Bailey-King Author Series welcomes Farrah Penn March 28

Thayer Academy and its Bailey-King Author Series will hold “An Evening with Farrah Penn” Thursday, March 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Southworth Library and via Zoom. 

An author and screenwriter based in Los Angeles, Penn graduated from the University of North Carolina with a focus in creative writing. Her debut novel, Twelve Steps to Normal, received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and was a 2018 Junior Library Guild selection. Her upcoming novel, Cancelled, will be released tomorrow (March 19) from Penguin Random House. In a review of that book, Publisher’s Weekly said: “Penn balances a thoughtful treatment of public shaming and accountability with comedy, indomitable characters, and a swoony rom-com subplot.” 

Penn has also written for several media publications with her words featured in Netflix Tudum, BuzzFeed, Bustle, Reader's Digest, and others. 

The deadline to register for the event is Thursday, March 21. 

Established in 2016 through the generous support of Todd Slawsby ‘88 and his wife Amelia, the Bailey-King Author Series honors longtime English faculty members Betty Bailey ‘63 and Jim King P ‘01, ‘04, ‘06 as it aims to inspire future writers. The series hosts highly regarded authors on campus to educate budding student writers about careers in writing and inspire them to seek new depths in their own voices.

Past Bailey-King authors include: Derek Green (2017), Dominic Tierney (2018), Kirsten Greenidge (2019), Mira T. Lee (2020), Brit Bennett (2021), Joshua Bennett (2022), and Kirsten King ‘10 (2023).