PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – Tickets for an appearance next month by “The Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown sold out so quickly members of the general public never had a chance.

Some people waited in line for five hours Saturday to get tickets to hear Brown, who will speak at The Music Hall on April 23.

Tickets for “Writers on a New England Stage,” a literary series by The Music Hall, were $10 for members of The Music Hall and New Hampshire Public Radio, which will broadcast the event the following day.

About 750 tickets were sold Saturday, selling out before tickets to the event were available to those who are not Music Hall members. Another 50 free tickets will be distributed to Seacoast high school students to encourage reading and writing.