Calculated Risk Book Talk with Jennifer Denny at Great Camp Sagamore

Great Camp Sagamore sits on the western shore of Raquette Lake in the central Adirondacks of New York, where pines meet a broad inland waterway and the skyline is cut by the High Peaks. Here, in the Playhouse, the camp stages an intimate evening: Calculated Risk Book Talk & Signing with Jennifer Denny. Jennifer Denny reads from a backcountry thriller that follows Samantha Wethersfield, an Assistant Forest Ranger who navigates rugged terrain, splints a broken bone, starts a fire in a rainstorm, and ultimately makes life-changing choices. The setting and the story play off one another - the camp’s rustic wooden beams, lakeside Dining Hall, and shoreline spruce make a convincing backdrop for tales of survival and decision-making.

This event is practical and theatrical. Expect a focused 1.25-hour program with a Q&A and a signing; ticketing is listed as Event: $10.00 or Event & Dinner*: $41.95 (advance registration required; dinner subject to availability). The Playhouse’s intimate stage puts you close to the author; outside, Raquette Lake’s still water and the low, rounded domes of the Adirondack massif - ancient gneiss and granite - provide a palpable sense of place that feeds the narrative. You’ll hear specifics: map-and-compass navigation, field splinting, and wet-fire techniques that read like workshop notes and land you at the heart of the Adirondack backcountry.

Beyond the talk, the property itself is part of the attraction. Great Camp Sagamore’s historic Dining Hall faces the lake, and its wooded paths offer short, accessible walks where loons call and white-tailed deer slip through birch and spruce. The High Peaks loom further north; their exposed rock and boreal summits are geological reminders that this is a working wilderness with long human stories - Adirondack Park was set aside in 1892 to protect scenes like this.

Why come? The evening combines storytelling with tangible skills and place-based atmosphere: the protagonist’s hard choices feel immediate when told inside a century-old camp whose shoreline history is visible from the dock. Practical travelers will appreciate the targeted takeaways, while lovers of regional culture will enjoy the architecture and camp traditions. Register early, arrive a little early to walk the shore, and, if you opt for dinner, save time to browse the author’s signed books afterward. This is the kind of small, sharp cultural moment that turns a lakeside weekend in Raquette Lake into a memorable, slightly wild evening.

Plan logistics: the published meeting point is the Playhouse on camp grounds; parking is available nearby but spaces can be limited during summer weekends. There is an optional meal in the lakeside Dining Hall if you book the Event & Dinner option. Bring a notebook, dress in layers for cool evening breezes off the lake, and check the host's booking page for final details online.