LUNCH WITH BOOKS: Hungry Town (Novel) with Jason Kapcala

July 19, 2022
12:00pm - 1:00pm

One October night in the depressed steel town of Lodi, Ohio, two police officers respond to a call about trespassers in the derelict Lodi Steel mill. A chase through the crumbling cathedral of steel columns launches a chain of events that will test the officers’ partnership and leave a boy to fend for himself in a hardscrabble Rust Belt neighborhood choked by joblessness, boredom, and addiction.

On the opposite side of town, a young woman steps out of a rust-bucket Grand Marquis into an all-night diner. Instead of luggage, she carries mementos: a tattoo she inked herself and a wallet-sized photograph of a boy who disappeared. She doesn’t realize her ex-boyfriend has hired two brothers to track her down and bring her back, by any means necessary. The complex female leads of Hungry Town, with its sharp dialogue and poetic sensibility, turn classic noir and cop drama tropes on their heads. These morally complicated characters weave in and out of each other’s lives, sometimes violently, sometimes with surprising compassion.

In addition to being in-person in the Library auditorium, this program will be available to watch live on Facebook Live, on YouTube, and on the OCPL website's LWB Livestream page.  Log into your Facebook or YouTube account during the program to leave questions for our presenters in the comments box. They will answer them during the live broadcast. 

PRESENTER BIO: Jason Kapcala grew up in northeastern Pennsylvania, and as a child would often pass the ruins of the defunct Bethlehem Steel Works. The cold blast furnaces lit orange by the security lights and the boundless scar of the Number 2 Machine Shop forged a lasting impression, and ever since, he has worked to recreate those feelings of post-industrial struggle. When he’s not writing and researching, he enjoys reading, cooking, rock and roll, traveling to various hot dog stands to find the perfect “West Virginia slaw dog," and muscling his Dodge Challenger along the twisting back roads of the Mountain State. He is the author of the novel Hungry Town (West Virginia University Press) and the short story collection North to Lakeville (Urban Farmhouse Press). He is also currently. working on his next project, a novel about a small-time rock band from a ghost town in central Pennsylvania.

FEATURED BOOK:  "HUNGRY TOWN"

Lunch With Books Livestream starts at noon on Facebook and YouTube.

Subscribe to the Lunch With Books Youtube channel or like us on the Lunch With Books Facebook page or to receive notifications of our upcoming LWB broadcasts. To receive emails about our upcoming programs, visit our News page, click the "Subscribe" button to sign-up for our news blasts or download our free OCPL Connect app from your smartphone's app store. 

"Lunch With Books" is the library’s flagship program for adult patrons. These lunchtime programs feature authors, poets, musicians, historians, and more every Tuesday at noon. Bring lunch (to the Library Auditorium or your computer), feed your brain!