#Adult Programs in June
This month, you have the chance to meet a buzzed-about debut author and an award-winning graphic novelist in our popular Lit Chat Interview series. Or, you can make your first self-published zine or learn how to format any work for print with our Writer's Lab Workshop series. Plus, there are 15 Library Book Club meetings, Life Lit gardening and small business workshops, and more!
Looking for that summer reading vibe? It's not too late to join the Jax Stacks Reading Challenge. Just read 12 books (one from each of our 16 challenge categories) and win a cool prize!
Be the first to know about upcoming Lit Chat author events, Writer's Lab workshops, and more!
Writer's Lab Workshop: Authors Roundtable
Mid-Year Author Check-In - Saturday, June 1, at 10:15 a.m.
What have you accomplished since January? Have you joined other writing communities and workshops? What goals do you have for the second half of the year? Authors Roundtable is a local 501C3 that supports authors in reaching their highest potential.
Meeting on the first Saturday of every month at the Main Library, authors participate in educational forums, workshops, classes, and events. Check out what they have in store for July and August!
Lit Chat Interview with Alejandro Nodarse
Debut author Alejandro Nodarse joins us in person to talk about his South Florida-infused thriller, Blood in the Cut, at the Webb Wesconnett Library. He will be in conversation with local author Michael Wiley. An audience Q&A and book signing will follow the interview. Books will be available to purchase on-site from Femme Fire Books.
Monday, June 10, from 7-8 p.m. | Webb Wesconnett Library
Alejandro Nodarse holds an MFA from the University of Miami and is an alum of Las Dos Brujas Writers Conference and a former staff member of the VONA Writers Conference.
Writer's Lab Workshop: Zine-Making 101 with Lindsay Anderson
Learn how to make your first zine with Lindsay Anderson, a prolific zine maker and self-publisher based in Jacksonville.
Using non-digital methods, you'll make a quick one-page zine and discover different layouts and content from Lindsay’s personal zine library. All zine-making resources will be provided.
Saturday, June 8, from 1-3 p.m. | South Mandarin Library
Register for the FREE workshop!
Since 2013, Lindsay Anderson has developed a long-running zine project, she has helped to organize the annual Duval Comic and Zine Fest (DCAZ) and recently launched a new quarterly zine Mischief on the River. She's passionate about creating from existing resources and making space for others to develop and showcase their own works.
Third Annual Duval Comic & Zine Fest
Duval Comic & Zine Fest returns to the Main Library in downtown Jacksonville this June! A celebration of local, independent publishers, the event will feature over 50 zine and comic creators, a risograph printing activity, a Writer's Lab workshop with Thony Aiuppy, and a Lit Chat with award-winning cartoonist Nate Powell. The event and all programs are free to attend!
Saturday, June 15, from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. | Main Library
Writer's Lab: Formatting Your Work for Print with Thony Auippy
Formatting your passion project can be a daunting task. You spend all that time planning, making, and editing your work. You have all the parts and you’re ready to make your dream a reality. But how do you take all that work and convert it into something tangible, someone physical that can be held, flipped through, and read? Learn some of the tips, tricks, and formatting hacks Thony has learned over the last decade of making zines, comics, and graphic novels.
Saturday, June 15, from 12 - 1 p.m. | Main Library (during DCAZ Fest)
Register for the FREE workshop!
Whether you hand-make every book or create your work digitally, you will get information, tutorials, and resources that will help you organize and format your project.
Thony Aiuppy is a visual artist, cartoonist, zinester, and storyteller. For more than a decade, Thony has worked as an art educator with learners of all ages. This year, Thony was awarded the Wolfsburg Fellowship for Social Justice in Education and finished the Sequential Artist Workshop Yearlong Program in Gainesville, Florida. He lives and works in Jacksonville, Florida.
Lit Chat Interview with Nate Powell
Nate Powell is a National Book Award-winning cartoonist who began self-publishing as an Arkansas teenager in 1992. His work includes the new graphic novel Fall Through and a new comics adaptation of James Loewen’s influential Lies My Teacher Told Me, as well as Save It For Later, civil rights icon John Lewis’s March trilogy, Come Again, Two Dead, and more. He has discussed his work at the UN, on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show, PBS, and CNN.
Saturday, June 15, from 4-5 p.m. | Main Library (during DCAZ Fest)
Register for the FREE author talk!
Powell has received multiple Eisner and Ignatz awards, the Comic-Con International Inkpot Award, multiple ALA and YALSA distinctions, and is a two-time finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. A book signing will follow the interview with books available for purchase on-site.
Improve Your Day-to-Day Life
Life Lit are free workshops offered by trained professionals and volunteers that focus on improving your day-to-day life. These programs cover a wide range of workshops from gardening to small business needs. No need to bring anything but yourself to participate!
Business and Money Matters:
- Business Planning with Business Model Canvas - Tuesday, June 4, at 2 p.m. | Main Library
- Entrepreneurship Long Hand - Tuesday, June 11, at 3 p.m. | Murray Hill Branch
- Workforce Readiness/Personal Branding - Tuesday, June 25, at 6:30 p.m. | University Park
DIY Gardening:
- Shade Garden Design with UF/IFAS - Tuesday, June 4, at 6 p.m. | Maxville Branch
- Propagation with UF/IFAS - Monday, June 17, at 6 p.m. | Brentwood Branch
- Herbs with UF/IFAS - Tuesday, June 18, at 6:30 p.m. | University Park Branch
- Container Gardening with UF/IFAS - Tuesday, June 25, at 5 p.m. | Brentwood Branch
Library Book Club Meetings in June
Looking for your next beach read? Or a hot summer romance book to read in the air-conditioned comfort of your home? Trying to model good reading habits for your kids and teens this summer? The Library has you covered! Not only will you get fun reading recommendations every month (just by checking out the booklists here on our blog), you can also talk with fellow book lovers (and add even more to your TBR pile) at a Library Book Club near you!
Jax Stacks Adult Reading Challenge + Virtual Book Club
We've got a fresh new set of 16 Jax Stacks Reading Challenge categories for 2024! While many of the categories are designed to broaden your reading horizons and get you to try something new, others are going to match up with books you're probably planning to read anyway. Either way, you'll have fun and read some great books! To make it easy, we've printed up Jax Stacks Bookmarks to help you keep track of the categories you've crossed off.
We will be discussing the category "A book with an LGBTQIA+ protagonist" live on Zoom on Tuesday, June 4, at 6:30 p.m. Note: No reading is required to attend this book club, just an interest in our reading challenge and the desire to talk about great books.
