The 2025 Clifford W. Burgess Fall Author Night

Author Adam Higginbotham and Pat Callaghan

October 9, at Vinegar Hill

The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library in Kennebunkport is pleased to once again partner with Vinegar Hill for this special evening with Adam Higginbotham, author of CHALLENGER: A TRUE STORY OF HEROISM & DISASTER ON THE EDGE OF SPACE. From the New York Times bestselling author of Midnight in Chernobyl comes the definitive, dramatic, minute-by-minute story of the Challenger disaster based on fascinating new archival research and in-depth reporting—a riveting history that reads like a thriller. A masterful blend of human drama and fascinating and absorbing science, Challenger brings to life a turning point in history—and the result is an even more complex and astonishing story than we remember.

Doors open at 5:30 for the purchase of drinks, snacks, and books. The program begins at 6:30.

The author will be interviewed by former TV news anchor and journalist Pat Callgahan (WCSH-TV, Portland), who covered the Challenger story in 1986.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

On January 28, 1986, just seventy-three seconds into the flight, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart over the Atlantic Ocean, shocking the world and killing all seven people on board. The best-selling author Adam Higginbotham will discuss his newest book, “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space” at 6:30 p.m. on October 9 at Vinegar Hill Music Theatre in Arundel.

This third Annual Fall Author event is hosted by the Louis T. Graves Memorial Free Library in Kennebunkport, Maine and is open to the public. The annual fundraising event features nationally recognized authors and speakers (last year’s speaker was Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and celebrated teacher Richard Russo, interviewed by fellow fiction writer Tom Perrotta).

“Challenger” is the definitive, dramatic, minute-by-minute story of the doomed space shuttle based on fascinating new archival research and in-depth reporting. Millions of Americans witnessed the tragic deaths of the crew, including New Hampshire schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Higginbotham’s publisher (Avid Reader Press) describes the book as “a riveting history that reads like a thriller.”

The book follows a handful of central protagonists—including each of the seven members of the crew—through the years leading up to the accident, plus a detailed account of the tragedy itself and the investigation that followed. Higginbotham reveals the history of the shuttle program, the lives of the men and women whose stories have been overshadowed by the disaster, as well as the designers, engineers, and test pilots who struggled against the odds to get the first space shuttle into space.

In addition to his two books, Higginbotham has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Wired, GQ, and Smithsonian.

Tickets for the October 9 event are $50/$60 and now on sale online at vinhillmusic.com. This is a very popular fall event that sells out quickly, so buy your tickets today!

The Louis T. Graves Memorial Library is a full-service free library whose mission is to enrich the lives of all who enter its Kennebunkport historic building.

All proceeds support the library’s mission to provide free and unfettered access to knowledge and lifelong learning.

Thank you to our sponsors: Clifford W. Burgess, Vinegar Hill, Lark Hotels, Louise Hurlbutt, Wallingford Farm, Michael Kelly, and Octopus Books

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT: CLIFFORD W. BURGESS/2025 Fall Author Night

He Loved His Family, His Town, Graves Library, and Roller Coasters

Clifford W. Burgess’ memory lives on with his family’s generous sponsorship of the Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library’s October event with award-winning author Adam Higginbotham.

Clifford Wilson Burgess quickly became a man about town when he retired as president of a large, successful photo engraving company in western Massachusetts and moved to Kennebunkport fulltime
in 1974. He and his wife, Mary, had been vacationing in Maine since 1968. Clifford had a great many passions and interests. He became deeply involved in town politics, becoming a member of the town’s Planning Board for nine years and a member of the Select Board for six years. He was also active on the Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library board and the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust.

But it was Clifford’s quirky nature that endeared him to the town’s residents. He was a self-styled Anglophile and was well known in town for walking his Airedale, Rocky, around his neighborhood sporting a tweed jacket. A graduate of Bard College, he was an omnivorous reader and a lifelong student of English history and architecture. He and Mary lived in a Tudor-style cottage that was known as The Shakespeare House. In retirement he became an accomplished oil painter, and many of his paintings grace the homes of family members and friends. Clifford had a distinctive laugh, what some might call a giggle. He loved to watch (and rewatch) The Three Stooges, giggling the whole time.

Clifford had strong opinions about things, and wrote frequent letters to the local newspapers, often disagreeing with elected officials and the other powers that be. He knew about literature, architecture, history, and politics, and he brought those subjects to bear in his lively missives. To combat the debilitating effects of acute arthritis, Clifford was always on the move, walking his dog, riding one of his several racing bikes, or swimming with friends several days a week in Dover, New Hampshire.

But to those who knew him well, one of his most charming traits was his love of roller coasters. Over the years, Mary would drive him all over so he could ride the biggest and the best roller coasters
America had to offer. He rode each roller coaster twice—one trip in the front seat and one trip in the back seat. Two completely different experiences he would tell you, a “rode scholar” on the subject.

Clifford died in 2004, but his legacy lives on. This annual fundraising event supports the free services of the Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library, a special place to Clifford and the town of Kennebunkport.
Adam Higginbotham, best-selling author of Midnight in Chernobyl, will discuss his newest book “Challenger” about the 1986 space shuttle disaster on October 9 at 6:30 p.m. at Vinegar Hill Music
Theater.