Emma Straub Discusses American Fantasy with Jenna Bush Hager

Please join us when Emma Straub, one of the most beloved voices in contemporary fiction, discusses her much anticipated novel American Fantasy, with Jenna Bush Hager, journalist, author and co-host of the fourth hour of NBC's Today show.

What happens when your teenage fantasy comes true after you're already an adult?

When the American Fantasy cruise ship sets sail for a four-day themed voyage, aboard are all five members of a famous 1990s boyband, and three thousand screaming women who have worshipped them for thirty years. Newly divorced and with an empty nest, Annie is on board as a lark to appease her sister. Once a diehard fan of the band as a teen, her tastes have matured, and she feels out of place amid the sea of bedazzled, air-brushed t-shirts bearing the singers’ faces. Yet when the lights come up and the idols of her youth begin to sing before her, something is unlocked...

Packed with wisdom, heart, and laugh-out-loud reflections on fame, youth, nostalgia, marriage, and middle age, Emma Straub delivers a richly textured, uplifting story about the magic of revisiting youthful feelings, and the even greater magic of starting anew.

“I can hardly remember the last time I read anything that brought me such pure joy.” – Ann Patchett

Emma Straub is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books for adults: the novels American Fantasy, This Time Tomorrow, All Adults Here, The Vacationers, Modern Lovers, Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures, and the short story collection Other People We Married. She is also the author of three picture books: Gaga Mistake Day, which she co-wrote with her mother, Mama Hug, and Very Good Hats. She is a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow and her work has been published in more than 20 languages. Emma and her husband own Books Are Magic, an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. 

Jenna Bush Hager is a journalist, author, and TV personality. She co-hosts the fourth hour of NBC's Today show, Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, alongside Sheinelle Jones. Hager has also co-written children's books with her mother, and hosts a podcast called How She Does It. In 2022, she launched her own production company, Thousand Voices. Launched in March 2019 on the Today show, Read with Jenna is a highly influential monthly book club, which has featured over 80 titles, focusing on contemporary, diverse voices and debut authors, including fiction and nonfiction. Hager started her career teaching elementary school in Washington, D.C. in 2005. 

There will be time for Q & A at the end of the program.

Elm Street Books will be on site to sell copies of American Fantasy which Emma Straub will sign.  A portion of the proceeds goes to Wilton Library.

Registration is required. Please register online or call (203) 762-6334.

Photo of Emma Straub by Alpha Smoot
Photo of Jenna Bush Hager: Facebook @jennabushhager