Narrative Outloud

Susan Orlean is the author of numerous books, including The Library Book (Simon & Schuster, 2018); The Orchid Thief, a profile of orchid grower and breeder John Laroche and the basis of the film Adaptation; The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People; My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who’s Been Everywhere; and The History of Rin Tin Tin. Known for her deep immersion into the subjects she investigates, Orlean received an honorary doctorate from the University of Michigan in 2012. She lives in Los Angeles and Columbia, New York.

Photograph by Kelly Davidson.

Shooting Party

by Susan Orlean


A double-barreled shotgun is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Susan Orlean. But after firing one for the first time, at a wedding party, she admits, “I couldn’t stop.” Listen to the author of Rin Tin Tin and The Orchid Thief read her marvelous essay “Shooting Party” at Narrative Night 2014. It hits the bulls-eye.

VIDEO


“Shooting Party Preview” (01:02)

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