Scott Gould in Conversation with Michel Stone

About the Book

Peace Like a River, the latest novel from acclaimed Southern writer Scott Gould, weaves a lyrical and heartwarming tale of fathers, sons, and grandfathers, and the intricate bonds that define them. Sixty-something Elwin McClennon returns to the hometown in Lowcountry South Carolina — and the dying father — he fled fifteen years before. Accompanied by Thom, his odd and precocious thirteen-year-old son, Elwin embarks on a journey to reconcile with his father, and their complicated pasts, along the banks of the syrup-slow Black River. A captivating exploration of forgiveness, redemption, and the enduring bonds of family, Peace Like a River invites readers into a world where love and loss intersect with the healing power of nature and introspection.

About the Author

Scott Gould is the author of six books, including The Hammerhead Chronicles, winner of the Eric Hoffer Award for Fiction, and Things That Crash, Things That Fly, which won a 2022 Memoir Prize for Books. His other honors include a Next Generation Indie Book Award, an IPPY Award for Fiction, the Larry Brown Short Story Award and the S.C. Arts Commission Artist Fellowship in Prose. His work has appeared in a number of publications, including Kenyon Review, Crazyhorse, Pithead Chapel, Garden & Gun, and New Stories from the South, among others. He lives in Sans Souci, South Carolina.

About the Conversation Partner

Michel Stone’s novels Border Child and The Iguana Tree have been compared by critics to the writings of John Steinbeck, and both books are in development as a limited television series. Her third novel, Fig Days, is forthcoming from Regal House Press in early 2027. She is the winner of the Mary Frances Hobson Prize for Distinguished Achievement in Arts and Letters, the Patricia Winn Award for Southern Literature, and the South Carolina Fiction Award. Stone has published numerous stories and essays and her novels have been favorably reviewed by The New Yorker, The San Francisco Chronicle, Charleston Magazine, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Charlotte Observer, The New York Journal of Books, Texas Observer, Kirkus (starred review), Publishers Weekly (starred review), Booklist, Library Journal, and many others. She's a graduate of Clemson University with a Master's Degree from Converse College. She currently serves on the boards of Converse University and Spartanburg Day School. She's a past board chair of the Hub City Writers Project. She has received residencies from The Ucross Foundation, the Wildacres Residency Program, and the Rowland Writers Retreat. Michel is a Ucross Fellow, Spartanburg Regional Fellow, Liberty Fellow, and a Fellow of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.