The Writer’s Center welcomes writer Bill Wilburn for a reading from his debut novel, First Comes Winter. Bill is joined by Emily Barrosse for a discussion of his novel.
FREE & open to the public. RSVP below.
The son of a Navy pilot, throughout his dad’s career, Bill Wilburn grew up in seven locations in the U.S. and Europe. After college, he worked as a news reporter, eventually leaving the Associated Press to begin law school. In his career as a lawyer, he published numerous professional articles in prominent law reviews and journals. His literary and op-ed works have appeared in The Ekphrastic Review, The Wall Street Journal, the Dallas Times Herald, the Baltimore Sun, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Emily Barrosse is the founder and CEO of Bold Story Press and Xander Press, two boutique publishing imprints dedicated to amplifying strong, honest storytelling. After more than three decades in the publishing industry—including serving as Vice President and Editor in Chief at McGraw Hill—Emily launched her own presses to create a more transparent, collaborative, and empowering path for authors.
About First Comes Winter
Early in World War Two, at her twin brother’s funeral, a privileged young woman from Baltimore meets a Navy pilot her same age. Rachel is drawn to Bob’s boyish charm and artistic interests. But she feels prejudice toward the Southerner who comes from a hardscrabble Protestant background, so different from her Jewish upbringing. Bob, in turn, admires the beautiful Rachel, whose drive and decisiveness set her apart from the hometown Alabama sweetheart he seems destined to marry.
As Rachel and Bob begin a tentative long-distance correspondence, the war’s effects on their personal lives challenge each of them to face their own lifelong biases.
When the Navy transfers Bob to Chicago, where Rachel now lives and works, their relationship unexpectedly deepens into an interfaith romance. In this heart-warming historical novel, they overcome their own prejudices in different ways as their love grows.
If you need an accommodation for this event, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services.
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