in conversation with William Carpenter
Thursday June 11
7:00 at Blue Hill Public Library
5 Parker Point Road
Blue Hill, Maine 04614
co-sponsored by Blue Hill Public Library
When Eben Turner returns to his family’s apple orchard in rural Maine after his parents’ death, he confronts more than inheritance—he faces the love he left behind. A decade has passed since he and Chris Hartley, the Methodist minister’s son, were torn apart in their final year of high school, their secret relationship severed by faith and small-town judgment. As Eben and Chris reckon with their buried past, they discover that healing requires more than forgiveness—it demands the courage to cultivate love in hostile ground.
Set against the Edenic beauty of New England, Grafting unfolds through dual perspectives in a lyrical narrative that mirrors the art of joining two trees to create something stronger. A voice-driven and unforgettable tale of queer love and rural identity, this exquisite debut explores the cost of forbidden desire and the resilience required to claim one’s authentic self.
Rylan Hynes (they/them) and their work have been a finalist for Proximity Magazine‘s 2024 Essay Contest, the 2024 Maine Chapbook Series, Tin House’s 2024 Summer Residency for Trans Writers, and longlisted for The Masters Review’s 2023 Novel Excerpt Contest and 2026 Flash Challenge. Hynes has received multiple accolades from the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, such as a Martin Dibner Fellowship and an inaugural Maine Lit Fest Fellowship. Most recently, Hynes was a writer-in-residence at Monson Arts and they are an alum of the Tin House Workshop. Their debut novel, Grafting, is forthcoming from Islandport Press on June 2nd, 2026.
Hynes studied creative writing, theatre, and visual art at College of the Atlantic, and has worked at independent bookstores and publishers across the country. Currently Hynes serves on the Community Advisory Board for the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance and is the Communications & Editorial Director at The Telling Room, a nationally recognized youth-serving creative writing nonprofit based in Portland, Maine.
When they aren’t busy writing, Rylan enjoys spending time with their spouse, making art, and gardening. You can find their visual art on display at the Michel Paul Artist Studio in Hallowell, Maine.
William Carpenter grew up in Waterville, Maine, graduated from Dartmouth and got a PhD at the University of Minnesota, taught at the University of Chicago, then returned to Maine to help found the College of the Atlantic, where he has taught for 48 years. He is the recipient of the Pablo Neruda award, the Black Warrior award, and the AWP award in poetry. His previous novels are A Keeper of Sheep, set on Cape Cod in the 1980s, and The Wooden Nickel, set in a Maine Coast lobstering community. He and the writer Donna Gold live in an old coastal inn and spend summers exploring Maine islands in their family sloop, Northern Light.