Meet author India Hayford, author of the Arkansas Gems selection The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree!
Join us in the Gallery at Laman for a special author talk and book signing on Thursday, October 16th! Author India Hayford will visit to discuss her recent book, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree, a 2025 Arkansas Gems selection. After a talk and Q&A session, Hayford will be available to sign copies of the book, available for purchase from Paper Hearts Bookstore at the event. Light refreshments will be provided. All are welcome to attend this free event.
Questions? Contact Susannah at sstubbs@nlrlibrary.org
About the book:
THE SONG OF THE BLUE BOTTLE TREE draws readers into an immersive tale of found family, folk magic, desperate choices, and the ties that bind, as an unconventional young woman returns to rural Arkansas after years spent in exile, first at a mental hospital, then as a circus snake handler and occasional hoochie kootch dancer. Written by a naturalist and set on the land where her family roots stretch back two centuries, it is a haunting story about letting go and the things we leave behind. It is both harrowing and triumphant – a visceral Southern debut as otherworldly and beautiful as it is unflinching and wry – with a balance of darkness, wit, and the natural world reminiscent of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.
About the author:
India Hayford is a naturalist, teacher, historical reenactor, artist, and author. The recipient of the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award for best work informed by a relationship with the natural world, she is the author of two nonfiction books, a short story collection, and her debut novel, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree. She also writes The Howl, a quarterly wildlife newsletter with national distribution, and her articles have appeared in various regional and national publications, including Threads and Needle Arts. A member of Member of Wyoming Writers and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, she is a regular speaker at the Werner Wildlife Museum, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the Embroiderers Guild of America, and local historical and arts organizations. She was born in Arkansas, where her family roots go back to the 1830s and her family tree farm still stands in Hempstead County. She now lives with her husband in Wyoming, but she returns every year to visit the hills, swamps, and pine forests of southwest Arkansas.
Website: IndiaHayford.com Instagram: @IndiaHayfordBooks
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