Left Bank Books, in downtown Belfast, invites the public to celebrate the launch of Shannon Bowring’s novel In a Distant Valley, the third and final book in her award-winning series about the residents of Dalton, Maine. Joining Bowring in conversation at the bookshop, Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 6:30 p.m., will be fellow author Ron Currie.

Bowring, a young writer originally from Aroostook County, has made a significant impact in the literary world, according to Left Bank Books. Her first novel in the Dalton trilogy, The Road to Dalton, was selected as an NPR Best Book in 2023 and won the Maine Literary Book Award for Fiction in 2024. The second, Where the Forest Meets the River, was one of Oprah’s “Best Fall Books” for 2024.

In a Distant Valley brings to a conclusion the stories of Nate, Rose, Sophie, Tommy, Greg, Trudy, Bev, and all the characters readers have come to know and love (or not) in Dalton. Bowring’s work has appeared in numerous journals, including Best Small Fictions, and has been nominated for Pushcart and Best of the Net prizes.

Currie’s work has won awards from the New York Public Library, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the American Library Association, and the Pushcart Prize. His books have been translated into fifteen languages, and his work has received recognition in Best American anthologies. As a screenwriter he worked most recently on the Apple TV+ series “Extrapolations,” and has developed projects with AMC Studios, Amblin Television, and ITV America. He teaches in the University of Southern Maine Stonecoast MFA program.

Admission to the October 7 event is by donation. Follow this link to reserve your seat(s) or visit leftbankbookshop.com. Questions? Call Left Bank Books at 207-338-9009 or email: info@leftbankbookshop.com. Ample free parking is available in front of the shop and in an adjacent city lot.