Author of Election, Little Children, The Leftovers, and the new novel Ghost Town returns to Hartford for a special author talk
HARTFORD, Conn. — The Mark Twain House & Museum will welcome New York Times bestselling author Tom Perrotta for a special author talk on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at The Mark Twain House & Museum, located at 351 Farmington Avenue in Hartford.
Perrotta will discuss his new novel, Ghost Town, published by Scribner on April 28, 2026. The book has been named a May 2026 Indie Next Selection and recognized as one of the year’s most anticipated books by The New York Times, Literary Hub, AARP Magazine, and others.
Known for his sharp, humane, and darkly funny portraits of American life, Perrotta is the author of eleven works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both adapted into Oscar-nominated films, as well as The Leftovers and Mrs. Fletcher, which became acclaimed HBO series.
In Ghost Town, Perrotta turns to suburban New Jersey in the 1970s for a story about adolescence, grief, memory, and the ghosts that follow us into adulthood. The novel follows Jimmy Perrini, a middle-aged writer looking back on the summer after eighth grade, when a family tragedy changed the course of his life. As Jimmy drifts through grief, troubled friendships, and a mysterious fascination with the occult, the novel becomes a moving exploration of how the past keeps speaking, even when we think we have left it behind.
“Tom Perrotta has been a friend and advocate of The Mark Twain House & Museum, and it means a great deal to welcome him back to Hartford,” said Mallory Howard, Assistant Curator at The Mark Twain House & Museum. “Ghost Town is exactly the kind of book that belongs in conversation here: funny, unsettling, humane, and deeply interested in how the past keeps speaking to us.”
Perrotta also has a meaningful history with The Mark Twain House & Museum. He was part of a 2008 fundraiser held to help keep the museum’s doors open, and his return offers Hartford readers a chance to hear from one of the country’s most celebrated contemporary novelists in one of America’s great literary landmarks.
Tickets and more information will soon be available at marktwainhouse.org/events.
About Tom Perrotta
Tom Perrotta is the author of eleven works of fiction, including Election and Little Children, both of which were made into Oscar-nominated films, and The Leftovers and Mrs. Fletcher, which were adapted into acclaimed HBO series. His new novel is Ghost Town. For more information, visit tomperrotta.net.
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About The Mark Twain House & Museum
The Mark Twain House & Museum is the restored Hartford, Connecticut home where Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, lived from 1874 to 1891. Twain wrote many of his most iconic works there, including Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The museum continues to honor Twain’s literary legacy through tours, educational programs, and cultural events.
For general information about the Mark Twain House, please visit:
Media Contact:
Albinko Hasic
albinko.hasic@marktwainhouse.org
(860) 280-3152