The Austens: Book Launch and Upcoming Events

My novel The Austens is now available... Jane Austen in the Public Gardens: A ...

The Austens: Book Launch and Upcoming Events

Hello and happy September!

I’m excited about the launch of my debut novel, The Austens, and delighted that the book is being published this year during the celebrations of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday.

If you’re in Halifax—or feel inclined to travel here!—in late October, I hope you’ll join me to celebrate my book launch (and the 250th) on Tuesday, October 21st at 7:00 p.m. in the Regency Ballroom of the Lord Nelson Hotel.

RSVP on the Facebook event page (and/or you could comment on this post).

The Austens book cover with blurbs from Karen Joy Fowler (“Deeply researched and lovingly imagined”) and Alexander MacLeod (“[A] precise, passionate, brilliantly realized book.”)

“Come, meet The Austens! Jane and Fanny, Fanny and Jane. They’re sisters-in-law, two sides of the same coin, and though their letters span the globe and reach out to us from centuries ago, you already know all about what’s in this correspondence. Sarah Emsley’s epistolary novel blends meticulous research with a deeply felt understanding for the struggles her characters face. If you care about literature or love or longing or loss, if you have any experience with the negotiations of marriage or motherhood or money, if you’ve ever wondered where great art comes from, then you will find something familiar, and of immense value, waiting in the pages of this precise, passionate, brilliantly realized book.”

– Alexander MacLeod, author of Light Lifting and Animal Person

Alexander MacLeod will introduce me at the launch. Harpist Isabelle Gagnon will perform music from Jane Austen’s time. I think it will be a fun evening! The Regency Ballroom is beautiful, and I chose the Lord Nelson in part because it was the location of the two wonderful Jane Austen Society (UK) Halifax conferences, in 2005 and 2017, which focused on the story of the Austen family’s connections with Nova Scotia.

The official pub date is September 15th, but the book was released early—a lovely surprise!—and started arriving in local bookstores a couple of weeks ago. Here it is in the window at Bookmark in Halifax:

Window display with several copies of The Austens

And on display inside the bookstore. (Such a thrill to see it on the same shelf as Middlemarch and Silas Marner!!)

The Austens, shelved near books by George Eliot and several others

And here’s a picture of me with Mike Hamm, manager of Bookmark, when I went in to sign pre-ordered copies:

Mike Hamm and Sarah Emsley with two stacks of copies of The Austens

I also signed books at Woozles, which specializes in books for children but has a small section of adult books.

Copies of The Austens on a brightly coloured bench at Woozles

I’ve spent countless hours (and $$) in both of these wonderful stores over the years that I’ve been working on this novel, and it is a delight to see the book on the shelves at last. Many thanks to the staff at both stores for their enthusiasm and support.

Order a signed copy of The Austens from Bookmark here or from Woozles here. As I mentioned in my last post, you can also order from Jane Austen Books and, if you like, they’ll set aside a copy for you to pick up at the JASNA AGM in Baltimore.

Links to additional bookstores in Canada, the United States, and beyond are included on the page for The Austens on my website. The e-book will be available from September 15th.

Here’s what the window at Bookmark looked like this past Friday (thank you to my friend Kathy for the photo):

Window display with several empty book stands and two copies of The Austens

More copies are on the way. The book is selling well, and I am tremendously grateful to all of you who pre-ordered or have bought copies over the past couple of weeks! [image error] [image error] [image error]

And a huge thank you to those of you who’ve requested the book for purchase from your local library and to those who’ve posted about the book on social media, including Goodreads.

I’m looking forward to a busy schedule of events this fall and hope to see some of you in person! Copies of The Austens will be available for sale at all of these events.

Photo by Brenda Barry

Upcoming events (see the Events page on my website for more details; I’ll continue to update it with other events and book signings as they’re confirmed):

Sept. 14: Prescott House, Starr’s Point, NS

Sept. 26–28: Cavendish Literary Festival, Cavendish, PEI

Oct. 10–12: JASNA AGM, Baltimore, MD

Oct. 21: Book Launch for The Austens, Halifax, NS

Nov. 16: LaHave River Books, LaHave, NS

Nov. 22: Halifax Central Library, Halifax, NS

Dec. 16 (Jane Austen’s 250th birthday): Naval Museum, Halifax, NS (also known as Admiralty House, where Jane Austen’s brother Francis and his family lived when they were in Halifax between 1845 and 1848)