Did you know that Jamaica Plain is home to many of Boston’s distinguished and celebrated authors? For our first bi-anual “Local Authors” night, Brendan Hlapin and Ron Maclean will join us for an evening of reading, discussion and celebration of our local literati, storytellers, and writers.

Brendan Halpin is the author of two memoirs and several novels for both adults and young adults.  His most recent young adult novel, Forever Changes, was on the Fall 2008 Kids’ Indie Next List, and his novel Donorboy was the recipient of the ALA’s Alex award.  Brendan was a high school English teacher for ten years and currently teaches in a workforce development program in Boston.  He has lived in Jamaica Plain for fifteen years, and currently lives near Franklin Park with his wife Suzanne, their three children, and their dog.

Ron MacLean’s fiction has appeared in GQ, Greensboro Review, Prism International, Night Train and other quarterlies. He is a recipient of the Frederick Exley Award for Short Fiction and a recurring Pushcart Prize nominee, and author of the novel Blue Winnetka Skies and the story collection Why the Long Face?  MacLean holds a Doctor of Arts in narrative and narrative theory from the University at Albany, SUNY and a Bachelor of Science in journalism from Boston University. He is former executive director (and still teaches) at Grub Street, Boston’s independent creative writing center. He has taught fiction at the Chautauqua Summer Writer’s Program, the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, and elsewhere.  He has been a contributing writer for Inc. and Fortune Small Business magazines and the Boston Phoenix newspaper, and was a pioneer in web site content development.  Currently he splits his time between writing and teaching fiction, and content development for values-based business ethics programs.

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