Authors Ada Calhoun and Jessica Soffer Talk Love, Crushes and Fiction at The Church

Esteemed authors Ada Calhoun and Jessica Soffer will be in discussion about their latest novels, “Crush” and “This Is a Love Story,” at The Church on August 1. Following the discussion, there will be a brief Q&A with the authors. Books will be available for purchase and can be signed at the end of the event.

Both works of fiction published in February of this year have an inspirational jump-off point rooted in the authors’ lives and deal with themes around partnership, love, loyalty, responsibility and more. The nets in each book are cast wider than romantic love and allow readers to question the mechanics of love as it pertains to friendships, family and professional colleagues.

“Crush” is Calhoun’s debut work of fiction. The author of the celebrated memoir, “Also a Poet,” as well as cultural histories “St. Marks Is Dead” and “Why We Can’t Sleep,” brings her signature wit and humor to the gripping, sumptuous zeitgeist-y novel about the state of marriage, midlife and what happens when both are upended by the sudden, electrifying passion of a crush.

“This Is a Love Story” is Soffer’s sophomore novel and was received with enthusiastic critical acclaim like her debut novel “There Will Be Apricots.” Soffer brings a realistic, poetic and delicate artistry to a moving family saga about a couple’s enduring love intermingling with their son’s feeling of alienation, a story of how hard life can be and how the bond of love though tested can still endure in the face of inevitable challenges.

Calhoun and Soffer will be in discussion at The Church, 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor, on Friday, August 1 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 ($10 for members). For more information and to purchase tickets, visit thechurchsagharbor.org.