When a self-driving car kills, who bears the blame? This haunting question drives Bruce Holsinger’s “Culpability,” Oprah Winfrey’s July Book Club selection already hailed as “the book of the summer” by Real Simple.
Holsinger will discuss his timely novel Monday, July 21, at 7 p.m. at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena, joined by Sara Sligar, assistant professor of English and creative writing at USC.
The free event takes place at 695 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena.
Published July 8 by Spiegel & Grau, “Culpability” explores a family’s fallout after a fatal self-driving car crash, interrogating moral responsibility and AI ethics.
The novel’s central tension, as Holsinger puts it: “You can be culpable without being guilty. You can be guilty without being culpable.”
The book’s resonance has earned critical acclaim. Winfrey declared herself “riveted until the very last shocking sentence!” Real Simple’s contributing books editor called it “the most of-the-moment novel I’ve read all year, and it’s the book of the summer.”
Holsinger, a Guggenheim Fellowship recipient who has published in The New York Times and Vanity Fair, arrives as AI accountability questions dominate public discourse, making Monday’s discussion particularly timely.
Mon, 7/21/2025 – 7:00pm – 8:00pmVroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., in Pasadena. For more call (626) 449-5320 or visit https://vromansbookstore.com/event/2025-07-21/bruce-holsinger. Tickets: Free.
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