Last week a group of people gathered together on a gorgeous summer night on the deck of Banded Brewing to plan the upcoming launch of a new book called “The Great Transition.” Biddeford resident and author, Nick Fuller Googins was present as well as representatives from McArthur Library, Elements and Banded Brewing. It is not every day that a local writer is published by Atria, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.

In the literary world, this is a huge deal. Atria is a prominent national publisher and “The Great Transition” is garnering a lot of attention. In the article by USA Today, “Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour book looks: See the beautiful book covers that scream Swift,” the book’s stunning jacket is compared to one of the megastar’s onstage costumes. William Kent Krueger blurbs the book calling it “electrifying”.

Fuller Googins teaches fourth grade locally. He has been published in notable periodicals such as Men’s Health, Paris Review and Oxford American. This is his debut novel. The work is considered climate fiction, cli-fi for short. It is the story of a family in crisis set against the backdrop of a drastically changing environment. Here is a brief synopsis of the work:

Emi Vargas, whose parents helped save the world, is tired of being told how lucky she is to have been born after the climate crisis. But following the public assassination of a dozen climate criminals, Emi’s mother, Kristina, disappears as a possible suspect, and Emi’s illusions of utopia are shattered. A determined Emi and her father, Larch, journey from their home in Nuuk, Greenland to New York City, now a lightly populated storm-surge outpost built from the ruins of the former metropolis. But they aren’t the only ones looking for Kristina.

Thirty years earlier, Larch first came to New York with a team of volunteers to save the city from rising waters and torrential storms. Kristina was on the frontlines of a different battle, fighting massive wildfires that ravaged the western United States. They became part of a movement that changed the world­—The Great Transition—forging a new society and finding each other in the process.

Alternating between Emi’s desperate search for her mother and a meticulously rendered, heart-stopping account of her parents’ experiences during The Great Transition, this novel beautifully shows how our actions today determine our fate tomorrow. A triumphant debut, The Great Transition is a breathtaking rendering of our near future, told through the story of one family trying to protect each other and the place we all call home.

Come to the community celebration of this new novel at Banded Brewing on Thursday, Aug. 24 – happy hour begins at 5:30 p.m. and a chat with the author begins at 6:30 p.m. McArthur Library will be hosting a family friendly event on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 1-2 p.m. Meet Nick Fuller Googins and several young authors as well. All will be sharing their writing in an event which will prove to be the cutest author event ever!

“The Great Transition” will be available for purchase at Elements (across the street from the library) and at both events. Nick Fuller Goggins will be available to sign books as well. The library will have books available for loan. Please join us all for this wonderful community event. FMI contact Melanie at the library, 207.284.4181.