Anderson’s works capture people and events characteristic of a summer in Maine. For example, her works include Hauling Buoys, Fair Night, Clammer, Hay Day, and Last Night at the Lake. The accompanying stories, by 10 acclaimed and award-winning Maine writers, animate the paintings, revealing and honoring the genuine uniqueness of a summer in Maine.

There is tenderness and warmth, but also danger and torment, and throughout, an experience of the qualities that make Maine what it is – resourcefulness, determination, strength, and independence. If you know Maine well, you may find yourself in one of these paintings or stories; if you are new here, this book will excite your imagination and make you want to create your own summer story.

The short stories in “Summer Stories” were selected through a competition sponsored by the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. Authors included in the book are Mary Lou Bagley, Nancy L. Brown, Meredith Nash Fossell, Claire Guyton, Kathryn Hall, David Karraker, Catherine J. S. Lee, Laura Levenson, John B. Nichols, Jr., and Anna Noyes.

The artist, Leslie Anderson, will be joined at the book talk/signing by two of the authors, Claire Guyton and Nancy L. Brown. Guyton, the Maine Arts Commission’s 2012 Literary Fellow, is a freelance writer, editor, and writing coach in Lewiston. Brown is an award-winning writer who lives in Bethel where she writes a weekly column for the Bethel Citizen.