Please join us for an evening with O.Henry to kick off the 2016 Brewing Up Books Festival. We will tip a metaphorical glass with the turn of the 20th Century author who is as well-known for his drinking as his short stories. O. Henry (pen name for William Sydney Porter) is celebrated for his uncommon simplicity in exploring the "every-day-world" of "every-day-people." Born in North Carolina, Porter experienced the burgeoning nation as it expanded westward following the close of the American Civil War. Trained as a pharmacist, Porter left home at an early age and traveled the Southwest as a cowboy, a newspaper columnist, sketch artist and embezzler. Eventually, as a recognized writer of short fiction, he moved to New York City writing almost a story a week for the New York World Sunday Magazine before dying of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 47. O. Henry's stories, although often panned by the critics, were admired for their simplicity and earthiness. His characters were often based on the people he met along his travels and the plot twists, wit and wordsmithing are trademarks of his style. A few of his most well known stories include The Ransom of Red Chief, The Gift of the Magi and The Last Leaf.