Marblehead residents and authors Julia Glass and Katherine Howe shared insights into their writing processes and literary careers during a candid conversation at the Abbot Public Library on July 7. The event, moderated by Boston University journalism professor Susan Walker, served as the bookend to a four-day Literary Festival as part of the Marblehead Festival of Arts.
The author talk, held on the main floor near the library’s fireplace, was intimate and well-attended but not packed, reflecting the soft opening nature of the newly renovated Abbot Public Library.
Glass, winner of the National Book Award for “Three Junes,” began her career as a painter before transitioning to fiction writing in her 30s. She explained her unconventional path.
“I earned my bachelor’s of arts at Yale. After college, I had a fellowship to paint in Paris for a year,” she said. “Then I came back and, like all aspiring artists, I moved to New York City.”
Glass described how she stumbled into publishing work when she couldn’t secure a waitressing job due to clumsiness.
“A friend of mine who had gone to high school with me was working in publishing and she said, ‘You know what, you’re a natural writer,'” she said.
Glass spent years honing her craft, facing repeated rejections. Undeterred by the late start, she continued writing. Her persistence paid off when she published “Three Junes” at age 46, marking her debut as a novelist.
Howe, a historian turned novelist, described her unexpected entry into writing while avoiding her graduate school dissertation — a distraction that became “The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.” The historical novel intertwines two storylines: one set in the present day and one set in the late 17th century during the Salem witch trials.
“I started writing through a trifoil pathway of gambling, procrastination and drinking to excess,” she said. “I was entranced with the surroundings of Marblehead and looking at it with the eyes of a stranger.”
The authors discussed their literary influences. Glass mentioned Andre Dubus, Tim O’Brien and Iris Murdoch as influential writers, noting how Murdoch’s style of interweaving multiple plots and characters had subconsciously influenced her own work. Howe cited historians like Mary Beth Norton and novelists such as A.S. Byatt as inspirations, emphasizing her interest in material culture and architectural history.
Their contrasting approaches to research and organization provided insight into diverse writing methods. Howe uses spreadsheets to track plot elements, characters and timelines, while Glass employs a more organic process of writing and rewriting, creating lists of character names and dates as she progresses.
“I fake it as much as possible, then I go and I interview someone or do some reading,” she said. “My worry is that if I do the research first, I’m just going to find out so much cool stuff, and I’m not going to be able to keep it out.”
Both authors emphasized the importance of accuracy and the value of trusted readers and editors. Glass recounted an instance where an editor caught a geographical error about a non-existent bus shelter in New York City, and Howe shared an anecdote about a mistake in her first novel.
“I left one word out of the title of a historical witchcraft book in ‘The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane.’ I felt like I’d made a mistake, and it was not caught by anybody, except a guy in federal prison,” she shared to widespread laughs.
The conversation touched on their experiences with nonfiction projects. Howe discussed her collaboration with Anderson Cooper on “Vanderbilt” and “Astor,” describing the challenges of creative nonfiction.
“When you write creative nonfiction, you’re a historian first,” she said, “and it can be challenging to take a list of things that occurred and turn it into a story.”
When asked about topics they avoid, Glass jokingly mentioned “historical fiction,” while Howe expressed difficulty writing about her home state of Texas, admitting her attempt at a “great Texan historical novel” was a failure. The authors also addressed the balance between historical accuracy and storytelling in their work.
The event concluded with readings from their latest works. Glass shared an excerpt from “Vigil Harbor,” set in a near-future coastal town grappling with climate change and societal upheaval. She read a passage describing the town’s Fourth of July celebrations, highlighting the blend of tradition and uncertainty in her fictional world (she shared that scenes from Marblehead’s public celebrations inspired the passage).
Howe read from “A True Account: Hannah Masury’s Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself,” her recent historical novel about piracy. Her selection depicted a vivid scene of a pirate hanging in 1726 Boston, showcasing her attention to historical detail and atmospheric storytelling.
Throughout the talk, both authors displayed a mix of humor, candor and insight into the craft of writing. Their contrasting styles highlighted the diverse paths to literary success. Glass reflected on the evolution of her writing process.
“Along with the age of readers comes the age of dwindling mental abilities,” she said. “I have to keep more notes on many things because I can’t juggle as much.”
Howe spoke about the pressure of recent deadlines.
“I had three books come out in eight months this last year,” she said. “My brain is so fried, I don’t remember how ‘Astor’ opens right now.”
