Parallel Stories is a literary and performing arts series that pairs art and artists with award-winning authors and performers of regional, national, and international acclaim. This series functions as a multidisciplinary lens through which to view the Museum's collection and special exhibitions.

T. C. Boyle, award-winning novelist, short story writer, and Santa Barbara area resident, engages in a freewheeling conversation with Independent arts writer Charles Donelan. Since the mid-1970s, Boyle has published 14 novels and more than 100 short stories, including his most recent and the jumping off point for this interview, The Terranauts. From why disillusionment serves as inspiration for writing, to why his latest work of fiction has been called ”an epic story of science, society, sex, and survival,” this promises to be a thought provoking afternoon with the always entertaining and erudite author. Book signing to follow