Emily Burch and her husband, Blues CEO Chris Zimmerman, in St. Louis (Courtesy of the Blues) Dave Peacock, who co-chaired the Urban League with Emily, saw her passion immediately.

'Sea of Tranquility,' Emily St. John Mandel's new novel, is as ambitious as 'Station Eleven,' again using sci-fi tropes to ask deeply human questions.

Bad timing: Emily St. John Mandel is releasing a novel in the middle of a pandemic that has shuttered libraries and bookstores across the country. At least Mandel knows what she’s getting into ...