Mutiny, Shipwrecks, and Cannibalism with Maine Author Andrew Vietze at Thomaston Public Library

Thomaston, Maine - The Thomaston Public Library is proud to present an evening with Maine writer and editor Andrew Vietze, on Tuesday, April 8th at 7 PM. Mr. Vietze will read from his recent book Boon Island, "a harrowing true tale of fraud, mutiny, shipwreck, and cannibalism on the desolate rock known as Boon Island." Many Mainers are familiar with the story of Boon Island because of the historical novel by that name written by Kenneth Roberts. Mr. Vietze will talk about the process of researching and writing his nonfictional account of that same event, involving the wreck of the ship Nottingham Galley.

The former Managing Editor of Down East: The Magazine of Maine, Andrew Vietze is the bestselling author of eight books, including the critically acclaimed Boon Island (Globe Pequot, 2012) and Becoming Teddy Roosevelt (Down East, 2010). Publishers Weekly called Boon Island "a maritime whodunit rife with twists and turns and high drama”; The Portsmouth Herald dubbed it “superb. . . both a well-researched history and a page-turning mystery that begs to be a motion picture.” Co-written with historian Stephen Erickson, it won a gold medal at the Independent Publisher Book Awards, was a ForeWord Book of the Year Finalist, and is the subject of a Travel Channel feature premiering this summer.

Becoming Teddy Roosevelt also won an IPPY, was a Book of the Year Finalist, and was the inspiration for Coastal Maine Botanical Garden's new program for middle schoolers, the Lunder New Naturalists. The book was formally honored by decree of the Maine State Legislature in 2010, hailed as “so symbolic of the spirit and unique character of Maine.” Vietze got his start at the Maine Times in the early 90s, and, in addition to his books, he's written for a wide array of publications, including: New York Times' LifeWire, Weather.com's “Forecast Earth,” Crawdaddy, Time Out New York, Explore, Big Sky Journal, AMC Outdoors, Popmatters, and American Songwriter. A Registered Maine Guide, he splits his time between an old farmhouse in Appleton and a cabin in the woods of Baxter State Park, where he works as a seasonal ranger.

For more information about Andrew Vietze, please see his website at www.andrewvietze.com. For more information about the event, please call the library at 354-2453.