One Book One Wallingford: Meet Author Alison Espach

Meet Alison Espach as she discusses her bestselling novel The Wedding People. Copies will be available for purchase and signing. Register for a seat or Zoom link!

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

When Phoebe Stone arrives at the luxurious Cornwall Inn in Newport, Rhode Island, she is wearing an elegant green dress but carrying no luggage. After years of infertility, her husband’s affair, her career struggles, and the death of her beloved cat, she has had enough. She plans one final night of indulgence before ending her life using her cat’s painkillers. But when Phoebe checks in, she learns that she is the lone outsider amidst a group of wedding guests who are arriving for a week-long wedding party to  celebrate bride Lila and groom Gary. Mistaking Phoebe for one of Gary’s family members, Lila gifts Phoebe a welcome basket and joins her on the elevator ride to Phoebe’s suite.

Once she learns why Phoebe is really there, Lila refuses to accept Phoebe’s plans because they will ruin her meticulously planned and very expensive wedding. Instead, she insists that Phoebe join in the festivities. Slowly, Phoebe starts fraternizing with the guests, including Lila’s mother and sister-in-law, Gary's ex-brother-in-law Jim (who might have feelings for Lila), and Gary, with whom she becomes slightly too friendly. And soon, almost without realizing it, she is swept up in all the wedding exuberance and drama, and starts to rethink what her life is and what it might become.

2024's The Wedding People was a New York Times bestseller and has sold over one million copies in 20 countries. Before it was published, TriStar Pictures pre-emptively acquired the rights to turn the novel into a feature film. The Wedding People was a Today Show Read with Jenna Book Club pick, a #1 Indie Next pick and the winner of the 2024 Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction. It was named a best book of the year by the Chicago Tribune, Elle Magazine, The Guardian, Real Simple and Time Magazine. 

About the Author

Alison Espach is an American novelist who was born and raised in Trumbull, CT. She is the author of two previous novels: The Adults (2011), which was a Barnes and Noble Discover pick and was optioned for a feature film in 2012, and Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance (2022), which was named a best book of the year by the Chicago Tribune and NPR. Her articles and essays have appeared in McSweeney’s, Vogue and LitHub, among other places. She received a B.A. from Providence College and an MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. Espach lives in Rhode Island, where she is a Professor of English at Providence College.

This is a hybrid program; patrons have the option of attending in-person at Dag Hammarskjold Middle School or virtually on Zoom. Registration is required - please sign up below!