A Celebration of Silas House is a Sunday with Friends special free program that will take place at the ballroom of the Martha Washington Inn & Spa.

Silas House is among the most highly acclaimed Appalachian writers, who has written nine novels, poetry, plays, and a variety of non-fiction. The event will be part of his national book tour on the publication of his newest novel, The Tulip Poplars, to be released in mid-October.

He says about The Tulip Poplars that he “wanted to write about Appalachia in a new way, populated not only by farmers and miners but also by teachers and rectors, black folks, queer folks, Hispanic folks, etc. I wanted to show it in its full complexity.”

His first full-length book of poetry, All These Ghosts: Poems, expresses in poetic form his touchstone subjects: the loss of rural America as he once knew it, wild places, stories from a lingering past, and the abiding connection to family, friends, and fellow artists.

Dead Man Blues (published under S.D. House) is set in the rural community of Shady Grove on the Kentucky-Tennessee border. The main character, Dave Hendricks, once a pillar of the community, has lost his wife and his job and has retreated to a houseboat on the lake. After two bodies are found on the lake, Hendricks is forced out of seclusion to help law enforcement with the investigation.

There will be book sales and signings after the event.

The Sunday with Friends author series is sponsored by the Friends of the Washington County Public Library.