Book Launch for Former Hardwick Gazette Owner

Granite Kingdom a novel by former Hardwick Gazette owner and editor, Eric Pope will be released by Rootstock Publishing on November 29. A book launch is scheduled on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 3 pm at the Memorial Building sponsored by Jeudevine Library, the Galaxy Bookshop and the Hardwick Historical Society.

With an engaging cast of characters, the novel is a complex, yet balanced look at the granite industry and newspaper business in rural Vermont in the early 1900's.

The historical novel is set in 1910 in a northern Vermont village (easily recognized as Hardwick) and the nation's largest supplier of building granite. The main character, newspaper reporter Dan Strickland, investigates fatal industry accidents at one of the big granite producers and winds up caught in between the grudges of the two largest business owners and struggling in his own life to climb the social hierarchy.

Scott McLaughlin, executive Director of the VT Granite Museum in Barre called the book "a compelling story about a small Vermont town grappling with the changes that swept many American communities in the early 20th century….a welcome addition to Vermont's granite story." About the book, Pope said, "When my wife and I owned and edited the Hardwick Gazette from 1977 to 1986, I often consulted back issues of the newspaper to write stories about the town's granite boom in the early 1900's. I wanted to write a book that brought that era to life and made the town's rich heritage more accessible to modern readers." Pope has spent most of his life writing for small and midsize publications. After retiring from a public relations job at Lawrence Technological University outside of Detroit, he is trying his hand at writing historical fiction. Granite Kingdom is his first novel. He lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan with his wife Karen.

For information about the book go to www.rootstockpublishing.com. For more information about the book launch call the Jeudevine Library at 472-5948. The Galaxy Bookshop will have copies of the book for attendees to purchase! This would be a great gift for the holidays!

Event Info

Sep 25, 9 AM to 6 PM, Sep 26, 2024

Sep 28, 2024, 9 AM to 1:05 PM

Sep 28, 2024, 5 to 7 PM