On October 10th, I took a trip to the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, MA to attend a bookish event with two of my all time favorite authors, Joe Hill and Stephen King!
My ticket to the show was purchased as an early Christmas present by my sister-in-law, Alexandra. Thanks again, Alexandra! <3
Let’s dive in!
Our Trip To See Joe Hill & Stephen King
Alexandra and I headed south early so we could find parking and then pop by a local pub for a drink before the show. We ended up going to a lovely spot called Foundry on Elm. I snagged a glass of prosecco while Alexandra got a mixed drink.
After that, we headed to the theater! On the way there, Alexandra snapped this fun shot:
Once we got into the theater, we got our wristbands. I thought this process was wicked neat! One color wristband indicated that you ordered Joe Hill’s book, another color indicating that you ordered Stephen King’s book. As I had already preordered Joe Hill’s book from Water Street Bookstore in Exeter, NH, I opted to snag Stephen King’s book. After the show, you were to go to a certain area to claim the book.
After we snagged a drink at the bar in the theater lobby (Alexandra a cider, myself a Malbec), we headed to get seats. We opted to go to the balcony, and we got amazing seats!!
We just couldn’t wait for the two to come on stage!!
First up, was someone (I’m so sorry I didn’t catch their name! Feel free to update me in the comments!) from Porter Square Books, which is the bookshop that hosted the event. My goodness, what a great opener! He was hysterical! I need to head back to this town soon just to go to the bookshop!
Then…. the greats came on stage!
They began with readings, Joe Hill reading a very gory section of Stephen King’s new book, and Stephen King reading from the front of the Joe Hill’s new book where Joe wrote about his childhood and his father. This was also hysterical because Stephen King kept correcting Joe Hill, and Joe finally shouted, “Where were you when I was proofreading this thing?!”
After that, the two sat down and lead a discussion and a Q&A.
I would have happily sat there to hang on every word that the two of them said for hours and hours. But the event had to come to an end.
Next up, we exited the auditorium to go back to the lobby to get in line for our books. Alexandra and I both requested the Stephen King book, so we went together. The ticky part with this… is that not all of the books are signed. So as you approach the table, you are simply handed a book from the stack and you turn around to leave the area. I was so nervous!
When I opened my copy, I could have screamed! I got one! Unfortunately Alexandra didn’t and I’m still bumming over that. She joked that we’ll just have to go see them again if they have another event! I, very happily, agreed!
The event was absolutely wonderful and I am so very grateful that I was able to attend!
As a Mainer that has never met Mr Stephen King, I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to be there to see him in person. I hope to one day be able to shake Stephen King’s hand and ask him to sign my copy of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon.
Joe Hill is my favorite! I’m so thankful to have met him a few times in NH, and seeing him speak again at this event was awesome.
One last note, if you’d like to view this event, the bookshop recorded it!
So cool! My sisters lived in Somerville for years, and there were few events like that back then. Love King!
I need to keep an eye out for more like this! 🙂
So awesome – sounds like it was a great and fun day! Love Stephen King’s books – need to get The Institute!
<3 It was SO much fun! I can't wait to dive into the book!
How awesome!
<3
I remember the first time I saw a photo of Joe Hill when Heart Shaped Box was being promoted. I hadn’t heard who he was but as soon as I saw the photo I was like ‘he looks the double of a young Stephen King’ so I figured it out!
Ha!! I love it!!
You lucky duck! What a great gift and it sounds like you guys had a great time. And a signed copy – so great. Thanks for sharing such a fun event!
We sure did! I’m so so so grateful!!
I know how much you love both of their books so this must have been the perfect event for you! To see them both in conversation and get your book signed. I am glad you had such a wonderful time and thanks for sharing it with us x
Olivia-S @ Olivia’s Catastrophe
It sure was!! I had so much fun!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time. Awesome that the book you received was signed, too bad that all couldn’t be signed.
<3
Oh, this would have been such a cool event!! Sorry only one of you got a signed book – you’d think all of them would be signed for that event.
-Lauren
It was AMAZING! <3 And yeah... though I do get it from the author's standpoint, there were a ton of people there!
OMG, I am watching the video and sitting here clapping at some of the stuff Stephen King is saying….”I got to play a plant..” And giving Joe “the bird”….HAHA What a neat thing this was to see. I’ve always felt that Stephen King was just a “regular guy”, now I know he is!!! Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed watching the video!! I’m so happy they recorded it!! 🙂
This sounds like such a fun event, Erica. Yay for your sister-in-law getting you the perfect gift and double yay for you getting a signed copy of King’s book. That’s so cool!
<3
What an awesome event! Lucky you – getting a signed copy! I am not jealous…nope, not at all.
<3
I love this so much. And thanks for the YouTube link!
<3