Dayton Literary Peace Prize Author Visit 2026
Wright Library to host author Sam Wachman
About this Event
As a kick-off to the Dayton Literary Peace Prize weekend, Wright Memorial Public Library is pleased to welcome Sam Wachman for a public conversation with the author on Friday, November 6, 5 p.m., at Wright Library, 1776 Far Hills Avenue in Oakwood, Ohio.
WMPL board member and Wright State University professor Andrew Strombeck will serve as moderator for this event.
Guests are encouraged to bring a book for signing after the program. In-person attendees may also enter into a drawing to win tickets to the 2026 DLPP Conversation with the Authors event November 7, 2026, at the Victoria Theatre in Dayton (winners can pick up their tickets at the Will Call Window under "Wright Library"). Must be present to win. More event details on the Wright Library Calendar.
Wright Library’s Community Room seating capacity is 80, so please arrive early to ensure your seat.
The November 6th author talk at Wright Library is made possible with support from the Wright Memorial Library Foundation and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation.
Read more from DLPP Authors
Visit the DLPP Authors section at Wright Library or browse the Wright Library DLPP Collection in the Catalog - titles from past finalists, winners, and runners-up.
About the Author
Sam Wachman is a writer from Cambridge, Massachusetts with Ukrainian roots. His short fiction has appeared in Sonora Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, and New England Review. Before writing The Sunflower Boys, he taught English to primary schoolers in central Ukraine and worked with refugee families in Europe and the United States.
The Sunflower Boys is a poignant coming-of-age story with the sensitivity and haunting power of What Belongs to You and Swimming in the Dark, about a young boy wrestling with his sexuality as war breaks out in modern Ukraine.
Wachman is the winner of the 2026 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction. He has also been featured in NPR, the Washington Post, People Magazine, Oprah Daily, the Boston Globe, and more.