Library U

Tim Barton joins our Lit Chat series on Tuesday, August 24th, at 7 pm. Tim will be discussing his book The American Story: The Beginnings. Click here to register. 

Tim Barton is the President of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization that presents America’s forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our religious, moral, and constitutional heritage. WallBuilders has been recognized from coast-to-coast for its work in education, history, law, and public policy, integrating the elements of Biblical faith and morality throughout all aspects of American life and culture.

The Library U Small Business and Side Hustle newsletter connects you to resources within the Library and community programs. If you would like to sign up to receive the Library U Small Business and Side Hustles quarterly newsletter, click here.

Links to the Library’s collection (READ), online programs through the Library (WATCH), and local non-profits and other community resources (EXPLORE) designed to assist you with your small business needs are part of the newsletter. Small Business and Side Hustle is delivered to your inbox in August, November, February, and May. 

How do you keep the spark alive over three decades of writing romance fiction? Rochelle Alers clearly knows the secret, with over 80 published books, including her newest, The Beach House. Join us to chat with this prolific romance author!

Have you always wanted to write and/or draw comics? Are you interested in partnering with an artist to form a creative team to craft a graphic narrative? Learn some key lessons in creating your own comics with artist and educator James Greene in this three-part workshop. Exploit the real-estate of the blank page while yielding to the collaborative virtues of words and pictures where image is text, too.

Jacksonville artist Michael Regina published his first books with Kickstarter money back in 2013, and now his newest book, The Sleepover, is being published by a major imprint. Find out how he achieved this success at our next Lit Chat!

Historian Richard Webb chats about his book Boats Against the Current. He presents a case for Westport, Connecticut as the real setting of one of America's most famous novels, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Boats Against the Current is a large-format book that includes compelling stories about Scott, Zelda, and their wealthy neighbor the model for Jay Gatsby. Illustrated with period newspaper clippings, items from Fitzgerald family scrapbooks, and never-before-seen photos, the book also recounts Webb’s process of making a companion documentary film with Robert Steven Williams.

Have you ever read a sci-fi or fantasy book and wondered, what kind of a mind thinks up these new worlds? Find out and get a peek inside of one at our Lit Chat with Chuck Wendig! Chuck Wendig is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Star Wars: Aftermath, as well as the Miriam Black thrillers, the Atlanta Burns books, Zer0es/Invasive, Wanderers, and the upcoming The Book of Accidents (July 2021). He’s also worked in a variety of other formats, including comics, games, film, and television. A finalist for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer and the cowriter of the Emmy-nominated digital narrative Collapsus, he is also known for his books about writing. He lives in Pennsyltucky with his family.

Sometimes an epic fail can become an epic success. The Space Race in the US started with a failed satellite launch nicknamed “Kaputnik” and the Wright brothers had many mishaps on their way to their first powered flight. For Erik Slader, writing and talking about these epic fails has led to a successful podcast and children’s book series!

Erik will share his experiences in writing and talking about history at our next Lit Chat, so be sure to join us!

Join us for Art & Conversations, by registering for Lit Chat with Dylan Allen Thursday, May 20, at 7 pm. Author Dylan Allen will chat about her experiences with the romance genre with romance author Brenda Jackson and connect it to MOCA's current group exhibition, Romancing the Mirror.

In connection with MOCA's current group exhibition, Romancing the Mirror(link is external), we present Mirrors to Windows: The Artist as Woman(link is external) for this edition of Screening Room. The film explores three generations of female artists from around the world who are forging their careers in the London art scene.