Thursday, January 31, 2008

Here Comes AViD 2008!
Mark Your Calendar! The following is a list of authors and the dates we expect them to appear. We are still working out some of the details, so check often for complete and updated information on venues, dates, and times.

Laura Lippman – April 1
Meet award-winning mystery author Laura Lippman who will discuss her new book, Another Thing to Fall; A Novel. A former journalist for the Baltimore Sun, Lippman bases her stories around her own personal experience in the city, usually featuring reporter turned private investigator Tess Monaghan. She became a New York Times bestselling author following the release of her novel, What the Dead Know. Lippman has also won numerous awards for her mystery fiction, including the Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, Nero Wolfe, and Shamus.

Mildred Kalish – April 8
Retired professor and author Mildred Kalish will share excerpts from her memoir, Little Heathens: Hard Times and High Spirits on an Iowa Farm During the Great Depression. Reflecting upon her experiences growing up in Garrison, Iowa, Kalish shares how her family coped and survived during the Great Depression. From running barefoot across the fields of her family’s farm to learning how to prepare the world’s best head cheese, she beautifully describes life’s simple pleasures and how her grandparents kept a spirit of hope and joy alive in her five-year-old self for years to come. Kalish has served as a professor of English at a host of different colleges, including the University of Iowa, Adelphi University, and Suffolk Community College.

Alexander McCall Smith – April 21
Bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith will stop in Des Moines to discuss his life and literature. Well-known for both his The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency and The Sunday Philosophy Club series, McCall Smith has authored more than sixty books, ranging from the academic to short story collections and popular children’s books. Greatly influenced by his birth and childhood in Zimbabwe, as well as his professorship in Botswana, his literature captures the life and culture found within the two African nations. His bestselling No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series has garnered international acclaim, having been translated into thirty-nine languages and selling more than seven million copies nationwide. In addition to being an internationally known author, he has been a professor of law and medical law at the University of Botswana and the University of Edinburgh, respectively, as well as having been a visiting professor at various universities within Italy and the United States. Currently, he resides in Edinburgh, Scotland, with his wife Elizabeth and their two daughters, Lucy and Emily.

Joanne Harris – May 1
Joanne Harris will be here on book tour for her sequel to Chocolat, entitled The Girl with No Shadow, which will be published on April 8, 2008. She is the author of the Whitbread-shortlisted Chocolat, Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters of the Orange, Coastliners, Holy Fools, Jigs & Reels, Sleep, Pale Sister, Gentlemen and Players and, with Fran Warde, The French Kitchen: A Cookbook, and The French Market: More Recipes from a French Kitchen. She lives in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with her husband and daughter.

Paul Shirley – June 11
Author and professional basketball player Paul Shirley will share his experiences writing his book, . Listen to his personal and humor-filled insight into the highly competitive world of professional basketball in the United States and abroad. Graduating from Iowa State University in 2002 with three Academic All-Big 12 selections, a place of second-team Academic All-American, a 4.0 GPA, and a degree in mechanical engineering, Shirley set his sights on professional basketball, starting out as a player for the Atlanta Hawks. Since then, he has played for professional teams across the United States and Europe, chronicling his adventure through his book, online journals, and a television pilot, The Twelfth Man. He currently plays for the Menorca Basquet of the Spanish ACB. Off the court, Shirley writes his “My So-Called Career” column for ESPN.com.

Funding for the 2008 AViD Author Series is provided by the Des Moines Public Library Foundation with support from generous corporate and individual donors.

Start an Adventure

Check out the great author programs featured at the Central Library during the library’s 2008 Adventure Series beginning January 29! Hear the real-life experiences of fascinating adventurers, from climbing the highest mountain peaks to kayaking the frigid waters of Alaska. Share incredible sights and sounds as reported by world-wide travelers and
photojournalists. Fly to exotic countries, scale mountains, sail across an ocean without ever leaving town—simply pick up a book and let your adventure begin. Start with a short trip to any of our six convenient locations and sign up for this year’s globe-trotting reading program, available February 17 through March 29. Every participant receives a free backpack (while supplies last). Then start reading! Every time you complete a brief review form for a book you have read, you will automatically be entered in our Grand Prize Drawing. Six grand prize winners will be drawn to receive a $50 gift certificate. Twelve winners will receive a $25 gift certificate. Winners will be announced on March 31.