Vienna's independent bookshop Bards Alley will host author Susan Metallo on Thursday, Oct. 22, for a free talk about her new young adult novel Hearts on the Table.

The event runs from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Church Street store. Bards Alley bookseller and indie author Alice Scott will moderate the conversation, with New York Times bestselling author Andrew Joseph White joining as a guest, according to the bookshop's events page. Registration is required.

Hearts on the Table, published Sept. 22 by Candlewick Press, reimagines William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night during World War I. The 464-page novel follows 17-year-old Violet, who is shipwrecked on an island behind enemy lines while fleeing England with her twin brother. Disguised as a man, she takes a job delivering love poetry and stumbles into competing romantic entanglements.

The book features queer, trans and neurodivergent characters. It has earned starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Booklist and the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books.

Metallo, a youth services librarian who lives in Virginia, writes on her publisher's site that her goal was "to honor the neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ experiences of the early twentieth century with a balance of accuracy and hope, acknowledging the challenges and discrimination while focusing on agency and joy."

Her debut novel, Reasons To Hate Me, was an Indies Introduce Selection for Summer/Fall 2025 and named one of Publishers Weekly's best YA books of the year, according to her Amazon author page.

White grew up in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley and earned his MFA from George Mason University. He is the bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us, The Spirit Bares Its Teeth and Compound Fracture, according to his website. He lives near Washington, D.C.

White has his own Bards Alley event coming up. He will launch his upcoming YA thriller You're No Better on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. at Reston Regional Library in Reston.

Scott, who holds a creative writing degree from George Mason, works as an independent bookseller specializing in queer and underappreciated books.

Copies of Hearts on the Table will be available for purchase at the Oct. 22 event, and a book signing will follow the discussion. Attendees can RSVP for free through Eventbrite.

The bookshop, which opened in 2017, is planning a move from 110 Church Street NW to a building owner Jennifer Morrow purchased for $1.5 million at 103 Church St. NE, as FFXnow reported in February. Thursday's event takes place at the current location.

Upcoming at Bards Alley:

  • Thursday, Oct. 22, 6–7 p.m.: Susan Metallo author talk, Hearts on the Table (Bards Alley, Church Street, Vienna). Free; RSVP required.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 27, 7–8 p.m.: Andrew Joseph White launch event, You're No Better (Reston Regional Library, 11925 Bowman Towne Dr., Reston). Free; registration required.