VERMONT Magazine Summer 2022 | Page 41

Words to Remember
actress . “ She ’ s done the audiobooks for Hour of the Witch , The Flight Attendant , The Guest Room , The Sleepwalker , and The Lioness ,” says Bohjalian . “ Raising her here in Vermont was one of the best parts of my life , and it brings me so much happiness to be able to work with her .”
In 2018 , Bohjalian branched out into a new medium when he wrote his first play , Wingspan . “ I wound up writing plays because my friend , Alexander Dinelaris , who wrote the screenplay for Birdman , suggested that I write one . I originally thought he was kidding , but he kept asking about it , so eventually I did . I wrote a play about two flight attendants that was completely different from The Flight Attendant , and I had a lot of fun doing it .” Wingspan premiered in 2018 at 59E59 in New York City , and starred Grace Experience and K . K . Glick . Bohjalian then worked with David Saint , the Artistic Director of the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick , New Jersey , to write a stage adaptation of Midwives , which premiered in 2020 . it ’ s going to be their chocolate truffles . When I heard that they wanted to create a chocolate bar to celebrate my new novel , The Lioness , I felt like a kid in a candy store . They have come up with a delicious extra dark chocolate bar , and I really appreciate how two dollars from each bar will be donated to Fair Trade USA to empower women in agriculture across Africa .”
In addition to savoring some tasty treats from Lake Champlain Chocolates , Bohjalian also loves traveling around Vermont and enjoying the best of what the Green Mountain State has to offer . He ’ s a fan of the Dorset Theatre Festival and the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Southern Vermont , and he always makes sure to stop in at the Northshire Bookstore whenever he is in Manchester . “ Up north , the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington is phenomenal , and the Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center in Stowe is gorgeous ,” adds Bohjalian . “ Addison County is a spectacular place to bike . It has quiet two-lane roads with almost no traffic – it ’ s heaven for cyclists .”
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Bohjalian is known for his ability to create believable characters from all walks of life , and he goes above and beyond to be mindful of the societal impact of his novels , including The Lioness . “ I believe that it would be wrong to write a book in certain settings without diverse voices , such as the African voices in The Lioness , and its many female characters . It ’ s a story that is deeply-rooted in both the Hollywood experience and the African experience , and they come together in the novel in complex and fascinating ways .”
In line with his commitment to advocating for racial equity , gender equity , and female empowerment through his creative works , Bohjalian has partnered with Lake Champlain Chocolates to create a limitededition chocolate bar that will coincide with the release of The Lioness . Bohjalian elaborates : “ I have been delighting in Lake Champlain Chocolates for years . If I ’ m allowed one food on a desert island ,
Bohjalian is also grateful to be a member of Vermont ’ s extraordinary literary community – and is thankful for the life lessons that he has learned in the Green Mountain State . “ We have a lot of talented poets , novelists , and short story writers living here , including Archer Mayor , Julia Alvarez , Jay Parini , Stephen Kiernan , and Jennifer McMahon , among others . Wallace Stegner and Howard Frank Mosher made an incredible impact with their work , and I also have a great deal of respect for everyone who is working as a journalist in Vermont today . Vermont is a wonderful place to live , raise children , and write , and I ’ ve learned a lot from living here and having conversations with my neighbors . There are so many amazing stories here , and I ’ m excited to find new stories about Vermont that haven ’ t been told yet .”
chrisbohjalian . com
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