Ocean Vuong is celebrating the paperback release of his latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness! Join us and Westerville Public Library for an author talk with Ocean Vuong in conversation with Maggie Smith at 6pm on Saturday, July 18 at Westerville North High School.
Ocean Vuong returns with a bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive
One late summer evening in the post-industrial town of East Gladness, Connecticut, nineteen-year-old Hai stands on the edge of a bridge in pelting rain, ready to jump, when he hears someone shout across the river. The voice belongs to Grazina, an elderly widow succumbing to dementia, who convinces him to take another path. Bereft and out of options, he quickly becomes her caretaker. Over the course of the year, the unlikely pair develops a life-altering bond, one built on empathy, spiritual reckoning, and heartbreak, with the power to transform Hai’s relationship to himself, his family, and a community on the brink.
Following the cycles of history, memory, and time, The Emperor of Gladness shows the profound ways in which love, labor, and loneliness form the bedrock of American life. At its heart is a brave epic about what it means to exist on the fringes of society and to reckon with the wounds that haunt our collective soul. Hallmarks of Ocean Vuong’s writing—formal innovation, syntactic dexterity, and the ability to twin grit with grace through tenderness—are on full display in this story of loss, hope, and how far we would go to possess one of life’s most fleeting mercies: a second chance.
Ocean Vuong is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collections Night Sky with Exit Wounds and Time Is a Mother, as well as the New York Times bestselling novel On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous. A recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship and the American Book Award, he was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and currently splits his time between western Massachusetts and New York City. The Emperor of Gladness is his latest novel.
Maggie Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of nine books of poetry and prose, including A Suit or a Suitcase, You Could Make This Place Beautiful, Good Bones, and Dear Writer. An NEA fellow and Pushcart Prize winner, Smith has been published in the New York Times, New Yorker, The Paris Review, The Nation, The Atlantic, and The Best American Poetry. In 2025 she was named the host of the podcast, “The Slowdown”. You can find her on social media @MaggieSmithPoet.
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A ticket is required to attend the event. All children 12+ require a ticket. All ticket and book sales are final.
Seating: Doors open at 5:00pm in the Westerville North High School Auditorium. Seating is general admission and first come, first serve. We anticipate a packed house so please do not leave empty seats. Staff will be around to assist with seating. Please note, seats may be reserved for guests with accessibility needs.
Signed Books: General Admission tickets include a signed paperback copy of The Emperor of Gladness to be picked up in the lobby following the author talk. Student General Admission tickets do not include a copy of the book. Additional signed books will be available for purchase at the Prologue Bookshop table. There will not be an author signing line.
Accessibility: For guests requesting accessibility accommodations, please email [email protected] ahead of the event.