849 S Auto Mall Rd.
Writers Guild at Bloomington member
T. Newyear
Rewilding Utopia: An interactive talk + book event
at
Morgenstern’s
Nov 10 6:30 PM
Future Heartland: Indiana Author Releases Starfall, a New Novel Series Exploring the History and Future of a Midwestern Utopia
The first novel in a four-book, history-meets-cli-fi series drops November 7, 2023 with its launch event at Morgenstern’s Books in Bloomington, IN on November 10, 2023.
Starfall weaves together the pleasures and romance of historical fiction, unfolding in the same era as Bridgerton but among a very different milieu, while reveling in double-edged future tech dreams that pay tribute to the sci-fi of Ursula LeGuin and Vernor Vinge. These often disparate genres use different conventions to achieve the same goal: questioning where we are now, how we relate to each other, and what our lives mean.
Like many before her, author T. Newyear stumbled into New Harmony, Indiana more than a decade ago and couldn’t believe her eyes. The small, secluded Indiana town had a sizable collection of 17th-century Italian paintings hanging in its town library. It had a labyrinth of trimmed bushes at the edge of town. It had quite a pedigree, including getting namechecked by Lord Byron and Mary Shelley.
Her explorations over a decade resulted in Starfall (starfallbook.info), a sweeping tale set in both the 1820s heyday of New Harmony’s utopian experiment and in the not-too-distant future post-climate change. In both narrative threads, a woman lands in the town and attempts to unravel a mystery: there are strange pools that form in the woods when the stars fall.
About T. Newyear
For T. Newyear, the past and the future are two pages in the same book. Combining extensive research and emotional clarity, she writes historical fantasies and scientific romances (as H.G. Wells put it) that explore our complex human and technological relationships, our connections to what’s greater than us, and our understanding of the past. By playing with historical movements and events, tech and its impact, and good ol’ human foibles, she crafts long-form stories that envelope readers in another world or era–and helps them feel through our current dilemmas.
A native of the Midwestern US, Newyear grew up in small towns and fading cities, inspired by nature and culture, tradition and radicalism in equal measure. She lived extensively in Russia, traveled alone across Siberia and Mongolia, and learned how the other side of the world related to her home turf. With a doctorate in history and area studies, she has a profound interest in exploring the details and lived experiences of the past, and imagining how those lost moments speak to our collective future.
For more info and to sign up for her newsletter, go to newyearmedia.com
Other Starfall Events:
November 11: Fallen Leaf Books | Nashville, IN | 1-4 PM
November 16: Bartholomew Co. Library | Columbus, IN | 6:30 PM
January 20, 2024: Monroe Co Historical Society | Bloomington, IN | 1:30 PM
Click HERE for full press release