Join us to celebrate the publication of Lighthouse member (and frequent Lit Fest Advanced Workshop attendee) Kristin Koval's debut novel, Penitence. Books will be available to purchase from The Bookies, and Kris will be on hand to sign copies.
5:30 PM Happy Hour
6:00 PM Reading, conversation, and Q&A
Kristin Koval is a former lawyer who always wanted to be a writer but initially wandered down other paths. She’s an alumna of not only Lit Fest, but Sewanee Writers’ Conference and Aspen Summer Words, and her short story Inheritance was named a Finalist in the Salamander 2022 Fiction Contest. She attended Phillips Exeter Academy, Georgetown University, and Columbia Law School. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, with her husband, two sons, and two great danes.
For readers of Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng, Penitence is a poignant exploration of love and forgiveness. It’s a suspenseful, addictive page-turner filled with literary insight that compels readers to consider whether the worst thing we’ve ever done is all that defines us.
When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, their lives are shattered. Desperate to defend their family, they turn to small-town lawyer Martine Dumont for help, but Martine isn’t just legal counsel—she’s also the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian, a now-successful New York City criminal defense attorney. As Julian and Angie confront their shared past and long-buried guilt from a tragic accident years ago, they must navigate their own culpability and the unresolved feelings between them.Spanning decades, from the ski slopes of rural Colorado to the streets of pre-9/11 New York City and back again, Kristin Koval’s debut novel Penitence is an examination of the complexities of familial loyalty, the journey of redemption, and the profound experience of true forgiveness.
“Koval maintains the pacing of a thriller while going deep on themes of guilt, forgiveness, and the toll of keeping secrets. Readers won’t be able to look away.”
—Publishers Weekly“Penitence, riveting as a thriller, is a wise and profound novel. After a shocking tragedy unfolds in a small Colorado community, those intimately affected must grapple with their limitations and their buried histories.”
—Claire Messud, bestselling author of The Emperor’s Children and This Strange Eventful History
