Join us in-person in the library or online for a conversation John Vercher, author of After the Lights Go Out, a harrowing and spellbinding story about family, the complications of mixed-race relationships, misplaced loyalties, and the price athletes pay to entertain. This haunting, unflinching look at the aftermath of a career in MMA fighting was named a Booklist Editors' Choice Best Books of 2022 and a Publishers Weekly Best Books of Summer. Joining John in conversation is Orlando R. Serrano, Jr., the Lead Educator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History.

John Vercher lives in the Philadelphia area with his wife and two sons. He holds a Bachelor’s in English from the University of Pittsburgh and an MFA in Creative Writing from the Mountainview Master of Fine Arts program, and served as an adjunct faculty member at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia. He currently serves as visiting faculty at Randolph College’s low-residency MFA program in Lynchburg, Virginia, Chatham University’s low-residency MFA program in Pittsburgh, PA, and Drexel University’s low-residency MFA program in Philadelphia, PA. John has written for Cognoscenti, the thoughts and opinions page of WBUR Boston. Two of his essays published on race, identity, and parenting were featured by NPR, and he has appeared on WBUR’s Weekend Edition. His non-fiction work has appeared in Entropy Magazine, CrimeReads, Booklist, and LitHub. John’s debut novel, Three-Fifths, was named one of the best books of 2019 by the Chicago Tribune. His second novel, After the Lights Go Out, was published by Soho Press on June 7, 2022. Also in 2022, John signed a two-book deal with Celadon Books (a Macmillan division). The first, Devil is Fine, will be published in 2024. For more information, visit his website.

We invite you to support the author by purchasing a copy of their book from Browseabout Books by clicking HERE. Call-in orders are accepted at (302) 226-2665 or you can stop by the store to purchase a copy. For store hours, please visit their website. Each copy purchased comes signed. Books will be available for sale and for signing at the event.

NOTE: this session is available to attend in-person or through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER and indicate which you prefer.

If you have need assistance with registration or getting your Zoom invitation, please email us.

Basic written instructions for using Zoom may be found here and a brief video tutorial may be found here. Closed captioning is available for all our sessions. Information on enabling closed captioning in Zoom may be found here.