, and we are thrilled to have a trio of novelists joining us for the festivities: Peter Quinn, Frank Deford, and P.F. Kluge. All will be be autographing galley copies of their new books at the Autographing Sessions area, as well as meeting booksellers at The Overlook Press booth (#3552).

Starred Review in PW for Peter Quinn's THE MAN WHO NEVER RETURNED

Peter Quinn's forthcoming novel The Man Who Never Returned gets a star from Publishers Weekly: "Quinn delivers a satisfying solution to the real-life mystery of Joseph Crater, a New York City judge who disappeared in 1930, in this stellar hard-boiled historical novel, a sequel to Hour of the Cat (2005). In 1955, a New York newspaper magnate offers PI Fintan Dunne carte blanche to investigate the case in the hope that Dunne will provide him with a sensational exclusive. Crater vanished just as an official inquiry into judicial corruption, ordered by then governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was getting underway. Perhaps Crater fled to avoid prosecution—or someone bumped him off because he knew too much. Restless in retirement, Dunne accepts the offer, despite his skepticism that such a cold trail can be meaningfully pursued. Quinn not only makes the existence of clues at such a late date plausible but also concocts an explanation that’s both logical and surprising. The depth and complexity of the lead character is a big plus."

Overlook Thriller Writers at The Mercantile Library Center for Fiction

Thanks to everyone who attended last night's "thrilling" evening with Overlook authors Peter Quinn, Laura Joh Rowland, and R.J. Ellory. And a very special thanks to Kristin, Jordan, Esther, and all the staff at The Center for Fiction for their gracious welcome.

The Mercantile Library Center for Fiction was founded in 1820 by merchants and their clerks before the advent of public libraries. By the mid-nineteenth century, it was thriving as one of the foremost cultural institutions in the United States, with an extraordinary collection of books in the humanities, and a popular lecture program that featured such renowned speakers as William Makepeace Thackeray, Frederick Douglass, and Mark Twain. The Library offered classes on many subjects and was considered a meeting place for social and educational pursuits. The Library currently focuses on collecting and lending fiction, both literary and popular, presenting literary programs for the general public, and renting low-cost space to writers and other literary organizations. It has developed one of the best collections of fiction in the United States and had benefited from six National Endowment for the Humanities grants for literary programming in the past ten years.

Laura Joh Rowland, Peter Quinn, and R.J. Ellory Read from New Works at The Center for Fiction Tonight in NYC

Don't miss this special evening of readings by top novelists Laura Joh Rowland, Peter Quinn, and R.J. Ellory at The Center for Fiction, 17 East 47th Street, in New York, at 6:30pm.

Laura Joh Rowland continues her fictional adventures of Charlotte Bronte this Spring with Bedlam. Peter Quinn, author of the acclaimed Banished Children of Eve, will read from a new novel tentatively titled The Man Who Never Returned. R.J. Ellory will offer a glimpse of The Anniversary Man, which will be published in summer 2010.

Meet the authors, editors, and friends of The Overlook Press at a reception to follow!

Join Overlook Press Authors R.J. Ellory, Peter Quinn, and Laura Joh Rowland in NYC on October 20

Tuesday, October 20, 7pm, at The Center for Fiction, 17 East 47th Street, New York. For more information, 212-755-6710 / www.centerforfiction.org.

Peter Quinn's classic novel of Civil War New York, BANISHED CHILDREN OF EVE, Read at the Irish Repertory Theater in NYC

Tomorrow, June 5, the Irish Repertory Theater in New York will stage a reading of playwright Kelly Younger's adaptation of Peter Quinn's Banished Children of Eve, available in paperback from Overlook.

Directed by Ciaran O'Reilly, the reading of Banished Children of Eve will be presented as the culmination of a two-day developmental workshop. The play will be read by Fred Applegate (Happiness, Young Frankenstein), David Wilson Barnes (Becky Shaw, The Lieutenant of Inishmore), Muiris Crowley (The Yeats Project), Mark Hartman* (Avenue Q, Finian's Rainbow), Michelle Hurst ("SherryBaby," The Story), Nicola Murphy (The Yeats Project), Aaron Shaw ("In Treatment") and Tracie Thoms* (10 Things To Do Before I Die, Rent).

Set in New York City during the Civil War years, Banished Children of Eve echoes with Stephen Foster songs and the disparate voices of immigrants, minstrel actors, hucksters, and domestic servants whose lives all intersect. As tensions surrounding emigration, war, and racial strife reach a flashpoint and rush toward the fatal Draft Riots, the characters are drawn together in a net of violence and fear, longing and hope.

The reading is open to public. Friday, June 5, 3pm, Irish Repertory Theater, 132 West 22nd Street, New York.

Peter Quinn and Mick Moloney Pay Tribute to Danny Cassidy on March 3 in NYC

Overlook author Peter Quinn, author of Looking for Jimmy: A Search for Irish America, and legendary musician Mick Moloney salute the late pioneering wordsmith, Danny Cassidy (pictured above), with a night of music and memories on Tuesday, March 3, at 6:30pm at Lolita in New York City. Special guests include T.J. English, Malachy McCourt and Michael Patrick McDonald. This event is sponsored by the Lower East Side Tenement Museum.

This very special evening pays tribute to the life of Danny Cassidy, musician, labor activist, writer, and author of the groundbreaking How the Irish Invented Slang: The Secret Language of the Crossroads.

Peter Quinn's Letter to President Barack Obama in America Magazine

Peter Quinn, author of Looking for Jimmy, Banished Children of Eve, and Hour of the Cat, offers an open letter to President Barack Obama in the current issue of America magazine:

"I have not had higher hopes or greater expectations for any president since John F. Kennedy. You are every bit as intelligent, articulate and capable as he was. You seem wonderfully agreeable and genuinely decent. Your call for a new era of bipartisanship is admirable. You have set out an ambitious agenda that includes rescuing the economy, undoing the free-market idolatry that resulted in ruinous deregulation, reversing arrogant and self-defeating unilateralism in the conduct of foreign affairs, repairing the decades-long neglect of our infrastructure, instituting sane, long-range environmental protections and achieving universal health care. But do not be deceived. Great presidents must take on powerful enemies as well as tackle great crises. Lincoln had the Copperheads. Franklin D. Roosevelt had the "economic royalists.'' You will have yours, too. Sooner or later, as day follows night, the diehards will set out to frustrate any process of significant change. Be resolute. Be tough. Stick to your beliefs. Markets were made for man, not the other way around. Free enterprise is a guide, not a god. The world is now and forever interdependent. No country or society can go it alone. The environment is our home; it is not for sale. The poor will be with us always; and as always, the poorest and most vulnerable will need our help. With malice toward none, Mr. President, but with firmness to do what is right, remember you cannot make everyone a friend. Partisanship is not pleasant. But there are times when it is necessary. Sometimes a measure of a president's success is the vehemence of the enemies he makes.

-PETER QUINN, a novelist and essayist, was the speech-writer for two New York governors.

More Praise for Peter Quinn's BANISHED CHILDREN OF EVE

Peter Quinn's novel Banished Children of Eve is praised in this week's Irish Voice: "As the year 1863 builds toward the draft riots in New York City, the characters in author Peter Quinn's celebrated historical novel (now in a recently released paperback reprinting) are drawn together in a maelstrom of conflict and violence. Mayhem erupts when the Union Conscription Act provides that all able-bodied males between the ages of 20 and 45 are liable for militaiy service, unless they pay the government $300 to be excused. Not surprisingly, this blatantly discriminatory, get out of the service if you can afford it legislation provoked nationwide disturbances that were most serious in New York City, where the mainly Irish mobs rioted for four days. Quinn's book ranks as one of the best historical novels of recent years, an unrivalled feat of scholarship and literary prowess." - Cahir O'Doherty

Peter Quinn Talks About BANISHED CHILDREN OF EVE at Tenement Museum in New York on October 16

Peter Quinn, author of Looking for Jimmy and Hour of the Cat, discusses his novel Banished Children of Eve at New York's Lower East Tenement Museum tonight at 6:30pm. Newly released in paperback, this critically acclaimed novel explores life amongst the Irish during the Civil War, a time when this was “the most Irish of cities in America.” The Philadelphia Inquirer called Banished Children of Eve "vividly imagined, scrupulously researched, and almost disorienting in its authenticity . . . a historical classic that is nothing short of splendid."