The Briar Patch is thrilled to host debut author Rylan Hynes for an event celebrating GRAFTING, their recently released novel. They will be in conversation with local author Mo Drammeh at BookSpace on Thursday, July 9 at 7pm. Hope to see you there!
ABOUT GRAFTING:
When Eben Turner returns to his family’s apple orchard in rural Maine after his parents’ death, he confronts more than inheritance—he faces the love he left behind. A decade has passed since he and Chris Hartley, the Methodist minister’s son, were torn apart in their final year of high school, their secret relationship severed by faith and small-town judgment. As Eben and Chris work to understand how they came to be parted, they discover that healing requires more than forgiveness—it demands the courage to cultivate love in hostile ground.
Set against the Edenic beauty of New England, Grafting unfolds through dual perspectives in a lyrical narrative that mirrors the art of joining two trees to create something stronger.
A voice-driven and unforgettable tale of queer love and rural identity, this exquisite debut explores the cost of forbidden desire and the resilience required to claim one’s authentic self.
ABOUT RYLAN HYNES:
Rylan Hynes (they/them) is a trans author and artist. An alum of the Tin House Writers Workshop, their work has been supported by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance and Monson Arts. Currently Hynes serves on the Community Advisory Board for the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance and is the Communications & Editorial Director at The Telling Room, a nationally recognized youth-serving creative writing nonprofit based in Portland, Maine. You can find their writing Rustica Journal, edible MAINE, The Masters Review, and elsewhere. They live with their husband in central Maine with far too many heritage apple trees.
ABOUT MO DRAMMEH:
Mo Drammeh grew up in Bangor, Maine, where he has lived all of his life, and is a senior at Bangor High School. In 2022, Mo won the 2022 Crime Flash Competition from the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and was named among Maine Magazine’s Mainers of The Year for his writing. Mo is a 2023 Macklin Fellow, and plans to attend the University of Maine to pursue a science degree and was awarded with full tuition for his project at the Maine State Science Fair. He plans to continue writing into the foreseeable future and a bit past that, too. He is currently working on the first installment of a planned superhero fantasy & high fantasy trilogy.