The Ice House is described as “a picturesque, heartrending tale of a man on the verge of losing his livelihood, and of losing forever his relationship with his son.” The ice factory that Johnny MacKinnon has run for decades is facing devastating OSHA fines following a mysterious accident and may have to close. He hasn’t spoken to his son back in Scotland since the young man’s addiction to heroin drove his father to the breaking point. Witty and heartbreaking by turns, The Ice House is a vibrant portrait of multifaceted human characters that the reader will not soon forget.

Laura Lee Smith is the author of the novels The Ice House (Grove Press 2017) and Heart of Palm (Grove Press 2013). Her short fiction has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories (2015) and New Stories from the South: The Year's Best (2010). She’s been praised for her “intelligence, heart, and wit” (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls), and works as an advertising copywriter.

The program is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served, and the author will sign copies of her book at the conclusion of her presentation.