Effingham Writers' Night features Tom Ryan & Atticus M. Finch

On Thursday evening, June 17th join us for Writers’ Night at 7 p.m. in the meeting room of the Effingham Public Library when Tom Ryan and his dog, Atticus will recount their adventures hiking in the White Mountains and talk about their upcoming book, Following Atticus (William Morrow Publishing, 2011). Musician, Matt Scott will delight the audience with compositions on his 1917 Harp Guitar.

Five years ago Tom Ryan, author of The Adventures of Tom and Atticus, and his dog, Atticus M. Finch, came to New Hampshire’s White Mountains for a weekend. His life hasn't been the same since. Tom Ryan was the founder and publisher of The Undertoad, a Newburyport, Massachusetts newspaper and went on to write the popular 'Adventures with Tom & Atticus' column in the North Country News and Mountainside Guide. During the winter of 2006-2007 Ryan and his dog Atticus M. Finch climbed 81 4,000-foot peaks while raising several thousand dollars for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for the fight against cancer. Then, in the winter of 2007-2008 the duo climbed 66 4,000-foot peaks while raising thousands of dollars for Angell Animal Medical Center in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Because of their fundraising efforts Ryan and Finch were inducted into the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) Hall of Fame as the co-recipients of that organization's "Human Hero of the Year Award" at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. They were recently featured on Animal Planet's 'Dogs 101' television show. Ryan's book 'Following Atticus' is being published by William Morrow in the spring of 2011. He has also sold foreign rights to 'Following Atticus' in Germany, Italy and the UK. Tom and Atticus now live in Jackson, New Hampshire. Their website is tomandatticus.blogspot.com.

Writers’ Night will also feature musician Matt Scott. Matt has been playing guitar for nearly 45 years. Along the way, he has been influenced by the music around him – “classical”, “acoustic folk”, and “electric rock” genres and everything in between. In 1984, Matt became aware of a composer/guitarist named Michael Hedges, and began working on learning several of Hedges’ groundbreaking compositions. Since Michael Hedges’ untimely death in 1997, Matt is one of the few artists in the world today that performs these pieces live, including tunes on a 1917 Dyer Symphony harp guitar.

Join us on June 17th. Come to listen, or bring your own poems, stories or acoustic music to share. Mark your calendar; the third Thursday of the month is Writers’ Night at the Effingham Public Library. Writers’ Night is for those who write – music, poetry, prose, fiction, non-fiction - and for those who enjoy listening. Each month we will featured writers or musicians will be followed by an open-mic opportunity for others to share a piece of original writing or acoustic music up to 5 minutes in length. Enjoy light refreshments and conversation with other writers, musicians and artists. For more information, contact: Katie McCarthy, (539-7694) katiemccarthy@roadrunner.com, call the Library 539-1537. Check out past and future presenters on the Library Website: http://effingham.lib.nh.us/. The Library is located at 30 Town House Road, Effingham.

(Photo by Ken Stampfer.)