Authors come to Louisville Looking for Paranormal Experience

Authors Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare at Goats) and Richard Wiseman (Paranormality) are on what they are calling a Paranormal Road Trip from Buffalo, NY, to Nashville, TN, and are stopping in Louisville. Their ultimate destination is CSICon, the annual meeting for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, but along the way, they’ll be visiting weird and paranormal spots, hosting events for locals, and filming the entire thing for the Internet.The Louisville public will have a chance to meet the authors, and have books signed, on Tuesday, October 23, at 8:00pm at Patrick O'Shea's Loft 123, on Main Street in downtown Louisville.

Jon Ronson is an acclaimed author, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. In addition to bestsellers The Men Who Stare at Goats, Them: Adventures with Extremists and The Psychopath Test, he is the author of two collections, Out Of The Ordinary: True Tales of Everyday Craziness and What I Do: More True Tales of Everyday Craziness. In his native UK, he writes regularly for The Guardian, presents the popular BBC Radio series “Jon Ronson On...,” and has made award-winning films for Channel 4Television. In the United States, his writing has appeared in GQ and many other publications. He regularly writes and presents segments on “This American Life,” has appeared on “The Colbert Report,” “All Things Considered,” “Book TV,” “Studio 360,” “Coast to Coast,” “Glenn Beck,” and other programs.

Richard Wiseman holds Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, where he researches an eclectic range of topics including luck, self-help, illusion and persuasion. This work has been published in some of the world’s leading academic journals and cited in over 20 introductory textbooks. Wiseman has also written several best-selling books that have been translated into over 30 languages, including Paranormality, The Luck Factor, Quirkology, and 59 Seconds. His psychology-based YouTube videos have received over 45 million views and he has given keynote addresses to organizations across the world, including The Royal Society, The Swiss Economic Forum, and Google.

Accompanying the authors is blogger Rebecca Watson, who leads a team of skeptical female activists at Skepchick.org and appears on the weekly Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast. She travels around the world delivering entertaining talks on science, atheism, feminism, and skepticism. There is currently an asteroid orbiting the sun with her name on it.

The event is free and open to the public, though donations are welcome, and reservations are required. Email LouisvilleAreaSkeptics@gmail.com for reservations.