Mark Sullivan

READING & BOOK SIGNING

Mark Sullivan

Wheatgrass Books is celebrating with Mark Sullivan the launch of his new book, All the Glimmering Stars, on Thursday, May 9th at 6 pm.  

As many as 300,000 child soldiers are currently being forced to fight around the world. The UN deems it a global security issue because radicalized, militant, dehumanized children grow up to be radicalized, militant, dehumanized adults. One of the most egregious episodes in modern history was Joseph Kony’s 30-year reign of terror in Uganda, southern Sudan, and Congo as his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) kidnapped as many as 37,000 boys and girls, turning the males into fearsome, soulless soldiers and the girls into slaves, sexual and otherwise. Two of those young people Anthony Opoka and Florence Okori- escaped and survived to later bear witness at the LRA war crimes trial in the Hague. Their harrowing and triumphant story is the basis for #1 New York Times bestselling author Mark Sullivan’s historical novel, All the Glimmering Stars (Lake Union; May 7, 2024).

Mark Sullivan is the acclaimed author of more than twenty novels, including the #1 Amazon Charts, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller Beneath a Scarlet Sky, and the #1 New York Times bestselling Private series, which he writes with James Patterson. Mark has received numerous awards for his writing, including the WHSmith Fresh Talent Award, and his works have been named a New York Times Notable Book and a Los Angeles Times Book of the Year.

“The true story behind All the Glimmering Stars was brought to me by a former squadron commander of SEAL Team 6 and the former CIA chief in Uganda, both of whom were so stunned hearing it they came to believe that if properly told it could help end child soldiering throughout the world,” Sullivan says. “In an earlier life I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Africa, and I responded to the tale and the cause immediately. I went to Uganda and spent weeks with Anthony and Florence. I came away also believing that their story brought to life in a novel could have a dramatic impact on the way kids in war zones are treated. To that end, I wrote the novel with the intention that it would not only grip readers with a remarkable story well-told, but also contribute to End Child Soldiering, a non-profit that works to prevent kids being forced into combat and to rehabilitate youngsters who have already suffered that tragedy.” – Mark Sullivan