SOLD OUT - Caroline O’Donoghue + Natasha Hodgson: Skipshock

Join us for an event with New York Times bestselling author Caroline O’Donoghue, discussing her new novel Skipshock. Joining Caroline in conversation is award-winning performer and narrator for the Skipshock audiobook Natasha Hodgson. This event will be hosted in the Strand Book Store's 3rd floor Rare Book Room at 828 Broadway on 12th Street.

Can’t make the event? Purchase a signed copy of Skipshock here.

ACCESSIBILITY:

Strand Book Store is an ADA compliant venue. The event space is accessible via elevator.

ASL interpretation is available for this event by request only. Please reach out to our events team at events@strandbooks.com by Aug. 24 to request.

Please ask a Strand employee upon arrival for directions to accessible seating if preferred.

For further information on accessibility in this space, or to make a request, please contact events@strandbooks.com

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"Readers will burn through the pages as they traverse gorgeous, fully realized worlds replete with their own varied dramas. . . . Incredibly immersive and utterly unique." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Set in a universe where time is key to power and privilege, this dazzlingly inventive, genre-defying fantasy romance is the first in a duology by best-selling author Caroline O’Donoghue.

Margo is a troubled schoolgirl. After the death of her father, she’s on her way to a new boarding school in a new city.

Moon is a salesman. He makes his living traveling through a series of interconnected worlds on a network of barely used train lines.

They never should have met. But when Margo suddenly appears one day on Moon’s train, their fates become inextricably linked. If Margo wants to survive, she has to pass as a traveling salesman, too—except it’s not that easy.

Move north on the train line and time speeds up, a day passing in mere hours. Move south and time slows down—a day can last several weeks. Slow worlds are the richest ones: you live longer, your youth lasting decades. Fast worlds are sharp, cruel, and don’t have time for pleasantries. Death is frequent. Salesmen die young of skipshock. That is, if they’re not shot down by the Southern Guard first.

As Margo moves between worlds and her attachment to Moon intensifies, she feels her youth start to slip between her fingers. But is Moon everything he seems? Is Margo?

Told through the eyes of both naive Margo and desperate Moon, the unforgettable realm of Skipshock will shake the way you think about love, time, and the fabric of the universe. The first in a planned duology from the best-selling author of The Gifts series, this utterly original epic is a must-read.

Caroline O’Donoghue is the New York Times best-selling author of the fantasy trilogy The Gifts, including All Our Hidden Gifts, which has been published in more than twenty territories around the world, The Gifts That Bind Us, and Every Gift a Curse, all illustrated by Stefanie Caponi. She is also the author of an adult novel, The Rachel Incident, which NPR, Time, and LitHub all named on their best books of the year lists. She has written for the London Times and the Guardian and is the host of an award-winning podcast, Sentimental Garbage. She was born in Ireland and lives in London.

Natasha Hodgson is an award-winning writer-performer and co-writer and star of Operation Mincemeat which won Best New Musical at the 2024 Olivier Awards, and which also saw her nominated for Best Actress in a Musical for originating the role of Ewen Montagu. She is currently originating the same role on Broadway which opened in March 2025 to glowing reviews, packed houses and four Tony award nominations including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Score of a Musical. She is also the audiobook narrator of Caroline O'Donoghue's fantasy sci-fi novel Skipshock.