Kelly Ripa announced the first dates of her book tour to promote Live Wire: Long-Winded Short Stories, on Monday. All three are in the vicinity of New York City and one stop features her husband, Mark Consulos. Anderson Cooper will join her for one date, while Bethenny Frankel will be present at the third stop.
The first tour date is at the County Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, New Jersey on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Consulos will join Ripa to chat about the book. Tickets for the event will be available on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET.
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Ripa and Cooper will take the stage at Symphony Space in Manhattan on Thursday, Sept. 29. Tickets for their appearance will go on sale Friday, Aug. 5 at 10 a.m. ET. Symphony Space members can get tickets on Wednesday. The third announced date is set for Friday, Sept. 30. Frankel and Ripa will appear at the Theatre at Westbury in Long Island. Tickets for this date will also be available on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET.
Ripa announced the memoir on Live with Kelly and Ryan in April. Ripa said it took 18 months to finish the book. It will be released on Sept. 27 by Dey Street Books, a HarperCollins imprint. The book is described as a collection of personal essays about “childhood, motherhood, marriage, her career and the intersection of all the above – putting her thoughtfulness, assertiveness and deep understanding of the dynamics of gender and power on full display.” The publisher teased “sharp, funny, and honest” stories from Ripa that highlight her “many dimensions and crackling wit.”
On Live, Ripa told co-host Ryan Seacrest she did not work with a co-worker or ghostwriter, as many celebrities do.”I did not use a co-writer. I did not use a ghost-write,” Ripa insisted. “If you were to look at the Google searches on my phone right now, you would find things like, ‘Synonyms for good.’ ‘What is a semicolon.’ I’m not kidding!”
Ripa also admitted she dreaded the book’s release, which might be why she chose to schedule tour dates with her famous friends. “It’s horrible. I’m dreading it. It’s like, I keep referencing Kal Penn because he said it best to me,” Ripa told Seacrest in April. “When he was here promoting his book, and you had told him I was writing my book. He said to me, ‘What level of self-loathing are you?’ And I said, ‘I’ve been actively dreaming of trashing the manuscript and giving them their manuscript back.’ And he goes, ‘You’re almost done.’”
Live Wire isn’t Ripa’s only new project outside Live. She’s also hosting the gameshow Generation Gap for ABC. Ripa’s father, Joe Ripa, is regularly appearing on the show, which Ripa says he didn’t know when he signed up to appear on the show. Last week, Ripa told Seacrest her father wants to “renegotiate his deal” with ABC after learning he was in more than one episode. Joe is featured in a segment called “What is Joe Ripa Trying to Sing?” and contestants have to guess the song. Generation Gap airs on ABC Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET.
