SAVOY PRESENTS: Talk and Q&A with Stephen Kurczy (The Quiet Zone)

10 Canal Street,Westerly RI 02891

09 November, 2021

Description

Join us for an author talk and Q&A with Stephen Kurczy to discuss his new book, THE QUIET ZONE! Savoy Bookshop & Café presents an author talk and Q&A with Stephen Kurczy for the new book, The Quiet Zone. "A vividly written book that captures an unusual place with a story-teller's touch, perfectly timed to this moment of confronting our complicated relationships to technology."— Eilzabeth Catte, author of What You Are Getting Wrong About AppalachiaAbout the Book A stunning portrait of an Appalachian community, the people who call it home, and the enduring human quest for quiet Deep in the Appalachian Mountains lies the last truly quiet town in America. Green Bank, West Virginia, is a place at once futuristic and old-fashioned: It’s home to the Green Bank Observatory, where astronomers search the depths of the universe using the latest technology, while schoolchildren go without WiFi or iPads. With a ban on all devices emanating radio frequencies that might interfere with the observatory’s telescopes, Quiet Zone residents live a life free from constant digital connectivity. But a community that on the surface seems idyllic is a place of contradictions, where the provincial meets the seemingly supernatural and quiet can serve as a cover for something darker. Stephen Kurczy embedded in Green Bank, making the residents of this small Appalachian village his neighbors. He shopped at the town’s general store, attended church services, went target shooting with a seven-year-old, square-danced with the locals, sampled the local moonshine. In The Quiet Zone, he introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters. There is a tech buster patrolling the area for illegal radio waves; “electrosensitives” who claim that WiFi is deadly; a sheriff’s department with a string of unsolved murder cases dating back decades; a camp of neo-Nazis plotting their resurgence from a nearby mountain hollow. Amongst them all are the ordinary citizens seeking a simpler way of living. Kurczy asks: Is a less connected life desirable? Is it even possible? The Quiet Zone is a remarkable work of investigative journalism—at once a stirring ode to place, a tautly-wound tale of mystery, and a clarion call to reexamine the role technology plays in our lives. About the Author Stephen Kurczy is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Christian Science Monitor, among other outlets. He graduated from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he was a 2016-2017 Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Business and Economics Journalism. Kurczy has lived without a cell phone for over a decade. About This Event This event will take place in person at Savoy Bookshop & Café. We ask that you wear a mask during this indoor event regardless of your vaccination status. We will be collecting registrations for in-person events through the remainder of 2021, so please be sure to register if you would like to attend! If you have a question about this event, or any other Bank Square and Savoy event, email us at [email protected] By registering for this event (or any Bank Square/Savoy event) you agree to be subscribed for our events newsletter. You can update your subscription preferences at any time. Located in downtown Westerly, Rhode Island, we are a locally owned and independent bookstore with a great selection of books and gifts and a helpful, knowledgeable staff. Our sister store is Bank Square Books in Mystic, CT.