B.J. Novak (of NBC's The Office) to Discuss New Book at The Music Hall

WRITERS ON A NEW ENGLAND STAGE PRESENTS
actor, writer, director, and executive producer of The Office,

B.J. Novak

and his endlessly entertaining debut story collection,

One More Thing

which Time magazine has named 
as one book you won’t want to miss 2014 

Tuesday, February 11, 7:30pm 

“Writing with zing and humor in the spirit of Woody Allen and Steve Martin, 
Novak also ventures into the realm of George Saunders and David Foster Wallace.
--Booklist, starred review
 Portsmouth, New Hampshire, January 15, 2014:  The Writers on a New England Stage series welcomes B.J. Novak – actor, writer, director, and executive producer of NBC's Emmy-Award winning comedy series The Office – on Tuesday, February 11, 2014.  Mr. Novak will take the stage with ONE MORE THING: Stories and Other Stories, his endlessly entertaining debut story collection, which Time magazine has named as one book you won’t want to miss 2014.  

The 7:30 event in The Music Hall’s Historic Theater in downtown Portsmouth, NH, includes an author presentation and on-stage interview with Virginia Prescott, host of New Hampshire Public Radio’s “Word of Mouth.”  The series’ house band Dreadnaught will play live music during the one hour event.

In addition to his fame for The Office and Harvard Lampoon humor, Mr. Novak is also recognized for his standup comedy performances and roles in motion pictures such as Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Disney's new historical dramedy Saving Mr. Banks. Stories from the collection have appeared in the New Yorker, Playboy, Zoetrope, Nautilus and One Story.

B.J. Novak’s assured prose and expansive imagination introduce readers to people, places, and premises that are hilarious, insightful, provocative, and moving--often at the same time. His surprisingly sensitive and startlingly original debut collection signals the arrival of a welcome new voice in American fiction. 

“With B.J. Novak’s talent for working in front of live audiences, his delivery of these hilarious stories is sure to be top-notch. Be sure you’re ready to laugh when you attend this event, because you will laugh hard,” said Margaret Talcott, Producer of Writers on a New England Stage. “I’m also looking forward his on-stage interview with Virginia Prescott. It will be fascinating to hear about his work across so many areas of the entertainment industry,” she added. 

ABOUT THE BOOK
Welcome to the fictional universe of B.J. Novak, where things are just a little, well, different. In ONE MORE THING, a boy wins a $100,000 prize in a box of Frosted Flakes - only to discover that claiming the winnings may unravel his family. A woman sets out to seduce motivational speaker Tony Robbins - turning for help to the famed motivator himself. A school principal unveils a bold plan to permanently abolish arithmetic. An acclaimed ambulance driver seeks the courage to follow his heart and throw it all away to be a singer-songwriter. Author John Grisham contemplates a monumental typo. A new arrival in heaven, overwhelmed by infinite options, procrastinates over his long-ago promise to visit his grandmother. We meet a vengeance-minded hare, obsessed with scoring a rematch against the tortoise who ruined his life; and post-college friends who debate how to stage an intervention in the era of Facebook. We learn why wearing a red t-shirt every day is the key to finding love; how February got its name; and why the stock market is sometimes just... down.

Finding inspiration in questions from the nature of perfection to the icing on carrot cake, from the deeply familiar to the intoxicatingly imaginative, ONE MORE THING finds its heart in the most human of phenomena: love, fear, family, ambition, and the inner stirring for the one elusive element that might make a person complete. The stories in this collection are like nothing else, but they have one thing in common: they share the playful humor, deep heart, inquisitive mind, and altogether electrifying spirit of a writer with a fierce devotion to the entertainment of the reader.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

B.J. NOVAK is a writer and actor best known for his work on NBC's Emmy-Award winning comedy seriesThe Office as an actor, writer, director, and executive producer. He is also recognized for his standup comedy performances and his roles in motion pictures such as Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Disney'sSaving Mr. Banks. He is a graduate of Harvard University with a degree in English and Spanish literature. 

Book Clubs and High School Guests of The Music Hall 
At each Writers event, The Music Hall hosts local high school students selected by their teachers, who come free of charge to the event and get an opportunity to meet the author.  The Music Hall welcomes local book clubs attending on the night to take part in a drawing to be guests at a private backstage book signing/reception with the featured writer.  For more information on how to join the Writers on a New England Stage book club list and drawing, email Associate Producer Margaret Talcott atmtalcott@themusichall.org.  Interested high school and middle teachers can contact Programming Coordinator Chris Curtis at ccurtis@themusichall.org  

Tickets and Signed Books 

Tickets to Writers on a New England Stage: B.J. Novak  on Tuesday, February 11, are $13.25 ($11.25 for members of The Music Hall and NH Public Radio).Tickets can be purchased at The Music Hall box office in the Historic Theater, 28 Chestnut Street, Portsmouth, over the phone at 603-436-2400, or online at www.themusichall.org.  Signed copies of the author’s discussed work, ONE MORE THING, are $22.45 when reserved in advance through purchase of a voucher. Vouchers can be redeemed on the night for a signed book.  Additional copies of the book can be purchased on the evening for $24.95, as available. Book vouchers are not available online – call or visit the box office to purchase or for more information. 

About Writers on a New England Stage 

Writers on a New England Stage was created by executive producer Patricia Lynch, also executive director of The Music Hall, and is a partnership between The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio.  Since 2005, the series has spotlighted a broad range of celebrated authors including Salman Rushdie, John Irving, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Dan Brown, Isabel Allende, Stephen King, Ann Patchett, E.L. Doctorow, Madeleine Albright, John Updike, Wally Lamb, Jodi Picoult, David McCullough, and Cokie Roberts, among many others. Each author’s presentation is followed by an interview with Virginia Prescott, host of New Hampshire Public Radio’s “Word of Mouth.”  Live music is performed by the award-winning house band Dreadnaught.  The live shows are rebroadcast on New Hampshire Public Radio.  The series’ media is sponsor Yankee magazine; its companion bookstore is RiverRun, in Portsmouth, NH.  

Music Hall 2013-14 Season Sponsors:  River House Restaurant; Carey & Giampa Realtors 

Writers on a New England Stage Presenting Sponsor: University of New Hampshire 

Writers on a New England Stage Series Sponsors:  Auger Building Company; Piscataqua Landscaping Company; RMC Research Corporation; Calypso Communications; New England Audio Tech 

Media Sponsor: Yankee Magazine 

Evening Sponsor: Seacoast Area Libraries 

About The Music Hall

The Music Hall is a performing arts center featuring curated entertainment from around the world in two theaters in its downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire campus - one, a landmark 1878 Victorian theater, designated an American Treasure for the Arts by the National Park Service’s Save America's Treasures Program, the other the intimate Music Hall Loft around the corner, recently named "best performing arts venue" by Yankee Magazine and the recipient of the NH AIA award for design excellence. Acclaimed signature series bring top authors and artists to both stages, while HD broadcasts and independent film fill both screens. A radio show broadcast on NH Public Radio originates here. This dynamic arts center urges patrons to Explore + Learn via master classes, post film panel discussions, and matinees for children. An anchor cultural organization in this historic working seaport, The Music Hall is one of downtown Portsmouth’s biggest employers and largest contributors to the regional economy: The Music Hall and its patrons contribute $7 million annually to the local economy through show and visitor related spending. Innovative in its outlook, the organization is community oriented and committed to making the Seacoast flourish. The Music Hall is a 501c3 nonprofit managed by a professional staff with the assistance of a volunteer board.  Though global in the scope of its artists and programs, The Music Hall operates independently with the support of 3,000 members, 300 business supporters and 58 community partners. Welcoming more than 100,000 patrons (including 20,000 children) each year from the tri-state area and beyond, The Music Hall is the region’s center for the performing arts, literature and education…easy to get to, impossible to forget. An American Treasure celebrating 135 years.www.themusichall.org 

“The crown jewel of Portsmouth’s cultural scene” - Yankee Magazine 

“the beating cultural heart of New Hampshire's seacoast” -  Boston Globe  

  Advance Praise for B.J. NOVAK and ONE MORE THING 

“Writing with zing and humor in the spirit of Woody Allen and Steve Martin, Novak also ventures into the realm of George Saunders and David Foster Wallace. . . . Baseline clever and fresh, at best spectacularly perceptive, and always commanding, Novak’s ingeniously ambushing stories of longing, fear, pretension, and confusion reveal the quintessential absurdities and transcendent beauty of our catch as-catch-can lives.”—Booklist, starred review 

“Novak’s debut contains a buckshot 64 fun and funny short stories crammed into a single volume. Part Etgar Keret, part McSweeney’s, these tidy tales from the alum of TV’s The Office depart from the ‘how I became famous’ comedian’s biography for a decidedly more literary turn. . . . The bulk of Novak’s stories are comedic, and more than a few are surprisingly tender. . . . Written by an author in complete control of his craft.”—Publishers Weekly

"Everyone knew that B.J. Novak was smart and sexy, but funny, too!? Wow, screw that guy. I haven't laughed at words this hard since I read."—Joshua Ferris, author of The Unnamed and Then We Came to the End

"ONE MORE THING is a funny and inventive debut collection, infused with a deadpan absurdist wit reminiscent of Woody Allen and Ian Frazier. B.J. Novak's stories are sly and playful, but they can pack a real emotional wallop."—Tom Perrotta, author of Nine Inches

"Dark and hilarious, like the fudge Grandma used to make during her 'special' period. Deliciously funny!"—Jack Handey, author of Deep Thoughts and The Stench of Honolulu

"B.J. blew me away. He just keeps kicking short fiction in the rear, making it run ahead clutching its ass, and then he runs up and kicks it some more, and the result is one of the most aggressively, insanely awesome debuts in a while."—Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story