Dayton Literary Peace Prize Author 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, 5:00 p.m. at Wright Library, 1776 Far Hills Avenue in Oakwood, Ohio. 

Wright Library board member and Wright State University professor Dr. Drew Strombeck will serve as moderator for this event.

Join us for a chance to win a copy of “The Sunflower Boys” or tickets to the DLPP Conversation with the Authors (Saturday, November 7 at Victoria Theatre, Dayton).

Wright Library’s Community Room seating capacity is 80, so please arrive early to ensure your seat. 

Sam Wachman's visit 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.

More at Sam Wachman's website