John Waters, novelist, is on his way.
After completing a 17-city tour of holiday-themed spoken-word shows in December, the Baltimore-based writer and filmmaker is about to embark on an eight-city, coast-to-coast, in-person tour to promote his first novel, “Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance,” which officially comes out May 3.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, the publisher of “Liarmouth,” announced today that the tour will start at Politics & Prose in Washington, D. C., on May 2.
After that, stops will include the Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 3; Symphony Space in New York City on May 4; the Chicago Humanities Festival on May 7; the Green Arcade at McRoskey Co. Loft in San Francisco on May 9; Skylight Books with the Los Angeles Library Foundation at the Aratani Theatre in Los Angeles on May 10; Atomic Books in Baltimore on May 15, MAP in Provincetown on June 16 and the Center for Fiction in New York City on June 21.
In many cases, Waters is expected to participate in an interview or dialogue in an auditorium with a host who knows his work and then sign books afterwards. At least one of the venues, Symphony Space in New York, is selling tickets for “livestream” access for those who can’t make it in-person. At Atomic Books in Baltimore, where the line is expected to stretch around the block, Waters is simply signing books starting at 5 p.m.
All of this is on top of an already-busy touring schedule for Waters’ “False Negative” spoken-word show and other personal appearances. Bookings include Lawrence, Kansas, on April 14; Las Vegas on April 15; San Luis Obispo, California, on April 16; New York City on April 22 (his 76th birthday); Atlantic City, New Jersey on April 23; John Waters Night at the Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore on April 29; Phoenixville, Pa., on May 14; and The Barbican in London on June 10.
Best known for movies such as “Pink Flamingos” and “Hairspray,” Waters is the author of nine previous books, including the national bestsellers “Role Models,” “Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America,” and “Mr. Know-It-All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder.”
“Liarmouth” is a 256-page novel about a woman who steals suitcases at the airport. The book costs $26 in the United States and $35 in Canada and is available for preorder. Lottchen Shivers, who grew up in Bolton Hill, is leading the publicity campaign, including the book tour.
On its website, Farrar, Straus and Giroux calls the book “a hilariously filthy tale of sex, crime and family dysfunction from the brilliantly twisted mind of John Waters.”
The publisher also described the title character:
“Marsha Sprinkle. Suitcase thief. Scammer. Master of disguise. Dogs and children hate her. Her own family wants her dead. She’s smart, she’s desperate, she’s disturbed and she’s on the run with a big chip on her shoulder. They call her ‘Liarmouth,’ – until one insane man makes her tell the truth.”
