
Join us for an evening of dinner, drinks, and conversation with Elizabeth Kaufman in celebration of her debut novel, Ruth Run. This evening is being generously hosted by Tracy Higgins and James Leitner. Books will be available for all attendees.
“A wildly fun and thrilling read in this age of digital theft, Ruth Run introduces us to an irresistible heroine and, in Elizabeth Kaufman, a scintillating new voice in contemporary fiction.” —Maria Semple, author of Where’d You Go, Bernadette and Today Will Be Different
Cybercrime leads to a cross-country pursuit as an ambitious, misfit young thief exploits a hacked microchip to rob banks, and learns too late that the wrong people have been watching her
Twenty-six-year-old Ruth excels at microchip design but decides to get rich the old-fashioned way: robbing banks. She becomes a cybercriminal and devotes five years to siphoning more than $250 million out of the banking system using a hacked firewall chip that she created and only she knows how to access. Then one night an alarm goes off and she realizes she’s been discovered.
Five hours later she’s on the run, chased across California and the West by a slew of government agents who see her as both a high-level national security threat and a potential intelligence asset. They’ll catch her dead or alive—whatever it takes to make sure no one else discovers what she knows. Each of these men is obsessed with the woman he’s hunting, certain he knows what makes her tick. But Ruth, always a step ahead, armed with her ironic wit and a reluctant dog, eludes their understanding; can she elude their capture, too?
A nonstop oddball thriller for the age of digital theft, Ruth Run introduces an irresistible new heroine and a fantastic new voice in contemporary fiction.
Elizabeth Kaufman had a career in data networking, specializing in network security products and architectures. She now lives in rural northern Colorado. Ruth Run (Penguin Press; 4/15/25) is her debut novel.
Please contact Renee Lamarque at [email protected] if you’re interested in attending this special evening. Donations to attend this evening are $350. Following your RSVP, you will be sent the address for the dinner. The donation is considered 100% tax-deductible and supports PEN America’s mission to defend writers and free expression at a time of unprecedented need. Your generosity is deeply appreciated.
About PEN America Authors’ Evenings
The PEN America Authors’ Evenings are nights of literary dinners in private homes and intimate settings. Please visit the Authors’ Evenings webpage for our full calendar of dinners.
Proceeds from the PEN America Authors’ Evenings support PEN America’s programming to secure the liberty of persecuted and imprisoned writers around the world, to defend freedom of expression, and to promote literature and international cultural exchange.