About The Book

Written with humor, precision, and enormous heart, both a love letter and an elegy to the American West, Dream State is a thrillingly ambitious ode to the power of friendship, the weird weather of marriage, and the beauty of impermanence.

“Expansive…Explores how we might make meaning of our existence in the face of escalating loss."
- The New Yorker

About The Author

In addition to Dream State, Eric Puchner is the author of the novel Model Home, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and winner of a California Book Award, and two collections of short stories, Last Day on Earth and Music Through the Floor, a finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Award. He has received a Wallace Stegner Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts grant, and an Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. An associate professor in the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University, he lives in Baltimore with his wife, the novelist Katharine Noel, and their two children.

About The Moderator

Cody Boteler covers Anne Arundel County as part of The Banner’s regional team. He’s lived in Baltimore since 2017, when he graduated from Towson University, and lives in North Baltimore with his wife and two rescue dogs. Cody’s work has appeared in The Baltimore Sun, USA Today and Baltimore magazine, among other publications.

Why join the Banner Book Club?

The Banner Book Club is your chance to meet and speak directly with prize-winning authors about their latest books and connect with a community of fellow book lovers. It’s an opportunity to explore Maryland’s literary heritage and engage with the trusted journalism that drives positive change. You’ll be the first to know of our upcoming book club events. And it’s free!