Gil Adamson

Gil Adamson discusses The Outlander.

Gil Adamson's haunting debut novel The Outlander began as "a flash of an image" of a young woman dressed in black, running. The author of two collections of poetry, Adamson first wrote the story as a poem, before attempting it as a novel. Ten years later the novel was published to worldwide acclaim. Described by Adamson as a ‘literary Western', The Outlander is set in 1903 and chronicles the journey of 19-year-old Mary Boulton, a woman who has killed her husband. Half-mad, Boulton is on the run from her husband's brothers who are pursuing her across the Canadian Rockies. The Outlander offers an exhilarating, fast-paced ride, one which sees Boulton encounter a cast of idiosyncratic characters - including her horse. Each encounter alters the journey in both menacing and transformative ways; simultaneously the reader learns the provocation at the heart of the story. The Outlander is currently being adapted for the screen by a UK-Canadian team of filmmakers. Join Gil Adamson in conversation with Jenny Pattrick. (dakvid)… (more)

Susanna Moore; Gil Adamson; Lisa Moore

Huck Finn got to light out, and in doing so invent his future. For boys who run away, the road is an adventure, for girls it is often a more perilous place. In contemporary literature, women on the run face unique hardships, many of which have to do with suffocating families, illicit sex, and establishing a sense of self. Joan London's Gilgamesh and The Good Parents give us young women making their way in men's worlds; whether in Europe on the eve of war or a hotel room in Brisbane, the consequences are equally shocking. In Alligator, Lisa Moore's novel, two women struggle to make their way in the world: sassy Colleen is an eco-terrorist determined to escape small town Newfoundland, while her aunt tries to stay alive long enough to make a film. In all of Susanna Moore's novels, women negotiate twilight worlds of sex and identity, be it a steamy Hawai'i in Sleeping Beauties, colonial India in One Last Look, or prison in The Big Girls. Join these three novelists in conversation with Ingrid Horrocks on why we call women "bad girls". (dakvid)… (more)

Neil Cross; Kamila Shamsie; Chloe Hooper; Gil Adamson; Audrey Niffenegger

New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week begins with the fine art of fiction. Join four of literature's most fascinating voices as they talk about craft, character, style and genre. The glittering line-up brings together: novelist and Spooks scriptwriter Neil Cross - author of Burial and Natural History, celebrated Pakistani novelist Kamila Shamsie - author of Burnt Shadows and Broken Verses, novelist turned reporter Chloe Hooper - author of the award-winning The Tall Man and A Child's Book of True Crime, and Gil Adamson - author of epic adventure The Outlander. Join them for a night of reverie and revelation, and get a sneak preview of the fabulous week to come. (dakvid)… (more)

Gil Adamson reads from The Outlander.

Harvard Book Store is pleased to welcome acclaimed short fiction writer and poet GIL ADAMSON to read from her first novel.

"Set in 1903, Adamson's compelling debut tells the wintry tale of 19-year-old Mary Boulton (widowed by her own hand) and her frantic odyssey across Idaho and Montana. The details of Boulton's sad past—an unhappy marriage, a dead child, crippling depression—slowly emerge as she reluctantly ventures into the mountains, struggling to put distance between herself and her two vicious brothers-in-law, who track her like prey in retaliation for her killing of their kin.

"Boulton's journey and ultimate liberation—made all the more captivating by the delirium that runs in the recesses of her mind—speaks to the resilience of the female spirit in the early part of the last century. Lean prose, full-bodied characterization, memorable settings and scenes of hardship all lift this book above the pack. Already established as a writer of poetry (Ashland) and short stories (Help Me, Jacques Cousteau), Adamson also shines as novelist." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) (ablachly)… (more)