Boston Public Library
BPL News and Events

Author Series

 

The Boston Public Library's author series features a wide range of talented writers. Hear authors read from their books, purchase a copy, get it signed by the author, and learn about the creative process that gets such magnificent stories told.

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Sat.
Sept. 11
2:00 p.m.

Central Library

Rabb Lecture HallJonathan Franzen

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

When The Corrections was published in the fall of 2001, Jonathan Franzen was probably better known for his nonfiction than for the two novels he had already published. In an essay he wrote for Harper's Magazine in 1996, Franzen lamented the declining cultural authority of the American novel and described his personal search for reasons to persist as a fiction writer. Five years after publishing the Harper's essay, Franzen became fully engaged with his culture. The Corrections was an enormous international bestseller with translations in 35 languages, American hardcover sales of nearly one million copies, and nominations for nearly every major book prize in the country. Franzen was awarded the National Book Award for this novel. Franzen's new novel, Freedom, details the strains of suburban tragedy in Saint Paul, Minnesota.


Sat.
Sept. 18
1:00 p.m.

Central Library

Rabb Lecture HallAuthor Talk and Movie: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Publication of To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a MockingbirdTo celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, best-selling Boston-based authors Katherine Hall Page and Brunonia Barry will discuss how that book has affected their lives, both personal and literary. Following their discussion, the film version of the novel starring Gregory Peck will be screened.

 

The Body in the Sleigh by Katherine Hall PageKatherine Hall Page is the author of sixteen previous Faith Fairchild mysteries, the first of which received the Agatha Award for best first mystery. Her latest novel is called The Body in the Sleigh.

 

The Map of True Places by Brunonia BarryAfter self-publishing her debut novel, The Lace Reader, Brunonia Barry hit it big when it was picked up by HarperCollins and became an instant best-seller. Barry's follow-up novel, The Map of True Places, is an emotionally compelling novel about finding your true place in the world.

 

Mon.
Sept. 20
6:00 p.m.

Central Library

Rabb Lecture HallBoston Globe Author Event: Stephen Puleo and Dark Tide

Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo

Special Event
Author Stephen Puleo comes to the Boston Public Library after his book, Dark Tide, was chosen by the people of Boston as the one book that the entire city should read. More than 8,000 votes were cast in an online poll created by Boston.com and The Boston Globe to identify a book for a citywide reading program. The winning title was announced in The Boston Globe's "Off the Shelf" blog in July. Mr. Puleo will participate in an online chat and in this September 20 event at the Boston Public Library.

About Dark Tide. Shortly after noon on January 15, 1919, a 50-foot-tall steel tank filled with 2.3 million gallons of molasses collapsed on Boston's waterfront, disgorging its contents in a 15-foot-high wave of molasses that traveled at 35 miles per hour. The Great Boston Molasses Flood claimed the lives of 21 people and caused widespread destruction. For the first time, the story of the flood is told here in its full historical context, from the tank's construction in 1915 through the multiyear lawsuit that followed the disaster. Dark Tide uses the gripping drama of the flood to examine the sweeping changes brought about by World War I, Prohibition, the anarchist movement, immigration, and the expanding role of big business in society. It's also a chronicle of the courage of ordinary people, from the firemen caught in an unimaginable catastrophe to the soldier-lawyer who presided over the lawsuit with heroic impartiality.

Visit Mr. Puleo's web site, www.stephenpuleo.com, for additional information on Dark Tide, including discussion questions, reviews, and excerpts. Mr. Puleo is also the author of A City So Grand, The Boston Italians, and Due to Enemy Action.

If you'd like to reserve a copy of Dark Tide from the library, you can choose from hardcover or paperback. Please have your library card number and PIN to reserve a book.

New! Images of the aftermath of the Molasses Flood are now viewable online.

Thurs.
Sept. 23
6:00 p.m.

Central Library

Boston RoomJessica Stern

Denial by Jessica Stern

Jessica Stern, one of the world's foremost experts on terrorism and post-traumatic stress disorder, and author of the New York Times Notable Book Terror in the Name of God, wrote her first article on terrorism in 1983, and subsequently served as a resource for administrations and intelligence agencies around the globe. As she approached her fiftieth birthday, she turned inward, seeking answers to difficult questions about why she felt driven to do this dangerous work. The result, Denial: A Memoir of Terror, is an intense and honest examination of an unsolved brutal rape, as well as a portrait of how the aftereffects of trauma and denial can influence the personal and professional life of its victim. Denial is a candid, courageous, and hopeful study of trauma and its aftermath.