In the back corner of Morgenstern Books & Cafe on Wednesday evening, fans of S.T Gibson came for an evening conversation to discuss “Ascension,” the newest book in her series “The Summoner’s Circle.”
“Ascension” follows a group of magicians as they attempt to undo a family curse, through the perspective of an ambitious sorcerer named Rhys.
Gibson’s work tends to work within the gothic fiction genre, exploring many topics including religion, generational trauma, love and loss.
“I love the gothic because I can explore things on the light side that I really love. Beauty, love, friendships, religious themes, theme of redemption,” Gibson said. “I can also get my hands dirty with some stuff that is interesting to me. The grotesque and taboo, familial trauma, generational secrets.”
This love for gothic literature and its aesthetic isn’t a newfound interest, but one that Gibson has grown up with.
“I think I experienced a lot of feelings of alienation, especially when I was younger,” Gibson said. “And seeing myself in stories or finding sort of an emotional outlet of catharsis in these stories, whether they were gothic or not, really helped me feel not so alone.”
Matthew Woods, a bookseller for Morgenstern Books and general fan of her work, moderated the conversation with Gibson. While Woods doesn’t always know how the conversation is going to go with authors, he often finds a couple talking points to focus the questions around. For the conversation with Gibson, Woods wanted to explore Gibsons focus of the esoteric elements in her novels.
Woods also has former experience as Morgenstern’s events coordinator and, in his time, has found that the people who come to hear these authors speak enjoy having the opportunity to do so.
“People are so excited to get to just hear about how their favorite books became favorite books,” Woods said.
Bloomington resident Amber Passen attended the event as a new fan of Gibson. Although Passen is still getting to know Gibson’s work, she still found the event to be a good contribution to understanding the author’s work.
“Even if you know a lot about their words, there’s a difference between reading words versus seeing someone speak them,” Passen said. “It’s a really important human connection to have.
Jenna Bowman, Morgenstern’s co-owner, said having fans conduct the interview gives people a deeper look into the books and the authors themselves.
Tori Lawhorn, Bloomington resident and fan of Gibson, said she admired Gibson’s work of taking gothic stories or themes and turning them into something of her own. Turning traditional, well-known stories and putting a more modern or queer take on it, Lawhorn said, makes them more diverse and accessible.
Lawhorn has attended many events at the bookstore and finds having speakers in spaces like Morgenstern Books very important, especially in a time where book banning is becoming a more prominent issue.
“Having these conversations, especially in the Midwest at a time where intellectual freedom is under attack, especially in states like Indiana, I think is really important,” Lawhorn said.
Gibson’s work not only explores big themes like religion, chaos and trauma, but a lot of her work includes real magical practices from her own passions like tarot, and esoteric and occult traditions.
“I love that 95% of the magic system in this, the supernatural, the religious elements are representative of or based on real, living, diverse, magic traditions,” Gibson said. “You can do almost everything in this book, you shouldn’t do all this, some of it’s a closed practice.”
Drawing together diverse characters with different sexualities and life experiences, along with the addition of larger themes of spirituality, comes from a place of personal experience. As someone who is part of the LGBTQ+ community and a practicer of tarot, Gibson channels these passions into her characters, representing her readers who have a similar experience as her.
“This is my reality. My answer is this is what I care about, and this is the story I have to tell,” Gibson said. “And if I have a limited time on this earth, I am going to do it as authentically as possible.”
