Salem native Hannah Tinti returns to discuss debut novel

SALEM — Growing up in a historic neighborhood of Salem, author Hannah Tinti said she had plenty to draw from for her debut novel.

Set in 19th-century New England, "The Good Thief" is a fast-paced adventure story that features a one-handed orphan boy, seedy characters, and a journey through fishing ports and early industrial towns, according to Tinti. It will be released in the United States on Aug. 26.

Tomorrow, the Salem native will return to the Witch City to read from her novel and host a discussion at the Salem Athenaeum, a private lending library with some collections that date back to the city's early settlers.

Tinti grew up on Beckford Street and was always intrigued by local history. Although she has lived in New York City since 1995, she comes home often and said her Salem roots are inextricable from her work.

She is the daughter of Salem attorney Bill Tinti and his wife, Hester, who will attend the Athenaeum event.

"It's very rewarding to have her have such success," said her mother, who was a librarian. Both her parents are voracious readers but said they don't possess Hannah's gift for writing.

"I'm one of those readers who wishes they were writers — there are millions of us," Hester Tinti said. "It's very exciting to have your child do that."

After graduating from Bishop Fenwick High School in Peabody in 1990, Hannah attended Connecticut College and later earned her graduate degree in writing from New York University, where her thesis adviser was E.L. Doctorow, author of "Ragtime."

Tinti, 35, has worked for magazines, published a collection of short stories in 2004 called "Animal Crackers" and is editor of a literary magazine, One Story.

"The Good Thief" is published by The Dial Press, a division of Random House, and was just released in Great Britain. When the book is released stateside, Tinti will return to the North Shore for more events, including a reading at Spirit of '76 Bookstore in Marblehead, where she worked after college.

Tinti's Athenaeum appearance is sponsored by The Parlor, a new nonprofit creative writing center in Salem. It will mark The Parlor's first Creative Connection, where the author will field questions from Parlor executive director Adam Pieroni and the audience.

"This format creates a forum," Pieroni said, "connecting our thriving local literary community with the larger publishing world."

A: I purposefully didn't want to set it in real places because I wanted to really be able to imagine the towns, but it's definitely based on places I know. When the characters are traveling, I mention real towns, but they don't actually go to these towns.

A: I wrote the middle of the book first. It's a very dramatic thing that happens, where the characters basically dig up a guy who is still alive in a graveyard. ... I kept going back and forth creating the story around that scene.

A: E.L. Doctorow always advised his students not to research, and his books are very historical. His feeling is if you do too much research before writing the book, it drives the narrative. Instead, you read a lot of books after and go through and fix things. Plus, growing up in Salem, I had a lot to draw from.

A: I started it right after Sept. 11. I lived downtown at that time. (The book) has to do with grave robbers and things like that. There is a lot of darkness, and I think that was definitely part of it.

A: I had some really amazing English teachers at Bishop Fenwick who definitely set me on the path.

A: There is something about creating an alternative universe you fall into that's very appealing.

A: The first story I sold, to Story Magazine, called "Reasonable Terms," and I believe it was 1998. It's all about getting that first foot in the door.

A: It was about a bunch of giraffes in a zoo who go on strike. They want certain things, and they're not getting them. It's sort of funny, but part worker protest.

A: I'm always reading because my job at One Story is to read manuscripts all day. It's hard, but I make time for books.

A: You've got to read the fun books, but you also have to challenge yourself. I'll read Proust or something heavy-duty like that, and also try to balance it with something lighthearted and fun.

A: I've gotten better at it. As a writer, you spend so much time alone and in your own head that you really have to switch gears and become like a stage actor.

Photos

Salem native Hannah Tinti will be at the Salem Athenaeum on July 19 to talk about her new novel, "The Good Thief," which will be released in late August. Courtesy photo