Press release

Running With The Bulls

Valerie Hemingway, author of “Running With the Bulls” joins Hemingway Days with a book signing at the Custom House, Monday, July 18th.

The year is 1959, the place Spain. An aspiring young journalist is given the assignment of a lifetime, interview Ernest Hemingway. It is an encounter that changes the young woman’s life forever, and that woman is Valerie Danby-Smith, later to become Hemingway by marriage.

“Running With the Bulls” is more than a first-hand account of Hemingway’s life from 1959-1961. It is a compelling tale of a woman coming of age, finding her voice as a writer and her complicated ties with Ernest Hemingway and his family. Valerie’s unique relationship with the writer provided a rare opportunity for this intimate account as she became his assistant, secretary, and friend.

Amid bullfights in Spain, literary salons in Paris and Cuban excursions, Valerie’s prose sets the pace for a wild romp through Europe with Hemingway and his gang.

As Hemingway nears the end of his life, Valerie sets off to explore her own future, until his death sends her and his widow Mary to Cuba to sort his belongings and find a way to get his affects out of communist Cuba. Years later, when Valerie marries Hemingway’s son Gregory, whom she had met at his funeral, the adventure continues.

“Running with the Bulls” is a fascinating portrayal of a time gone by, a man whose legend lives on, and a woman whose destiny was deeply entwined with the legendary Hemingway family.

Valerie Hemingway will sign books at a reception immediately following the premiere of “Death in the Afternoon,” a one-man show created and performed by Brian Gordon Sinclair. Curtain rises at 7:30 at the Waterfront Playhouse. “Running With the Bulls” is available for purchase at the Custom House. Drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served at the reception.