Best-selling British novelist Susan Lewis returned to Culver Academies and the community where she set her 2015 novel, No Place to Hide, from Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 for a creative writing residency and public event.
Her residency will finish with public session on Wednesday, Nov. 2, from 6:30-8 p.m., in the Legion Memorial Building. Lewis will read from her work, as will creative writing students. The event is open to students, faculty, staff, and the general public.
No Place to Hide was the number one book release in British and Irish fiction on Amazon.com during its debut week in August 2015. The book is set on the shores of Lake Maxinkuckee and features Culver Academies and the town of Culver prominently.
The public is also invited to take part in “coffee and conversation” led by Lewis on Thursday, Nov. 3, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.at the Culver Public Library, 107 N. Main Street. The author will also conduct a three-day creative writing residency for Culver Academies students.
The visit isn’t the first time Lewis has interacted with Culver students. During her initial journey to the area in the fall of 2014, she took part in several student workshops in between gathering material for her novel.
During that stay, Lewis told The Culver Citizen, “I didn’t expect anything like this jewel of a community.
“One of the best surprises has been how inspired I felt here by the people — by the whole look and feel of the place. I found it incredibly inspiring. I’ve now learned it’s quite a popular destination for writers. It has its tranquility, but also it’s traveled paths.”
Lewis, whose path to Culver came largely through the Mitzell family (including Fine Arts Chair Cathy Duke ’70 and retired faculty member Channing Mitzell), returned to the area in August 2015 for a handful of events surrounding the official release of the novel, whose protagonist comes back to Culver to escape tragedy in England, only to discover family secrets hidden here.
For more information on the author and book, go to susanlewis.com.
