The Hickory Stick Bookshop is delighted to welcome author Richard Babcock, who will be signing copies of his new book, “A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon” on Sunday, August 24th at 2 pm.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the stark Nevada landscape of the 1950s, “A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon” explores the aftermath of a murder through the intertwined lives of three individuals. Tom Lang, a deputy sheriff, finds solace in a secret affair with Ettie Calvert, the wife of his overbearing partner, Ronnie. Their lives unravel when Adam Ott, a troubled teenager, impulsively murders Ronnie, setting off a harrowing chain of events that culminates in a deadly pursuit through the rugged mountains. Against the backdrop of the country’s nuclear bomb tests, which ominously shadow the narrative, Tom, Ettie, and Adam each wrestle with their choices and seek redemption from the haunting consequences that relentlessly pursue them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A native of the Midwest, Richard Babcock trained as a lawyer but has spent a career as a writer and editor moving between fiction and nonfiction. He was a top editor at New York magazine, then longtime editor in chief at Chicago. He has taught writing at Northwestern University, among other schools. A resident of Litchfield County, Babcock has published three novels, including “Are You Happy Now?”, a finalist for adult fiction from The Society of Midland Authors.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

“A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon is so well written, so well crafted, and so deeply moving that it climbs beyond most novels of its genre and into the realm of true art. Dick Babcock is one of the best in the business.”
-Jonathan Eig, Pulitzer Prize winning author of King: A Life

“If John Updike had gotten together with Cormac McCarthy to write a novel called No Country for Young Men Either, they might have come up with a book as urgent and finely-wrought as Richard Babcock’s A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon. This is a page-turner for the thoughtful reader: sensitive, suspenseful and deeply forgiving of its all-too-human characters. Babcock shoots for the heart and his aim is true.”
— Peter Blauner, New York Times bestselling author of Picture in the Sand and Slow Motion Riot

“The starkly genuine western landscape of A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon is likely to make you think of Cormac McCarthy, but the moral universe of this novel is unique and true unto itself. And, as in all of Babcock’s work, the pages are suffused with a knowing tenderness. He writes with a very smart heart and in his latest book he takes you on a suspenseful, soul stirring ride through a realm whose barrenness makes his characters seem all the more vibrantly alive. Babcock is all hat and all saddle.”
–Michael Daly, author of New York’s Finest and The Book of Mychal

This event is free and open to the public. If you are unable to attend this event, you may reserve signed copies of “A Small Disturbance on the Far Horizon” by calling The Hickory Stick Bookshop at (860) 868 0525, or shop our website 24/7 at www.hickorystickbookshop.com.

The Hickory Stick Bookshop, 2 Green Hill Rd
https://hickorystickbookshop.com/event/2025-08-24/richard-babcock-book-signing