James Schiff and Michael Updike to talk about the Selected Letters via Zoom session

If you haven’t been able to attend one of the events featuring Selected Letters of John Updike editor James Schiff and Michael Updike, the author’s son, here’s your chance:

The Brattleboro Literary Festival invites everyone to join them on Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 4pm Central Time for a session featuring Schiff and Michael Updike “in conversation with Schiff’s book . . . which was named a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and listed as one of The New Yorker‘s Best Books of the Year and one of the Wall Street Journal’s Best Books of the Fall.”

Registration is required. Here’s the link.

Michael Updike reads his father’s letters at an Ipswich event

Michael Updike has been touring to promote Selected Letters of John Updike—as his father would have done, were he still with us. Interest in Updike has remained high in Ipswich, where the Updike’s lived for many years and where he wrote in an office on the second floor of the Caldwell Building.

Those who introduced him at The Ipswich Museum remarked how they had never seen the room so crowded, and Michael shared their marvel—especially, he noted, since it was a cold Super Bowl Sunday.

Those in attendance, and those who watch will especially enjoy the commentaries provided by Michael—starting with an explanation for the “garish” bull and bear necktie he wore, explaining that his father was invited to ring the bell to start the trading and was gifted the tie on that occasion.

Here is the link to the video recording.