News & Events

2021

TALK WITH THE AUTHOR:  FREE ZOOM/FACETIME/SKYPE SESSIONS

Wendy is not doing in-person events at this time, but she is offering free online book talks (by Zoom, FaceTime or Skype) for anyone who wants to gather a few friends to talk about Searching for Nora. This opportunity is great for:

·        Sons/Daughters of Norway Lodges

·        Book Clubs that have read Searching for Nora

·        Neighbors, Friends and/or Family who have read Searching for Nora

·        Women’s Groups and Writers’ Groups

·        High School Classes

Groups of 5-25 are welcome to schedule a date and time with me by email at wendy@searchingfornora.com. Participants do not need a Zoom account, and I provide the info your group members need to participate.  Everyone can tune in from the comfort of their own home.

I have several online Book Talk options:

1.     An Introduction to Searching for Nora (spoiler-free) about the premise of the book and historical/literary parameters I used to imagine a life for Nora Helmer after A Doll’s House, with a slideshow. This talk is for groups of fifteen or larger, and is the best talk for those who have not read my book but would like to know more about it.

2.     A Book Club Q&A (or circle of friends) for those who have read Searching for Nora and want to discuss plot, character, setting, or other aspects of the novel.

3.     For Women’s Groups, a talk about why Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House is still relevant and exploring themes of love, family and self-determination.

4.     A How-I-Did-It talk about the challenges and delights of writing historical fiction, how the creation of the book unfolded, and what writerly habits helped or hindered me. This talk/Q&A can be fun for those who have already heard one of my other two talks, or for anyone interested in what it takes to write a novel. High School groups, in particular, might enjoy a Q&A with an author.  You don’t need to have read Searching for Nora to enjoy this talk.

If you are interested in having Wendy Swallow talk to a group about Searching for Nora, contact her here.

Wendy hopes to be scheduling in-person speaking events again at some point in 2021. Stay tuned!

We’ve included in our listings productions of both A Doll’s House and of A Doll’s House, Part 2, a 2017 comic stage sequel playing in regional theaters.

Books will be available for purchase at all speaking events. We encourage readers to patronize the local bookstores that have hosted the events listed below.

2020

Jan. 11-Feb. 16, MINNEAPOLIS, MN: The Guthrie Theater is staging Noura, a reimagined version of A Doll’s House written by playwright Heather Raffo, whose father is Iraqi. As the play opens on Christmas Eve, Noura, a new U.S. citizen living in New York City but homesick for her homeland, prepares to host an Iraqi meal for her family and dinner guests.

Feb. 5-March 8, SALT LAKE CITY, UT: A Doll’s House, Part 2, is being staged by the Salt Lake Acting Company.

Feb. 6-March 22, CHICAGO, IL: A Doll’s House is being staged by the Raven Theater in a new adaptation by Anne-Charlotte Hanes Harvey and Kirsten Brandt.

Feb. 7-Feb. 15, COLLEGE PARK, MD: An all-women cast associated with The University of Maryland School of Theatre Dance and Performance performs A Doll’s House. The production at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on the university’s campus is designed to encourage audiences to question what has changed since the play was first performed in 1869.

March 13 and March 15, NEW YORK CITY, NY: A cast of six singers, backed by a piano and synthesizer, will perform composer Raymond Luedeke’s new opera, A Doll’s House, based on Ibsen’s play. The March 13 performance will be held at 7 pm at the National Opera Center at 330 7th Avenue (7th floor); the March 15 performance will be held at 2 pm at Symphony Space,  2537 Broadway at 95th Street.

March 17-April 8, FORT MYERS, FL: A Doll’s House, Part 2, will be staged by the Florida Repertory Theatre.

April 26, KENSINGTON, MD:  EVENT CANCELED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS. Wendy will participate in the Kensington Day of the Book Festival, “a celebration of all things books and the amazing stories inside them.”  Kensington is located north of Bethesda, MD. You can learn more about the festival here.

April 29, HYANNIS, MA: EVENT POSTPONED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS. Wendy will speak to the Harvard Club of Cape Cod about Searching for Nora and the themes of family, love and self-determination. This event is closed to the general public.

May 1, WEST NEWTON, MA: EVENT POSTPONED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS. Wendy Swallow will explore the roots of her novel Searching for Nora, rooted both in her personal experiences with marriage and in her fascination with A Doll’s House, its creator, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and his complicated protagonist, Nora Helmer. The event is sponsored by Norumbega Lodge 3-506 of the Sons of Norway. It begins at 7:30 pm, is open to the general public and will be held in the Nordic Hall of  the Scandinavian Cultural Center, 206 Waltham Street, West Newton, MA . Copies of Searching for Nora will be available for purchase and for signature by the author.

May 21, CARSON CITY, NV: EVENT CANCELED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS. Wendy will share the story of how her personal experience with divorce and her fascination with the stage character Nora Helmer inspired her to write Searching for Nora. This 7 pm event, hosted by the Queen Maud Lodge #42 of the Daughters of Norway, will take place at St. Paul’s Lutheran Family Church, 1201 N. Saliman Rd. (at the intersection of E. William St.), in Carson City. It is open to the public. Copies of Searching for Nora will be available for purchase and for signature by the author.

June 10-Sept. 5, LONDON, ENGLAND: Actress Jessica Chastain will play Nora in a production of A Doll’s House at Playhouse Theater in London’s West End.

2019

Aug. 26: Official publication date for Wendy  Swallow’s Searching for Nora: After the Doll’s House (Peavine Mountain Press).

Sept. 6-Nov. 24, DENVER, CO.: The Denver Center Theater Company will perform A Doll’s House and A Doll’s House, Part 2, by Lucas Hnath, in repertory.

Sept. 18-Oct. 6, WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT: A Doll’s House, Part 2, will be staged by Northern Stage Company.

Sept. 21, ROCKVILLE, MD: Wendy Swallow will autograph copies of her novel and talk with readers at the Barnes & Noble bookstore at 12089 Rockville Pike (just north of Montrose Parkway).  From 1 pm to 3 pm.

Sept. 21, FAIRFAX, VA: Wendy Swallow will speak to the Washington (DC-area) Lodge of the Sons of Norway about her search for Nora Helmer in Norway and in the western prairie of Minnesota.

Sept. 25-Dec. 15, GLENCOE, IL: A Doll’s House will be staged by Writers Theatre in this community north of Chicago, IL.

Oct. 4-Nov. 17, ALBUQUERQUE, NM: The Vortex Theatre will show A Doll’s House and the A Doll’s House, Part 2 sequel in rotating repertory. On November 10, both plays will be offered, back to back.

Oct. 12, RENO, NV: Wendy Swallow will autograph copies of her novel and talk with readers at the Sundance Books at 121 California Avenue.  From 1 pm to 3 pm.

Oct. 16-Nov. 10, KANSAS CITY, MO: A Doll’s House, Part 2, will be staged by the Unicorn Theater. Kansas City Actors Theater staged A Doll’s House by Ibsen in August.

Nov. 7, MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Wendy Swallow will speak and sign books at Magers & Quinn Booksellers starting at 7 pm.  Magers & Quinn is located at 3038 Hennepin Avenue South.

Nov. 8, MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Wendy Swallow will speak and sign books at Ingebretsen’s Nordic Marketplace from 1 pm to 3 pm. Ingebretsen’s is located at at 1601 E. Lake Street.

Nov. 9, MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Wendy Swallow will talk about Searching for Nora at Norway House, located at 913 E Franklin Ave. This 1 pm event is sponsored by the Sons of Norway Vonheim Lodge. Members of the general public are welcome to attend.

Nov. 10, NORTHFIELD, MN: Wendy Swallow will talk about her search for Nora Helmer, both in Norway and in the Minnesota prairie, at the Northfield Public Library starting at 1:30 pm. The library is located at 210 Washington St.  Copies of Searching for Nora will be available for purchase and signing by the author.

Nov. 16, LAKEWOOD, CO: Wendy Swallow will speak at the Trollheim Lodge of the Sons of Norway at 6610 W. 14th Ave., just west of downtown Denver. 2 pm. Members of the general public are welcome to attend.

Nov. 17, DENVER, CO: Wendy Swallow will appear at the Tattered Cover Book Store (Historic LoDo) at 1628 16th St. in downtown Denver. Starts at 2 pm.

Nov. 19, RENO, NV: Wendy Swallow will talk about her search for Nora at the Daughters of Norway, Sonja Henie Lodge #29 at Odd Fellows Hall, 1300 Stardust St. The event, which begins at 7:30 pm, is for members of the lodge and their guests. Copies of Searching for Nora will be available for purchase and signing by the author.

Dec. 12, WOODS HOLE, MA: Wendy Swallow will discuss her novel, Searching for Nora, between 9 am and 10 am (Eastern time) on “The Point,” award-winning public affairs program on NPR affiliate WCAI (90.1, 91.1, 94.3).  This is the first broadcast interview about Searching for Nora. Update: You can stream a recording of Wendy’s interview with The Point host Mindy Todd at www.capeandislands.org/post/after-doll-s-house .

Dec. 14, ORLEANS, MA (CAPE COD): Wendy Swallow will discuss why, and how, she wrote a sequel novel to Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and why Nora Helmer, Ibsen’s protagonist, is still relevant today. The event begins at 1 pm at Snow Library (in the Marion Craine Room), 67 Main Street. Copies of Searching for Nora will be available for purchase and signing by the author.

Dec. 18, MEDFORD, NJ: Wendy Swallow will talk about Searching for Nora at the Medford Leas Retirement Center. The event starts at 2 pm. If interested in attending, please contact Wendy Swallow using this email form.