Julian Sancton with Sara DiVello

Julian Sancton is a journalist who has reported from every continent including Antarctica, and an author who brings gripping true stories to life with vivid detail and an eye for marvelously entertaining and one hundred percent true stories. His latest book, Neptune’s Fortune, uncovers the riveting true story of a legendary Spanish galleon that sunk off the coast of Colombia with over $1 billion in gold and silver—and one man’s obsessive quest to find it. In it, we follow the larger-than-life Roger Dooley into the dusty archives of Spanish shipping records where he stumbles across what he believes to be the real location of the San Jose. Sancton will be in conversation with author and festival co-chair Sara DiVello. They will explore the real-life events that inspired his work, the challenges of reconstructing history, and why tales of the ocean continue to captivate readers.