Cult author Mark Z. Danielewski returns with rare book tour stop at Doylestown Bookshop

A major literary event comes to Bucks County this month as Mark Z. Danielewski, the acclaimed and genre-defying author of “House of Leaves,” makes a rare national tour stop at The Doylestown Bookshop to celebrate the release of his long-awaited new novel, “Tom’s Crossing.”

Danielewski will appear Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m., for a conversation and signing at the 16 S. Main St. shop. The event marks one of only a handful of in-person appearances by the Los Angeles–based writer, whose previous work redefined the possibilities of storytelling for a generation of readers, according to a news release.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $45 and can be purchased here. According to the Bookshop, each ticket includes admission for one person and a hardcover copy of “Tom's Crossing,” a book that is 1,232 pages long, hence the elevated price from a usual hardcover.

• Books will be available for pick-up at the event.
• The author will sign and personalize books with your first name only, with no messages. He will not be able to sign any posters, bookmarks, scraps of paper, etc...
• You may bring TWO books from home to be signed by the author in addition to anything purchased in the store during the event.
• An adult must accompany children under 16.
• If you cannot attend the event, the shop will hold signed books at the front counter of The Doylestown Bookshop for pick-up. It can hold books for up to two weeks. Any books that have not been picked up or arranged to be shipped by the two-week mark will be donated. The Bookshop needs 24 hours post-event to prepare books for pick-up.
• Event tickets are non-refundable.

Danielewski’s last major standalone novel was released a quarter-century ago. In the years since, “House of Leaves” has become a cult classic — dissected in college courses, referenced in television, and revered by fans of experimental fiction. Now, with “Tom’s Crossing,” Danielewski returns to reinvent another American genre: the Western.

A haunted, cinematic journey of loyalty and loss

Described by Stephen King, according to the release, as “an amazing work of fiction… a blood-drenched story of pursuit and two brave and resourceful children… I immersed myself. Have never read anything like it,” “Tom’s Crossing” blends the stark mythos of the American frontier with Danielewski’s signature sense of dread and innovation.

The story follows Kalin March and Tom Gatestone, two teenagers who swear to rescue a pair of horses marked for slaughter by a ruthless local patriarch. When tragedy strikes, Kalin continues the vow alone — Tom’s ghost now riding beside him, while Tom’s sister, Landry, trails close behind. What begins as an act of mercy becomes a relentless, spectral pursuit across the Utah wilderness, culminating in a reckoning where courage, loyalty, and the cost of a promise collide.

According to a news release, the book has already earned starred reviews from “Booklist” and “Library Journal,” along with strong notices from “Publishers Weekly” and “Kirkus Reviews.” It has been featured by “The New York Times,” “The Guardian,” “The Boston Globe,” “The Los Angeles Times,” “Vulture,” “Lit Hub,” and “Paste” as one of the essential reads of the fall literary season.