Meet Ellen Prentiss Campbell, author of Vanishing Point

Author Ellen Prentiss Campbell will be in the Heritage Discovery Center gift shop on the afternoon of October 31! Drop by anytime from noon to 3:00 pm to meet her and purchase a signed copy of her latest novel, Vanishing Point. In Vanishing Point, Ellen Prentiss Campbell weaves together what is known and what can only be imagined, creating a compelling, fictionalized tale told over three generations by several family voices -- including George Hetzel, the renowned 19th century landscape painter and founder of the regional Scalp Level School of artists. Vanishing Point reveals the personal struggles of the entire family, particularly his youngest child Lila, and her daughter Dorothy. Long after George's death, Lila -- a gifted, trained painter -- and Dorothy, a journalist, struggle to protect the beauty of the Pennsylvania woodlands George Hetzel loved, to preserve his artistic legacy, and strive to achieve their own personal aspirations as creative women. About the author: Ellen Prentiss Campbell grew up in Pennsylvania and Rockville, Maryland. A graduate of Smith College, Simmons School of Social Work, and The Bennington Writing Seminars, she practiced psychotherapy for many years. Her new novel the family epic Vanishing Point (May 2026, Apprentice House Press, Maryland) explores the art and turbulent family life of Pennsylvania painter George Hetzel. Her prior novels The Bowl with Gold Seams (set at The Bedford Springs) and Frieda's Song (set at the Chestnut Lodge Psychiatric Hospital) and her collections of short stories have garnered awards and recognition, and best of all - readers. Ellen blogs for The Washington Independent as Girl Writing and is a member of the National Book Critics Circle. She lives with her husband in Washington, DC and Manns Choice, Pennsylvania. Ellen loves libraries, book clubs, bookshops and travel (reading, writing, and swimming everywhere she goes.)