P&P Live!: Kate Reed Petty – True Story: A Novel – In Conversation with Elif Batuman

Tracing the fifteen-year fallout of a toxic high school rumor, True Story is a riveting, astonishingly original debut novel about the power of stories–and who gets to tell them.

Petty’s inventive and breathtaking exploration of a woman finding her voice in the wake of trauma is part psychological thriller, part fever dream, and part timely comment on sexual assault, power, and the very nature of truth. Ingeniously constructed and full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the final pages, it marks the debut of a singular and daring new voice in fiction.

Petty will be in conversation with Elif Batuman, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the novel The Idiot, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction.

Instead of a set ticket price, we ask that you contribute what you can to support Politics and Prose Bookstore and our virtual event series. We know that everyone has been affected in these trying times, and we will continue to make our programming accessible to all. That said, a suggested contribution of $5, $10, whatever you can afford, will go a long way to keep our programming—and our bookstore—afloat as we are forced to adapt to new ways of business. 

The other way you can support us is always by purchasing a copy of the book from our website.

We are so grateful to be surrounded by such a loyal and engaged community and we thank you for your support, now and always.











When: Wed., Aug. 5, 2020 at 8:00 pm

Tracing the fifteen-year fallout of a toxic high school rumor, True Story is a riveting, astonishingly original debut novel about the power of stories–and who gets to tell them.

Petty’s inventive and breathtaking exploration of a woman finding her voice in the wake of trauma is part psychological thriller, part fever dream, and part timely comment on sexual assault, power, and the very nature of truth. Ingeniously constructed and full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the final pages, it marks the debut of a singular and daring new voice in fiction.

Petty will be in conversation with Elif Batuman, staff writer at The New Yorker and author of the novel The Idiot, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction.

Instead of a set ticket price, we ask that you contribute what you can to support Politics and Prose Bookstore and our virtual event series. We know that everyone has been affected in these trying times, and we will continue to make our programming accessible to all. That said, a suggested contribution of $5, $10, whatever you can afford, will go a long way to keep our programming—and our bookstore—afloat as we are forced to adapt to new ways of business. 

The other way you can support us is always by purchasing a copy of the book from our website.

We are so grateful to be surrounded by such a loyal and engaged community and we thank you for your support, now and always.

Buy tickets/get more info now