Acclaimed Writer Robert Olmstead Launches New Novel, PIG AND SKUNK!

Award-winning author of SAVAGE COUNTRY and THE COLDEST NIGHT to discuss latest heist novel with crime novelist Andrew Welsh-Huggins! Join award-winning author of Savage Country and The Coldest Night, Robert Olmstead, as he launches an audacious novel, Pig and Skunk, about two master thieves from a criminal family who agree to take on one last job: a daring heist to steal back a stolen painting and return it to its original owners—for a price. Olmstead will be in conversation with crime novelist Andrew Welsh-Huggins. Pre-purchase of Pig and Skunk waives the admission fee. OHIOANA LIBRARY is Gramercy’s Community Partner for this program. Meet Skunk: officially, he works as a cow hoof trimmer, traveling from farm to farm tending to livestock. But when the mood strikes, he’s a skilled burglar, wisecracking and fearless, with a specialty in recovering the illegal plunders of war. He loves thick novels, expensive cigars, and Pig. Meet Pig: she’s a tech savant without equal, capable of tracking her quarry anywhere on the grid or off. A criminal mastermind with an iron-clad moral compass, she only steals in the name of justice. She loves dogs, crème brûlée, and Skunk. They’re a perfect pair, partners in crime and in life, and their abilities are unparalleled. Then Skunk’s estranged father, Nick, shows up with a sob story and a hot tip on a fabulously valuable Rembrandt. Despite their better instincts, Pig and Skunk agree to team up with Nick for one last job. But retrieving the painting from the wealthy collector who keeps it in a private, gun-protected bunker in a remote forest compound will take every skill the trio possess–and push their family to the breaking point. Robert Olmstead is the author of seven works of fiction and one memoir. He is the former director of the Creative Writing program at Ohio Wesleyan University. He was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1989 and an NEA Literature Fellowship in 1993. His novel, Coal Dark Horse, won the 2008 Ohioana Book Award for Fiction. Andrew Welsh-Huggins writes the Barry Award-nominated Mercury Carter thriller series and the Shamus Award–nominated Andy Hayes private eye series. Andrew’s short mystery stories have appeared in multiple magazines and anthologies, including The Best Mystery Stories of the Year 2021, 2024, and 2025 and The Best Private Eye Stories of the Year 2025.