Join us as actors Annabeth Gish (The Haunting of Hill House) and Kerry O'Malley (A Man on the Inside) read short stories by American literary legend Shirley Jackson. Packed with menacing wit and heightened drama, Jackson’s stories are not simply spine-tinglers. The Lottery, which catapulted Jackson to fame in 1948,  delves into societal conformity and the choices humans make (or don't) to fit in. Her classic gothic horror novel Haunting of Hill House spawned feature film The Haunting and, more recently, a Netflix series. From the 1940s - 60s, Jackson published six novels, two memoirs and around 200 short stories, which have profoundly influenced authors such Stephen King, Jonathan Lethem, and scores of other thriller and horror writers.

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Benjamin Dreyer, author and editor of the bestselling book, Dreyer’s English, will kick things off with a brief discussion about why Shirley Jackson matters. Dreyer, formerly the copy chief at Random House, has edited scores of favorite authors, including a volume of previously unreleased material by Shirley Jackson.

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Actor Annabeth Gish has appeared in many great television series and films, including The X-Files, The Brotherhood, The West Wing, Halt and Catch Fire, The Bridge — and The Haunting of Hill House.

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Singer and actor Kerry O’Malley is currently on the hit Netflix series, A Man on the Inside. She has appeared in Nightbitch, The Six Triple Eight, The Killer, and more. A great friend of Writers Bloc, O'Malley was a featured actor in our Century of Fiction in The New Yorker event. 

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