Author Talk: Sarah Ruiz-Grossman

Join us in celebrating the release of Sarah Ruiz-Grossman’s new book, A Fire So Wild on February 22nd at 6:30 PM. She will be joined in conversation by Jenavieve Hatch.

About the Author
Sarah Ruiz-Grossman is a writer and former reporter at HuffPost, where she covered the climate crisis and other social justice issues. Born and raised in New York City, she currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

About the Book

As a wildfire threatens Berkeley, the city’s inhabitants are forced to reckon with the cracks in the lives they’ve built.

Abigail, a wealthy homeowner, decides to throw a lavish birthday in a hillside mansion to raise money for the city’s newest affordable housing project—and prove to her family that she’s made something worthwhile of her life. Sunny, a construction worker who sleeps in a van along the bay’s shore, is in the running for an apartment—but only if enough funds are raised at the party.

As the heat and smoke from the approaching blaze descend upon the town, tensions rise and residents—young and old, haves and have nots—confront the inequities laid bare, and the fragility of building a life in a world on fire.

Alternating among a colorful cast of characters, A Fire So Wild is a timely, tautly paced novel that questions why when everything burns, not everyone is left with scars.
About Jenavieve Hatch
Jenavieve Hatch is a California politics reporter at her hometown newspaper, The Sacramento Bee, where she covers campaigns, elections, and culture war politics of Northern California. In 2022, she received first place in the California Journalism Awards for her coverage of the 2022 election, specifically for her coverage of “Red California” and conservative movements in a blue state. She is a graduate of the UC Davis Creative Writing MFA program, where she wrote a collection of essays called Meditations on Recovery. She would almost always rather be reading poetry.