Garrison Keillor, the humorist who was the subject of allegations of sexual harassment three years ago, is planning to release two new books later this year, the Associated Press reports.
Keillor will publish a novel and a memoir with Arcade Publishing in the summer and fall, respectively. The novel, The Lake Wobegon Virus, is set in the same fictional town where many of Keillor’s books have taken place. It follows a series of the town’s residents who have fallen victim to a mysterious virus that causes “episodic loss of social inhibition,” the publisher says.
The memoir, titled That Time of Year, will discuss the sexual harassment allegations against him, according to the AP. Keillor was fired by Minnesota Public Radio, which for years had aired his A Prairie Home Companion show, after a woman who worked with Keillor claimed that he touched her inappropriately.
Arcade, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, recently made headlines when it published Woody Allen’s memoir, Apropos of Nothing. That book was originally set to be published by Hachette Book Group, but the company reversed plans to release the memoir after a walkout by its employees.
“The novel was fun to write, the memoir not so much,” Keillor said. “Arcade and Skyhorse are bold and fearless publishers and I’m proud to be an old draft horse in their barn.”
The Lake Wobegon Virus is slated for publication on Sept. 8, with That Time of Year following on Nov. 17.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
