Pages & Pints returns to Apollo Pizza
Dec. 6—Sierra Marling
After three years, Apollo Pizza is bringing back its beloved Pages & Pints event series.
On Dec. 8 at 7 p.m., guests will be able to listen to some of their favorite written works being read aloud by authors Silas House and Erin Keane — and even get them signed— all while enjoying delicious food and drinks.
The event is free and open to the public.
Past featured guests include notable authors, such as Robert Gipe, and Charles Dodd White.
Apollo Pizza co-owner and author Wesley Browne hosts Pages & Pints. His novel "Hillbilly Hustle", loosely based on the early days of Apollo Pizza, was named one of Merriam Webster's 17 recommended pandemic reads.
According to Browne, Pages & Pints is an extension of an old author and writer series at the Richmond Area Arts Council.
"There was no public reading series in town at the time," he said of reviving the program.
After Apollo opened, patrons of the series would go to the restaurant to hang out and eat.
"We looked around, and were like, 'Well, why don't we just do the whole thing at Apollo, because everybody wants beer and pizza and wine, anyway.' We named it Pages and Pints when we got to Apollo," Browne recalled.
House is a New York Times bestselling author and his work has appeared in numerous publications like Time and The Atlantic. He will be reading from his newly released novel, "Lark Ascending". The novel is a finalist for the Southern Book Prize for fiction and was on the October Indie Next List.
Country Boy Brewing is co-sponsoring the reading. Their Lark Ascending Black Currant Blonde Ale, which was brewed for the launch of House's novel, will be available to patrons on tap. Each person who orders it will receive a Country Boy pint glass to keep.
Keane is editor-in-chief of Salon.com and has also published three collections of poetry. Her novel, "Runaway: Notes on the Myths that Made Me", is a memoir in essays about her parents/pop culture/gender. NPR named it one of the best books of 2022 saying, "Memoirs this smart and absorbing don't come around all the time." It was named a most anticipated book by the LA Times, Garden and Gun, and The Millions, and received a coveted starred review from Booklist.
All of the books mentioned in this article will be available for purchase at the event, courtesy of Hazard, Kentucky's Read Spotted Newt Bookstore.
