In her debut novel, After the Parade, she continues a slow revelation about how no matter where you settle in the world, where you came from is never far away. Ostlund’s open-hearted contemplation of how we grow up and move on is written with wit and bursting with vitality.
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In preparation for what will certainly be an emotionally charged African-American History Month (February 2017), consider these important author/speaker contributors to the black history conversation.
Read More » Hillary Jordan  Mudbound |  Marja Mills  The Mockingbird Next Door |  Ellen Urbani  Landfall |  Kathleen Grissom  Glory Over Everything |
 Khalil Gibran Muhammad  The Condemnation of Blackness |
Public speaker events are a perfect tool to help guide political conversations and encourage thoughtful and informed voting decisions. Here are our Top 5 Authors on Politics & Society for your upcoming Fall events.
Read More » Michael Hingson  Thunder Dog |  Jonathan Eig  The Birth of the Pill |  Naveed Jamali  How to Catch a Russian Spy |
Christina Baker Kline will be speaking at the Avalon Free Public Library on July 20th at 7 p.m. Stop by and here her share about ORPHAN TRAIN. Christina’s the best-selling author of ORPHAN TRAIN and will be speaking at Avalon Free Public Library as part of their annual author lecture series. This series brings in […]
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Come see Ellen Urbani and hear about her novel, LANDFALL, at the Eugene Public Library on Saturday, June 4. Ellen Urbani is the author of the memoir, WHEN I WAS ELENA, and released her newest book, LANDFALL, a work of modern historical fiction, in 2015. LANDFALL, set in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, captures the […]
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What are some of the “teachable” moments in your book that make it work well for a Community Reads program? In one sense, the whole book is a teachable moment. I wrote Thunderdog: The True Story of a Blind Man, his Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero, to teach people about blindness […]
Read More »It’s been said that our national parks are “America’s best idea.” As the National Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016, this is the year to celebrate the centennial of a very American effort.
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In times of crisis, an author who can speak to personal triumph over tragedy provides communities with a vehicle for discussion about difficult topics. Through this lens, readers inevitably discover they have much more in common than they realize. These authors inspire by tapping into our shared experiences of overcoming life’s challenges.
Read More »Michael Hingson Thunder Dog |  Regina Calcaterra  Etched in Sand |  Michael Pitre  Fives and Twenty-Fives |  Charlotte Rogan  Now and Again |
What are some of the “teachable” moments in your book that make it work well for a Community Reads program? One of my main goals in writing LIAR, TEMPTRESS, SOLDIER, SPY was to highlight forgotten heroines of the Civil War, on both sides of the conflict. History is usually written by, for, and about men, […]
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What do you like about the Common Reads structure as a literary event format, and how do you think Deadly Wandering resonates with community members? What I love about the format is that community reads inspires one of the most powerful influences in our lives: informed conversation and debate. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, […]
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