The Codger and the Sparrow

Written by Scott Semegran

Narrated by Brian P. Craig

Hank O'Sullivan, a sixty-five-year-old widower, lives a routine life, nursing his loneliness with cocktails at his favorite local bar in Austin, Texas. After a parking lot brawl lands him in jail, a judge sentences Hank to community service, picking up trash along the highway alongside a sixteen-year-old troublemaker, Luis Delgado. Luis has remarkable artistic abilities, but his penchant for sneaking out late at night and trespassing onto rooftops lands him on the same road crew as Hank. These loners form an unlikely friendship, and when Hank tells Luis about his desire to drive to Houston to reconnect with an old flame, Luis asks to tag along. Luis's estranged mother lives in Houston, and he has been dreaming of a reunion. Hank agrees to take Luis with him, setting in motion a raucous trip in a hot pink 1970 Plymouth Barracuda. With humor and a bit of grace,The Codger and the Sparrow is a touching story about an unusual friendship that stretches across generations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vibrance Press
• Release date: May 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798890930316

Scott Semegran

Scott Semegran is an award-winning writer of nine books. BlueInk Review described him best as “a gifted writer, with a wry sense of humor.” His latest novel, The Codger and the Sparrow (TCU Press, Spring 2024), is a comical yet moving story about a 65-year-old widower’s unlikely friendship with a 16-year-old troublemaker. His eight previous books include The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island, which was the first place winner for Middle-Grade/Young Adult fiction in the 2021 Writer’s Digest Book Awards, and To Squeeze a Prairie Dog, which was the winner of the 2020 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award Gold Medal for Humor. He lives in Austin, Texas with his wife. They have four kids, two cats, and a dog. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in English.Scott Semegran is co-host of the web series Austin Liti Limits along with fellow award-winning writer Larry Brill.