Montana Book Award Winner comes to Polson

POLSON — One hundred years young, the Polson Library is thriving, as the “Friends of the Library” hosted a reading by New York Times Bestseller Jaime Ford in celebration of the foundation’s centennial. 

Last Thursday the library hosted Ford, author of the bestselling book “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.”  The Seattle native now resides in Great Falls with his wife and six children. Being a family man has not deterred him from writing, as he has a new book coming out next year.

The positive reception from his first novel was a complete surprise to Ford.

 “I just really wanted someone without my last name to read my book,” he says. 

Originally a graphic designer, Ford quickly made the transition into literary stardom, as his book has now been on the New York Times Bestsellers list and has been translated into 32 languages. 

Ford describes his first book or his “ maiden voyage”  as  a “simple love story.” The focus is on a Chinese-American man recalling his first love, a Japanese-American girl during World War II. The story takes place in Seattle just after Pearl Harbor and describes  the effect that it had on the lives of Japanese- Americans at that time.  

The idea for his novel stemmed from “a love for history. I was actually, researching another story idea, then I heard about the items left at the Panama Hotel,” he said. 

The Panama Hotel located in Chinatown, Seattle, is home to a number of possessions left by 37 Japanese- American families that were placed in internment camps after Pearl Harbor.  

 Ford said that he likes to incorporate history into his work because “it gives me an excuse to read a lot of non-fiction.” 

Library Director Marilyn Trosper said,  “Ford was selected by the panel because we wanted  a Montana-based writer, and he was also the 2009 Montana Book Award Winner.”

The visit was sponsored by the library.“We tried to organize one event a month up until the (centennial) anniversary, and we knew we wanted Ford to come and speak,” Trosper said.

It was good to book him now as Ford’s schedule will be filling up, with the publication of his second book and his debut novel  being performed by Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre, Sept 18-Oct. 21. 

Ford began the introduction to his reading by stating, ”I love libraries, it is where the readers are!” It looks like  the “Friends of the Library” intend to keep it that way. 

The reading was followed by a banquet at KwatukNuk. The library will hold an event in celebration of the centennial on Nov. 12.