RAGDALE’S 11th ANNUAL NOVEL AFFAIR CELEBRATING WRITERS AND ARTISTS

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RAGDALE’S 11th ANNUAL NOVEL AFFAIR CELEBRATING WRITERS AND ARTISTS KICKS OFF WITH SCHOOL PROGRAMS ON APRIL 28 AND A RECEPTION AT FAIRLAWN ON APRIL 29 Ragdale’s 11th Annual Novel Affair brings together acclaimed authors and artists for an evening of creativity and conversation in support of Ragdale, the historic artists’ retreat in Lake Forest. New this year, featured authors will offer presentations in schools from Chicago to Waukegan on Friday, April 28, as part of the Ragdale in Schools program. Local teachers will also be invited to attend Novel Affair’s Saturday afternoon reception. The Saturday, April 29, cocktail reception and book signing will be held from 4 to6 pm at the exquisite East Lake Forest estate “Fairlawn,” a 1923 Georgian mansion, with soaring ceilings, a majestic ballroom, and refined formal gardens. All eleven celebrated writers and artists will be in attendance. The reception will be followed by intimate dinners in distinctive North Shore homes beginning at 6:30pm. Each dinner will feature one or more authors or artists who will do short presentations and engage with guests throughout the evening. The 2017 lineup includes these acclaimed authors, scholars, and dancers: Christina Baker Kline, fiction, Orphan Train, A Piece of the World Eula Biss, nonfiction, On Immunity: An Inoculation Bonnie Brooks, dance scholar/writer, along with dance artists Kristina Isabelle and Paige Cunningham Caldarella presenting the work of dance masters Sybil Shearer and Merce Cunningham Cristina Henri´quez, fiction, The Book of Unknown Americans Eric Charles May, fiction, Bedrock Faith Téa Obreht, fiction, The Tiger’s Wife Curtis Sittenfeld, fiction, Eligible, American Wife, Prep Vu Tran, fiction, Dragonfish Jess Walter, fiction, Beautiful Ruins, The Financial Lives of Poets For tickets and dinner details, go to www.ragdale.org or call 847.234.1063. Tickets are $450/person for the Novel Affair dinner and reception; $150/person for the reception only. Discounted reception-only tickets are available for teachers and book club groups of 8 or more at $125 each. All proceeds support Ragdale, the nonprofit artists’ residency and its Ragdale in Schools program which brings arts and artists to area schools in underserved communities. Novel Affair 2017 is coordinated by Ragdale’s Program and Events Committee and Curatorial Board. # # # Ragdale is a nonprofit artists’ residency program, located in Arts and Crafts architect Howard Van Doren Shaw’s Lake Forest country estate. In 1976 Shaw’s granddaughter, Alice Judson Hayes transformed the family’s summer home into an artists-in-residence program. Today Ragdale hosts over 150 writers, artists, and composers each year, making it one of the largest interdisciplinary artist communities in the country. For more information, go to www.ragdale.org