Want to enhance your reading life and build on the bookish enthusiasm in your home? Add an author event to your calendar.
There is nothing quite like getting to see an author read from their book and discuss their work in person. Those interactions make the reading experience that much richer. If you bring one of the little ones in your life along for an event with a children’s book author the experience of hearing how the story came to life can be magical. For aspiring writers and illustrators of all ages, it is also hugely motivating and inspirational.
Check the events calendar at your local bookstore, library, and museums to find authors coming to your area. You can also follow authors on social media or visit their website to see when they might be going on book tour.
Here is a roundup of some of the author events coming soon to my corner of the world in Massachusetts:
Pamela Druckerman, There Are No Grown-Ups: A Midlife Coming-of-Age Story
Wednesday, May 30th – 7:00 pm at Brookline Booksmith
Bringing Up Bébé fans can go see author Pamela Druckerman at Brookline Booksmith in Brookline, MA on May 30th. On her new book Kirkus Reviews writes, “Half memoir and half ironic how-to guide, Druckerman’s book is not only a humorous meditation on the gains and pains of a time in life ‘when you become who you are’; it is also a thought-provoking meditation on ‘what it means to be a grown-up.’ ”
For more information, visit Brookline Booksmith Event.
Storytime with Maddie Frost, Animobiles: Animals on the MOOve
Friday, June 1, 2018 – 11:30am at Belmont Books
Bring your little one to this story time with author Maddie Frost: “Some vehicles go VROOM! Some animals say ROAR!…What could be better than a mash-up of two of the best things: animals that roar and things that vroom?!”
Event website: https://www.belmontbooks.com/event/storytime-maddie-frost.
From Picture Books to YA: Seven Children’s Authors Discuss the Wide World of Children’s Literature
Sunday, June 3, 2018 – 3:00 pm at Wellesley Books
Looking for an author event to attend with the kids and teens in your life? Check out this panel from Wellesley Books on June 3rd with fantastic authors like Debbi Michiko Florence, who writes the Jasmine Toguchi series and Cordelia Nelson, author of Every Shiny Thing.
“Kids, parents, teachers, and aspiring writers, join us for From Picture Books to YA: Seven Children’s Authors Discuss the Wide World of Children’s Literature. The panel will include Megan Frazer Blakemore (The Daybreak Bond), Julie C. Dao (Forest of a Thousand Lanterns), Erin M. Dionne (Lights, Camera, Disaster), Debbi Michiko Florence (Jasmine Toguchi series), Cordelia Jensen (Every Shiny Thing), Jarrett Lerner (EngiNerds), and Anna Staniszewski (Wish series).”
Event website: https://store.wellesleybooks.com/event/seven-childrens-authors
Jasmine Guillary, The Wedding Date
Tuesday, June 5, 2018 – 7:30pm, presented by Harvard Bookstore at Oberon, Cambridge
If you’re a fellow fan of the wonderful Anne Bogel (of Modern Mrs. Darcy and the What Should I Read Next podcast), you might recognize The Wedding Date from her 2018 Summer Reading Guide. You can see author Jasmine Guillory in conversation with Margaret H. Willison on June 5th.
“Harvard Book Store and Love Letters welcome debut novelist JASMINE GUILLORY for a discussion of her beloved romance, The Wedding Date, in which a groomsman and his last-minute guest are about to discover if a fake date can go the distance. Jasmine will be joined in conversation by podcaster and librarian MARGARET H. WILLISON.”
To see more event information visit Harvard Bookstore Events
Kate Messner, Breakout
Wednesday, June 6, 2018 – 6:00pm at An Unlikely Story Bookstore, Plainville
Kate Messner, author of The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z, All The Answers, and the new book Breakout will be at An Unlikely Story Bookstore on June 6th.
“Join us in welcoming award-winning author, Kate Messner to An Unlikely Story to introduce her new book Breakout, a fantastic middle-grade read based on the true story of a prison-break 3 years ago in New Hampshire. When two inmates break out of the nearby maximum security prison, Nora’s fun summer plans are shut down, and everyone is afraid. Will fear change her town forever? It’s a fast-paced, thought-provoking story that encourages readers to examine privilege and perspective.”
To see more event information visit An Unlikely Story Events
Tommy Orange, There There
Thursday, June 7, 2018 – 7:00pm at Harvard Bookstore
I have been hearing a lot of buzz about this debut from Tommy Orange, which Kirkus Reviews called “vivid and moving” in a starred review. Tommy Orange will be discussing There There at Harvard Bookstore on June 7th.
“Harvard Book Store and GrubStreet welcome TOMMY ORANGE—a recent graduate from the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts—for a discussion of his highly anticipated debut novel, There There…There There is a relentlessly paced multigenerational story about violence and recovery, memory and identity, and the beauty and despair woven into the history of a nation and its people. It tells the story of twelve characters, each of whom have private reasons for traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow.”
Event Website: http://www.harvard.com/event/tommy_orange/
Why We Write Middle Grade
Saturday June 9, 2018 – 1:00pm at the Eric Carle Museum, Amherst
**Middle grade fans, mark your calendars for June 9th. The lineup of authors on this panel at the Eric Carle museum looks like a dream come true. From Jeanne Birdsall, who just released the final book in the beloved Penderwicks series, to Lisa Yee, author of Millicent Min, Girl Genius and the DC Superhero Girls series. A book from this event has also just zoomed to the top of my TBR list–House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery by Liz Rosenberg.
“Middle grade books, for 8 to 12 year olds, can sometimes be unsung and misunderstood, stuck as they are between picture books for young children and YA books for teenagers. So what draws writers to middle grade? Join panel of authors Jeanne Birdsall, Cammie McGovern, Catherine Newman, Liz Rosenberg, and Lisa Yee as they discuss the joys, choices, and challenges involved in writing for this age group.”
For more information, visit: https://www.carlemuseum.org/content/upcoming-events
Lauren Groff, Florida
Wednesday, June 13, 2018 – 7:00pm at Harvard Bookstore
Fans of Fates and Furies can see Lauren Groff at Harvard Bookstore on June 13th to discuss her newest book, Florida. Library Journal calls this short story collection, “Well-observed, unexpected writing for fans and more.”
“Harvard Book Store welcomes celebrated writer LAUREN GROFF—author of National Book Award finalist Fates and Furies—for a discussion of her latest book of short stories, Florida–In her vigorous and moving new book, Lauren Groff brings her electric storytelling and intelligence to a world in which storms, snakes, and sinkholes lurk at the edge of everyday life, but the greater threats and mysteries are of a human, emotional, and psychological nature. Among those navigating it all are a resourceful pair of abandoned sisters; a lonely boy, grown up; a restless, childless couple, a searching, homeless woman; and an unforgettable, recurring character—a steely and conflicted wife and mother.”
Event Website: http://www.harvard.com/event/lauren_groff1/
Susan Tan, Cilla Lee-Jenkins: This Book Is A Classic
Monday, June 18, 2018 – 6:00pm at Silver Unicorn Books, Acton
Cilla Lee-Jenkins has become very popular in my library and fans can go see author Susan Tan discuss the newest book at Silver Unicorn Books in Acton on June 18th.
“In local author Susan Tan’s new middle-grade novel, Cilla Lee-Jenkins: This Book Is a Classic, we get reacquainted with the lovable third-grade author who we fell in love with in Tan’s debut, Cilla Lee-Jenkins: Future Author Extraordinaire.
Both installments in this series have garnered much praise from the literary community. This Book Is a Classic has received a starred review from Booklist, and earned praise from School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and notable authors like Rachel Renee Russell (Dork Diaries) and Grace Lin (Where the Mountain Meets the Moon).”
Randy Susan Meyers & Charles Coe, The Widow of Wall Street
Tuesday, June 26, 2018 – 7:00pm at Porter Square Books, Cambridge
Randy Susan Meyers will be appearing at Porter Square books on June 26th to discuss The Widow of Wall Street, which Publishers Weekly called “an engaging and sharp reflection of the rapid changes in marital dynamics over the course of the 20th century, as well as a cautionary tale about the dangers and allure of ambition in the heyday of Wall Street.”
“The National Writers Union presents a special evening with Randy Susan Myers, author of The Widow of Wall Street in an interview/conversation with author/poet Charles Coe.
Phoebe recognizes fire in Jake Pierce’s belly from the moment they meet as teenagers. After they marry and he creates a financial dynasty, she trusts him without hesitation–unaware his hunger for success hides a dark talent for deception. But when Phoebe learns her husband’s triumph and vast reach rests on an elaborate Ponzi scheme, her world unravels. While Jake is trapped in the web of his deceit, Phoebe is caught facing an unbearable choice. Her children refuse to see her if she remains at their father’s side, but abandoning him feels cruel and impossible. From penthouse to prison, with tragic consequences rippling well beyond Wall Street, Randy Susan Meyers’s latest novel exposes a woman struggling to survive and then redefine her life as her world crumbles.”
Event website: Porter Square Books Event
Anne of Green Gables is the first book in the beloved series by L.M. Montgomery. As the book opens we meet eleven-year-old Anne Shirley, an orphan who has come to live with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert at Green Gables farm on Prince Edward Island. What Anne thinks is a dream come true has actually been a mix-up–the orphanage was supposed to send a boy. We cross our fingers that Anne (and we as the reader) will get to stay in the wonderful world of small-town Avonlea, with its endearing characters and stunningly beautiful scenery.
You Go First by Erin Entrada Kelly
Piecing Me Together by Renée Watson
A Bookish Home 