Milton Library Foundation’s 2019 Literary Gala celebrates resounding success

Featured author Patrick Radden Keefer draws record crowd to support the Milton Public Library

On October 16, the Milton Library Foundation held its annual Literary Gala at Granite Links. The featured author, Patrick Radden Keefe, an award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, drew a record crowd and delighted all as he delivered context and insights into the writing of his most recent book, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland. Mr. Keefe grew up in Dorchester, MA and is a graduate of Milton Academy. His latest work provides a haunting perspective into “The Troubles,” a turbulent time in the history of Northern Ireland.

This year’s Literary Gala included a VIP Reception with the author at 5 p.m., during which he personalized signed books and chatted with attendees. Hors d’oeuvres, dinner, and music followed the Reception, along with a presentation by Mr. Keefe. A question and answer session followed.

Patrick Radden Keefe and “Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland”

Patrick Radden Keefe is an award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and the author of the New York Times bestseller Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, as well as two other books: The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream, and Chatter: Dispatches from the Secret World of Global Eavesdropping. Patrick grew up in Dorchester, MA and is a graduate of Milton Academy.

Mr. Keefe has been nominated by The National Book Foundation for its 2019 non-fiction category for his novel, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland.  The National Book Foundation is an American nonprofit organization established “to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America.”

Mr. Keefe’s novel was also declared the winner of the 2019 Orwell Prizes for political writing. The prestigious Orwell prizes are awarded every year to books that best embody George Orwell’s ambition to “make political writing into an art.”

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland is a true crime narrative that sheds new light on the then-unsolved, 1972 murder of Jean McConvile, a thirty-eight-year-old mother of ten who was dragged from her Belfast home by masked intruders, her children clinging to her legs. She was never seen again. Her abduction and murder was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as “The Troubles,” a bitter conflict in Northern Ireland. Using the McConvile case as a starting point, Keefe uncovers the terrible truth about what happened to McConvile.

All proceeds will benefit the Milton Library Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit which raises private funds for the sole purpose of improving the Milton Public Library.

For more information, please email [email protected].