Shelley Read spent 13 years writing her first novel in the margins of a teaching career. Published at 57, "Go as a River" has now sold nearly 2 million copies worldwide and been translated into 35 languages. On Thursday, July 30, she'll bring that story to Park City for a free author talk and book signing.

The event runs 7 to 8 p.m. at the Park City Library's Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave., as the culmination of this year's One Book, One Community program. Registration is available at parkcity.events.mylibrary.digital or summit.events.mylibrary.digital.

"Never in a million years did I expect even one person to read this tiny quiet book about rural Colorado, let alone to see it now pushing upward of 2 million copies sold worldwide," Read told the Park Record.

The novel, published in 2023, is set in 1940s Colorado and follows 17-year-old Victoria Nash, who runs her family's peach farm in the fictional town of Iola alongside Wilson Moon, a young man displaced from his tribal land. The town is eventually submerged under a reservoir when the Gunnison River is dammed.

The One Book, One Community program has run for more than 20 years, organized by the Summit County Library, Park City Library, and Dolly's Bookstore. The Friends of the Park City Library and Friends of the Summit County Library fund the annual author presentation.

Read, a fifth-generation Coloradan, taught for nearly 30 years, with 27 of those at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado. She said she wants her Park City talk to encourage anyone still chasing a creative dream. "It's never too late," she told the Park Record, describing how she chipped away at the manuscript while teaching full-time and raising a family.

The book has won the 2024 High Plains Book Award and the 2023 Reading the West Book Award, and has landed on bestseller lists in 45 countries, according to Read. She has completed five major book tours, three international, with stops in South Korea, China, and Japan.

Libraries in Summit County and Park City have purchased additional copies of "Go as a River" for checkout. The e-book and audiobook are also available through the Libby app with no wait time. More information about Read is at shelleyread.com.