This event is now available to watch on our
YouTube page, along with the rest of our 2020 festival programming.
As California seeks to recover from yet another horrific summer of fires, Litquake offers two compelling nonfiction accounts on the subject, from Bay Area authors.
Fire in Paradise: An American Tragedy, by
Guardian journalists Alastair Gee and Dani Anguiano, details the disaster which occurred on November 8, 2018, when the Paradise, California community of 27,000 people was swallowed by the ferocious Camp Fire, razing virtually every home and killing at least 85 people. The catastrophe seared the American imagination, and landed in history as the state’s most destructive fire.
On Thursday, February 20, 2003, a pyrotechnics display during a concert by the heavy metal band Great White ignited flammable acoustic foam of Rhode Island’s Station nightclub. The entire building quickly went up in flames, killing 100 and injuring another 230.
New York Times journalist Scott James’ upcoming account,
Trial by Fire: A Devastating Tragedy, 100 Lives Lost, and a 15-Year Search for Truth, investigates the fire’s origin, interviews the key figures, and explores the local authorities’ rush to judgment about what really happened.
Join Gee, Anguiano, and James as they discuss their books with moderator Frances Dinkelspiel,
Berkeleyside co-founder, and author of
Tangled Vines: Greed, Murder, Obsession, and an Arsonist in the Vineyards of California.
FREE, $5-10 suggested donationRegistration is required for Zoom access. Spots are limited.
Event will also be livecasted on Facebook Live.
Buy the authors' books:Alastair Gee & Dani Anguiano -- https://bookshop.org/a/11096/9781324005148Scott James -- https://bookshop.org/a/11096/9781250131263Frances Dinkelspiel -- https://bookshop.org/a/11096/9781250113894Browse Litquake's bookstore here -- https://bookshop.org/shop/litquake
