Ted Mooney, author of The Same River Twice, a recent novel published by Knopf, is
a Dallas-born American novelist, short story writer and author of three previously published novels: Easy Travel to Other Planets (1981), Traffic and Laughter (1990), and Singing into the 
Piano (1998). The Same River Twice contains elements of a mystery but is basically an existentialist examination of whether a life story is preordained or has possible alternative endings. Mooney is an exceptional writer. His sense of place is impeccable and reading his scenes set in Paris is comparable to reading passages by an incredibly talented literary man making love to a beloved woman. His novel is valuable to writers seeking to improve their scene-setting and character development. All of Mooney’s characters are well drawn, believable, and highly engaging, if not always lovable. Mooney also served as the senior editor of Art in America from 1977 to 2008 and currently teaches at the Yale University Graduate School of Art. His understanding of the international art scene and his love of visual art are are obvious throughout the novel. Mooney’s first novel, Easy Travel to Other Planets, was awarded the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, was also a finalist for the American Book Award, and was mentioned in Larry McCaffery’s list of the 100 greatest books of the 20th century.This novel introduced the term “information sickness,” which has since been used in various contexts as a symptom or result of overexposure to all forms of media. Mooney will address Sense of Place and The Impact of the Information Revolution.