Avalon Waterways is opening a new chapter in river cruising with the launch of its celebrity-hosted “Storyteller Series” of European river cruises, featuring an exclusive list of top authors, including Diana Gabaldon (Outlander) and Candace Bushnell (Sex in the City).

Other confirmed “storytellers” for the cruises, which will take place later this year into 2022 are: Cheryl Strayed (Wild), Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl), comic fantasy novelist Christopher Moore, and singer-songwriter Edwin McCain.

Guest will be able to “capture insider narratives outside the pages of novels, scripts, and song lyrics,” with company managing director Pam Hoffee enthusing, “Avalon guests get to spend a week in Europe with their favourite storytellers. They’re invited to meet legends in legendary landscapes.”

The Storyteller Series is being offered on the Rhine, Danube and Seine Rivers and on some of the river cruise line’s highest-rated itineraries with the celeb hosts taking in part in formal activities ranging from book-signings to concerts and Q&A sessions – not to mention, off-the-cuff interactions with guests onboard or in port.

Cruises include:

Through the Stones: Featuring Diana Gabaldon on a week-long Romantic Rhine cruise, departing Oct. 30, 2021 (rescheduled from June 2020).]

Sex & the City of Lights: Sail the Seine River from Paris to Le Havre with Candace Bushnell on a new Active & Discovery, departing July 19, 2022.

Wild & Whimsey on the Water: This Active & Discovery on the Danube itinerary, departs July 22, 2022, accompanied by Cheryl Strayed.

Gone Girl!: Run away with Gillian Flynn on an Active Discovery on the Danube itinerary, departing Sept. 14, 2022.]

Storybook Scenery, Satire & Sarcasm: Romantic Rhine or Rhine & Rhône itineraries with Christopher Moore are still TBD, departing September 20, 2022.

Romancing the Rheine: Another Romantic Rheine itinerary, departing May 3, 2022, with “Hearts Fall” American troubadour Edwin McCain.