Thursday, October 8 from 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Rick sits down for a wide-ranging discussion with Samantha Brown, television travel host of PBS’s Samantha Brown’s Places to Love. Rick will share reflections on his career, his decades-long connection to public media, and share a few tips on some of the best places to visit and explore around the globe. There will also be time during the event where a few guests can ask Rick Steves their own travel questions.  

Join us to celebrate all things Rick Steves! Event registration ends September 25 at 5:00 p.m.

This virtual event will take place via Zoom Webinar. Zoom is free to the public but requires a computer download. 

Captions will be provided by our friends at Partners Interpreting. Do you need any additional accommodations that we should be made aware of to participate in this event? If so, please contact WUCF Member Services at wucfmemberservices@wucf.org a minimum of one week in advance of the event. We will do our best to accommodate your request.  

Your $75 donation includes: 

A Zoom link to join the live 60-minute Zoom Webinar event on October 8 from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. ET 

A signed copy of Rick Steves' soft cover book, On The Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer, mailed to the ticket purchaser’s address.  

Share the experience! You can gift a registration (for an additional cost) and ship it to a separate address! Please purchase an additional kit and enter the shipping address for that person. 

Event registration ends September 25 at 5:00 p.m.! 

Ticket sales end at 5:00 p.m. ET on September 25, 2026 

Make sure that your address is submitted correctly (no typos!) Failure to type your address correctly will result in a shipping delay or even the possibility that your ticket will not be fulfilled.  

Ticket holders will receive their copy of On The Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer by October 8. You are not required to read the book prior to the live event. 

How quickly will I receive my order? 

All registrants will receive their On The Hippie Trail: Istanbul to Kathmandu and the Making of a Travel Writer books by October 6, 2026.  

Can I ship kits to Canada and other international locations? 

We apologize. We are not able to ship kits to Canada or other international locations. 

What should I do if my order was damaged in transit?

If your order was damaged in transit, please reach out to events@wgbh.org for further assistance.  We will replace damaged copies within reason. Photos of damages are helpful. In the book vendor’s experience, a very tiny percentage of books might be damaged or lost in the postal mail stream from mis-entered addresses.   

What do I need to prepare beforehand for this virtual event? 

Ensure you have a strong internet connection and download StreamYard by clicking here.  

What do I do if my book did not arrive before October 8, 2026 for the live Rick Steves  event? 

Rick Steves book is not required reading before the event itself. The live Zoom Webinar event on October 8, 2026 WILL be recorded and a video recording of this event will be sent to ALL attendees a week following the event, so guests still have the chance to enjoy the event if they miss the live Zoom Webinar event.  

I purchased my ticket before realizing I have prior obligations!  Will this event be recorded? 

This event WILL be recorded and sent to ALL ticket holders a week following the event for you to experience the event on your own time. 

How can I submit a question(s) to Rick Steves? 

Since this is a live event, you will be able to ask your questions to Rick Stevesduring the event with the Q&A Zoom feature. Attendees will be able to “upvote” the questions that they like. The most popular/upvoted questions will be prioritized.  Unfortunately, we cannot promise all questions will be answered. 

How do I get my Zoom link for this event? 

The Zoom link will be sent to all ticket purchasers immediately following their purchase of the ticket in their confirmation email. Attendees may need to access their email’s JUNK/SPAM FOLDER to find this email. Along with the confirmation email, you will receive the Zoom Webinar watch link in reminder emails sent before the event. 

Rick Steves, America's most respected authority on European travel, empowers Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable, and culturally broadening. In 1976, he started his business, Rick Steves' Europe. Rick produces a best-selling guidebook series, a popular public television show, a weekly public radio show, a syndicated travel column, and free travel information available through his travel center and RickSteves.com. Rick Steves' Europe also runs a successful small-group tour program taking 30,000 travelers to Europe annually.  

ver the last 20+ years, Samantha Brown has traveled around the world visiting over 250 cities in 62 countries and 40 of the 50 U.S. states, creating hundreds of hours of programming content. Samantha’s career began in 1999 when she began hosting Travel Channel’s  Great Vacation Homes. She’s since also hosted Girl Meets Hawaii, Great Hotels,  Passport to Latin America, Green Getaways, Passport to China, and Samantha Brown’s Asia. Then, in January 2018, she began hosting and producing Samantha Brown’s Places to Love on PBS.    

Thursday, November 5 from 8:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. 

PBS Books welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning author Barbara Kingsolver for an exclusive live discussion about her brand-new novel Partita— a book she says she has been waiting her whole life to write.  

This interactive virtual book club event will take place on November 5, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. ET.  

Note: Registration for this virtual member event is not yet available due to a delay in the approval process. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience. We will notify members as soon as registration opens. Thank you for your understanding and support of WUCF!

This virtual event will take place via StreamYard. A private link will be sent to all ticket holders leading up to the virtual event. 

Captions will be provided by our friends at Partners Interpreting. Do you need any additional accommodations that we should be made aware of to participate in this event? If so, please contact WUCF Member Services at wucfmemberservices@wucf.org  a minimum of one week in advance of the event. We will do our best to accommodate your request.  

The live virtual event on November 5, 2026 will be recorded and a video recording of this event will be sent to all attendees a week following the event so you still have the chance to enjoy the event if you are unable to attend.   

All ticket sales support the programs and services on WUCF. 

Your $125 donation includes: 

• A link to access the 60-minute virtual event with Barbara Kingsolver on November 5 from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. ET. 
• A hardcover copy of Partita, A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver. 
• A PBS Books Readers "My weekend is booked" Mug. 
• A link to view a recording of the virtual event for 90 days post-event. 

Ticket sales end at 5:00 p.m. ET on October 20, 2026 

During this live virtual event moderated by PBS Books hosts Lauren Smith and Fred Nahhat, we’ll explore the origins of Kingsolver’s new novel, reflect on her remarkable career as an author, and revisit highlights from some of her bestselling works. Audience members will also have the opportunity to interact in a lively book club chat and submit their own questions for Barbara Kingsolver. 

Share the experience! You can gift a registration (for an additional cost) and ship it to a separate address! Please purchase an additional kit and enter the shipping address for that person. 

Ticket sales end at 5:00 p.m. ET on October 20, 2026 

Make sure that your address is submitted correctly (no typos!) Failure to type your address correctly will result in a shipping delay or even the possibility that your ticket will not be fulfilled.  

Ticket holders will receive their copy of Partita, A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver by November 4. You are not required to read the book prior to the live event. 

Partita, on sale October 6th, is a deeply moving novel about art, music, class, memory, and the life-altering power of love.   

Livia Cable has made her peace with her marriage and modest livelihood in the farm country where she grew up, until a shocking phone call from an old lover shakes her to the core. Decades earlier, this man knew her as Livia Bohusz, a music conservatory student estranged from her home and family, uncertain of anything except her passion for music and her promise as an extraordinary pianist. His request, now, to see her again stirs up ghosts she has kept at bay for a lifetime.  

Shifting between past and present, Livia’s decision to meet or reject the reunion means confronting – in memories framed as musical dances – the experiences of childhood loss, abandonment, self-immolating passion, and perilous attachment to a man who broke her belief in love and ruptured the course of her life.   

With razor-sharp acuity, Kingsolver’s new novel Partita reflects on class barriers, the risks of ambition, and the timeless, life-changing powers of art.  Told in movements that mirror a Bach partita, the novel unfolds with the precision and emotional power of music itself: each section building on the last, each theme returning transformed.  

Kingsolver reflects, “This novel started small. It would be about a young musician, I thought; a little love story. But it kept expanding as I wrote, opening and closing around itself like a set of nested boxes. Partita is a story of a brief, passionate, life-changing affair, contained inside a bigger love story, all wrapped up in what might be the greatest romance of all: our eternal human longing for art and beauty.” 

What are the hard costs for the Partita book?

The retail cost of Partita is $35.  

Can I ship kits to Canada and other international locations? 

We apologize. We are not able to ship kits to Canada or other international locations. 

Do I need to be home to receive my book? 

No, books will be left at the address provided and do not require signature 

Can it be shipped to my PO Box? 

Yes.

How can I submit a question(s) ahead of time? 

Since this is a live event, you will be able to ask your questions to during the event.  Unfortunately, we cannot promise all questions will be answered.

Is there a tax benefit for this event?  

No. The MSRP/FMV for Partitabook is Book $32.00 + Mug $19.00  

What do I need to prepare beforehand for this virtual event? 

Ensure you have a strong internet connection and download Zoom Webinar by clicking here.  

Can you guarantee delivery on a certain day or time? 

Unfortunately, no Forest cannot guarantee delivery by a specific date. 

I purchased my ticket before realizing I have prior obligations!  Will this event be recorded? 

This event WILL be recorded and sent to ALL ticket holders the event for you to experience the event on your own time. 

Will I receive tracking information for my book?  

Unfortunately, no.

LIVE EVENT-Premium Delivery Schedule* 

* Shipping timelines may vary, and Forest cannot guarantee delivery by a specific date. 

Wave 1 

Order deadline: October 5, 2026  

Orders begin shipping the week of October 6, 2026 (publication day) 

Wave 2 

Order deadline: October 20, 2026 

Orders will likely arrive by November 4, 2026 (one day to November 5 event) 

Wave 3 

Orders for the book/mug placed after October 22 are not  likely  to arrive before the November 5 event.