Join us for an evening with Tara Karr Roberts for a lively discussion about her beautiful debut novel Wild and Distant Seas. The conversation will be led by Steven Olsen-Smith, Professor Emeritus of English Literature at Boise State University, followed by a Q&A with the audience and a book signing.

The event celebrates Wild and Distant Seas as a 2026 Idaho Great Reads selection. The book was chosen by the Idaho Center for the Book to be featured along with Great Reads selections from across the country at the Library of Congress National Book Festival on August 22 in Washington, D.C.

Wild and Distant Seas is a brilliant debut novel by Moscow, Idaho-based author Tara Karr Roberts. Inspired by Moby-Dick, Roberts spins a spellbinding epic all her own based on a minor character in Melville’s classic work. In a journey that crosses continents and eventually leads to Idaho, this gorgeous work of historical fiction follows four generations of women as they navigate memory, motherhood, and the power to chart their own futures. This title has earned awards in 2025 from the Idaho Library Association and the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association.

Tara Karr Roberts is a freelance writer and newspaper columnist. She is a lifelong Idahoan who grew up along the Pend Oreille River and now lives in Moscow, Idaho, with her family.

Steven Olsen-Smith is Professor Emeritus of English Literature at Boise State University. He is the founding editor of Melville's Marginalia Online, a scholarly archive of the author's reading, and has published extensively on Moby-Dick and other writings by Herman Melville.

This event was made possible with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies.