Montague Friends of the Library, in partnership with the Book Nook and Java Shop, are hosting Chad V. Broughman at 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Book Nook. Chad Broughman’s debut novel, The Fall of Bellwether, is the winner of the Hawthorne Prize for 2024. The Fall of Bellwether, Michigan-set historical fiction, begins pre-Civil War and follows its characters post-Civil War. The characters are complex and the plot intricate. The themes in the novel explore human cruelty, as well as compassion. The story is set in Bellwether, a fictional town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The community must come to terms with its prejudice and false piety, ending with redemption.
Broughman has had success with short stories previously, publishing two chapbooks as well as having his short stories printed in various journals, including Write Michigan Short Story Anthology. He has been awarded the Rusty Scythe award and the Adobe Cottage Writers Retreat honor in New Mexico, in addition to the Hawthorne Prize.
Broughman grew up in southern Michigan and attended Spalding University, earning an MFA. Today he teaches English and creative writing in northern Michigan. He is married and is the proud father of two growing boys.
