Andrew Forrester spent years as an English teacher, earned a PhD in nineteenth-century British literature and once had a piece of his humor writing read by Benedict Cumberbatch at London’s Royal Albert Hall. On Monday evening, he arrives at Vroman’s Bookstore to introduce his first novel — a story about a widower and a bookstore employee who write a book together.
“How the Story Goes,” published May 5 by Avon, follows Whit Longacre, a literary mystery writer whose wife, a famous children’s fantasy author, dies of cancer and leaves him a daunting final request: finish the last book in her beloved series. Stuck and grief-stricken, Whit finds an unlikely collaborator in Merritt Pryor, a former MFA student who works at a local bookstore and happens to be the series’ biggest fan. Forrester, who lives in Austin, Texas, will discuss the 368-page novel at 7 p.m. in conversation with Elissa Sussman, the bestselling author of “Funny You Should Ask,” “Once More with Feeling” and “Totally and Completely Fine.”
Sussman, who lives in Los Angeles, brings her own unusual literary path to the conversation. Before writing novels, she worked at animation studios including Disney and DreamWorks, and her name appears in the credits of films such as “Tangled,” “The Princess and the Frog,” “The Croods” and “Hotel Transylvania,” according to her publisher biography.
Forrester earned his doctorate from Southern Methodist University and his writing credits beyond the novel include McSweeney’s Internet Tendency and Parents magazine. His humorous open letter about people who fail to lock bathroom doors was performed by Cumberbatch at Letters Live, a literary event series, according to his professional biography.
The event takes place at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd. Founded in 1894 by Adam Clark Vroman — a relocated Midwesterner who was also a noted photographer whose work influenced Ansel Adams, according to the bookstore’s history — the store is the oldest and largest independent bookstore in Southern California, according to the bookstore, and hosts more than 400 free community events a year, according to a 2024 Pasadena Now report. The event is free. The hardcover (ISBN 978-0063452138) is priced at $28.99. A purchase of the book from Vroman’s is encouraged, according to the store’s event listing.
For information, call (626) 449-5320 or visit vromansbookstore.com. Vroman’s is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Forrester’s debut has drawn early comparisons to the work of Nora Ephron. In a publisher’s blurb, author Ashley Winstead described the novel as combining the qualities of classic romance and cozy fantasy. A novel about the things that happen when two people sit down to write — in a bookstore, no less — arrives now at a Pasadena bookstore that has been making such things happen since 1894.
