Author Jackson Ellis and Poet Julia C. Alter will be reading from their latest works! 6:30pm at the Starksboro Library. We hope to see you there!

Jackson Ellis is a writer and editor from Vermont. His debut, Lords of St. Thomas, received the 2017 Howard Frank Mosher First Novel Prize. Black Days is his second novel, also published by Green Writers Press. Black Days is a literary/suspense novel in the vein of Shirley Jackson or Castle Freeman, Jr.

Learn more about Black Days from Green Writers Press:

Inspired in part by the "Frozen Hill People" legend, a Vermont hoax from the late 19th century. Black Days tells the story of Daniel Fassett, a Vermont man who crashes his vehicle into the Mad River on Christmas Eve, 1992. After nearly drowning, Daniel falls into a four-month-long coma shortly before his retirement date and loses a significant portion of his pension. Depressed and financially strapped, he enlists the aid of a local semi-retired physician, Dr. William Butcher, to help him hibernate through the winter in a homemade casket housed in a backyard maple sugarhouse. Despite Daniel's attempts to maintain secrecy, word of the procedure eventually gets out—and that is when trouble begins.

From across the country, folks eager to escape their woes reach out to Daniel and Dr. Butcher in hopes of becoming the next to pass a season in oblivion. Large sums of money are offered for the privilege—but death, deception, and moral and ethical dilemmas that have no clear solutions wreak havoc on Daniel's life.

Julia C. Alter is the author of Some Dark Familiar, selected by Matthew Olzmann as the winner of the 2023 Sundog Poetry Book Award, and published by Green Writers Press. Her poetry has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize, and appears widely in journals and anthologies. Her winning collection, Some Dark Familiar, was also published this year by Green Writers Press. Her poetry is highly deserving of the accolades, and her readings are engaging. She lives in Williston with her son.

Event Info

Feb 6, 2025, 6:30 to 7:30 PM

Feb 11, 2025, 11 AM to 12 PM

Feb 11, 2025, 5:30 to 6:30 PM