Christina Clancy
Central Library 201 W. Mifflin St., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
James Bartelt
Madison-based author Christina Clancy.
media release: Before the reality shows, and celebrity-filled parties at “the Mansion,” before Hugh Hefner became “Hef” and paraded around with multiple girlfriends on each arm, Playboy and its rabbit-head logo were world-renowned, thanks to the ubiquity of its clubs, casinos, and resorts. In Shoulder Season, Christina Clancy mines the fascinating history of the Playboy Resort in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, interviewing former Bunnies, resort personnel and patrons, to capture a fleeting moment in American history, and produce an evocative and nostalgic tale, about a small-town girl turned Playboy Bunny, and the way a place, and the brief, but intoxicating moments of our youth, stay with us and shape our identities.
The small town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, is an unlikely location for a Playboy Resort, and nineteen-year-old Sherri Taylor is an unlikely bunny. Growing up in neighboring East Troy, Sherri plays the organ at the local church and has never felt comfortable in her own skin. But when her parents die in quick succession, she leaves the only home she’s ever known for the chance to be part of a glamorous slice of history. In the winter of 1981, in a costume two sizes too small, her toes pinched by stilettos, Sherri joins the daughters of dairy farmers and factory workers for the defining experience of her life. Living in the “bunny hutch”—Playboy’s version of a college dorm—Sherri gets her education in the joys of sisterhood, the thrill of financial independence, the magic of first love, and the heady effects of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. But as spring gives way to summer, Sherri finds herself caught in a romantic triangle—and the tragedy that ensues will haunt her for the next forty years.
Christina Clancy is the author of The Second Home. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Sun Magazine, and in various literary journals, including Glimmer Train, Pleiades, and Hobart. She holds a Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her family.
The Wisconsin Book Festival is presented by Madison Public Library in partnership with Madison Public Library Foundation. For program details and the full schedule, go to wisconsinbookfestival.org.
The festival is funded with generous support from Signature Sponsor Marvin J. Levy; Presenting Sponsor Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation; Festival Patron Cheryl Rosen Weston Estate; Festival Sponsors National Endowment forthe Arts and American Girl’s Fund for Children; Contributing Sponsors The Bass Family, Friends of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries, Great Dane Pub & Brewing Co., MG&E Foundation and University Research
Park; Media Sponsors The Capital Times & Wisconsin State Journal, Isthmus, Madison365 and Wisconsin Public Radio; In-Kind Sponsors KennedyC and the Park Hotel; and Event Supporter A Room of One’s Own. Learn more about funding and support for the festival at wisconsinbookfestival.org/give.