Authors talk craft at Jean Cocteau
Sep. 13—On Wednesday, September 18, and again on September 29, Beastly Books hosts Authors on Authors at Jean Cocteau Cinema, providing an opportunity for book lovers to hear experienced writers talk about their craft.
JOSH GAD x GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
The first of these two Authors on Authors evenings will bring together George R.R. Martin — the author of the Game of Thrones series and owner of Beastly Books — and Josh Gad, author of the new children's book PictureFace Lizzy (2024) and the upcoming memoir In Gad We Trust: A Tell Some (January 2025).
If Gad's name — or face or voice — seems familiar outside the realm of children's literature, that's because you may have seen him as Elder Arnold Cunningham in the original 2011 Broadway hit The Book of Mormon or as Hector MacQueen in Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express (2017) alongside Dame Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, and Branagh as Hercule Poirot.
You may also have seen Gad in The Wedding Ringer (2015) opposite Kevin Hart or heard his voice as Olaf the snowman in the Frozen franchise. If you travel to New York City this fall, you could even see Gad back on Broadway in Gutenberg with his co-star from The Book of Mormon, Andrew Rannells.
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Authors on Authors
* 6 p.m. Wednesday, September 18: Josh Gad x George R.R. Martin
* 6 p.m. September 29: Ramona Emerson x Jamie Figueroa
* Jean Cocteau Cinema
* 418 Montezuma Avenue
* $45-$110 (cost includes a copy of Gad's PictureFace Lizzy or Emerson's Exposure, to be signed by the authors after their events)
All of this to say, Gad is a busy actor and comedian who somehow finds time to write books. Besides PictureFace Lizzy and In Gad We Trust, the Florida-born actor has also co-authored four graphic novels in a series called The Writer, with the third issue to be released this month and the fourth coming out in October.
Martin needs no introduction as the preeminent creator of the popular fantasy drama series, and he, Twig Delujé, the manager of Beastly Books, and Al LaFleur, the marketing manager at Highgarden Entertainment — the team that operates Jean Cocteau Cinema and Beastly Books — might want to keep it that way. That's because the event on September 18 will not be about Martin or his work but instead on Gad's work, Delujé and LaFleur say, with Martin steering the conversation and Q&A to focus on his guest.
"George is very good at casual conversation," Delujé says.
Jean Cocteau Cinema can accommodate an audience of 100 or so, and Delujé says the size will make for an intimate setting for the two writers and their audience. It also means that more people will be able to ask questions during the Q&A, and the book signing queue for Gad will be much shorter than at other such events.
LaFleur agrees. "You'll be able to experience these authors in a way that almost feels like a one on one," she says. "It's a very striking cinema, and it'll make you feel like you're almost part of a VIP conversation."
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RAMONA EMERSON x JAMIE FIGUEROA
On September 29, another pair of authors, both local, will meet on the stage at Jean Cocteau Cinema. Boricua (Afro-Taíno) writer Jamie Figueroa is the author of Brother, Sister, Mother, Explorer (2021) and a faculty member in the MFA Creative Writing program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She will be in conversation with writer and filmmaker Ramona Emerson (Diné), whose new thriller, Exposure, out October 1, is the second book in her Rita Todacheene series.
Emerson is originally from Tohatchi, which is about 220 miles west of Santa Fe and just north of Gallup. She worked for 16 years as a police department photographer in Albuquerque, documenting crime scenes before becoming a novelist. Her main character, Rita Todacheene, is also a forensic photographer.
Jean Cocteau Cinema opens its doors at 3 p.m. and closes at 10 p.m. on both event days. Ticketed and non-ticketed guests at both events can make an afternoon or evening of it at the cinema's Lobby Bar, where both cocktails and nonalcoholic beverages are offered.