Teton County Library Hosts Fantasy Author

T.A. Barron, who writes "epic tales of young heroes on their paths to self discovery," will conduct a talk and book signing at the Teton County Public Library in Jackson from 7:30-8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 2, in the Ordway Auditorium. The program is free and open to the public.

"Barron’s talk will explore how he finds great inspiration in the wonders of nature and the heroic potential of every person," says Lara Lovett, Young Adult Coordinator. "During the talk, he will illustrate his words with pictures and welcome questions from kids, teens and parents."

Lovett says that Barron’s stories of heroic young people set in a variety of places and times have proven to be a popular pick among the library’s young adult readers. "Fantasy fans have devoured The Lost Years of Merlin epic and are equally enthusiastic about Barron’s most recent trilogy," says Lovett. The new trilogy, The Great Tree of Avalon, has become a New York Times bestseller, while Barron’s The Lost Years of Merlin is being developed as a feature film.

Barron says that he cultivated a love of the outdoors while growing up on a ranch outside Colorado Springs, Colo. In elementary school, he wrote, illustrated and printed his own magazine called The Idiot’s Odyssey. He continued to write in college and during backpacking journeys through Asia and Africa.

Barron took a detour through the business world where he worked as president of a venture capital firm in New York. In 1989, Barron moved back to Colorado where he now lives with his wife and five children on a small farm. Barron has been awarded the Wilderness Society’s highest honor, the Robert Marshall Award, for his efforts to protect America’s wilderness heritage.

While in town, Barron will also make presentations for Jackson Hole Middle School, Summit School and Journeys School students.

FMI: Lara Lovett at 733-2164 ext. 221 or via e-mail

Labels: book discussion, readings, writers, Wyoming

- posted by Michael Shay @ 11:53 AM 0 comments

 
Ron Franscell Returns

Ron Franscell announces "Wyoming Book Tour II" for his book Fall: The Rape and Murder of Innocence in a Small Town, which the Chicago Sun-Times has called "heartbreaking ... the girls' last terrifying moments are delivered with such vivid texture that they are almost too painful to read. The technique and execution is not unlike Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.... And just when your heart is broken by this terrible tragedy, Franscell adds a coda that will further disturb your peaceful sleep."

Here's Ron's schedule:
Saturday, March 10, 7-9 p.m., Discussion and Q&A, Natrona Co. Library, Casper
Monday, March 12, noon-2 p.m., Hastings Books, Gillette
Monday, March 12, 6-7 p.m., Book Shop on Main, Sheridan
Tuesday, March 13, 1-3 p.m., Books & Briar, Riverton
Wednesday, March 14, 1-2:30 p.m., Wheatland Mercantile Book Nook, Wheatland
Thursday, March 15, 5-7 p.m., B. Dalton Books, Rock Springs
Friday, March 16, 4-7 p.m., Off the Beaten Path Bookstore, Rawlins
Saturday, March 17, 1-3 p.m., Main Street Books, Lander

Go to Ron's web site for more info.

Labels: book discussion, booksellers, readings, writers

- posted by Michael Shay @ 7:57 PM 0 comments

 
"Big Read" Reads Willa; Looks for Local Partners

From the Wyoming State Library’s Outrider newsletter: In response to a decline in literary reading, the National Endowment for the Arts has established its Big Read grant program, designed as a community-wide reading and discussion of a single classic novel. The Wyoming Center for the Book in Cheyenne is putting together a grant proposal in April 2007 for a Big Read of Willa Cather's My Antonia to kick off at September's Wyoming Book Festival. The Center is seeking local partners interested in participating. If the application is successful, the Center will provide grant administration, promotion, programming support and materials, and free or reduced-price copies of the book. Local partners are asked to hold book discussions, promote the Big Read locally, report back to the Center on local activities, provide non-federal cash and/or in-kind match, and provide a letter of support stating that commitment. FMI: Susan Vittitow, WCFB coordinator, 307-777-5915.

Labels: book discussion, libraries, Wyoming Center for the Book

- posted by Michael Shay @ 8:27 AM 0 comments

 
Malinalli (a.k.a. Malinche) Focus of Book Group

Teton County Library in Jackson announces that the sign-up begins on Monday, Jan. 8, for a Spanish book discussion. “Malinalli, Real Woman and Mythical Figure” will explore Laura Esquivel's latest work Malinche, a provocative novel based on a woman (a.k.a. Malinalli) who remains controversial for her role in the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Participants will meet in the library's Ordway Auditorium from 7-8:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 5. Free and open to the public. Registration is required, with space available for up to 15 people. To register stop by the library's Information Desk or call 307-733-2164 ext. 237.

An indigenous woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, Malinche acted as an interpreter, advisor and intermediary for Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. She also was his mistress and had a son by him. "Malinche is viewed in Mexico as a traitor," said Patricia Rocha, the library's Latino Services Assistant. "In this book, Esquivel offers another point of view. Convinced Malinche served as an interpreter because she was a slave and had no choice, Esquivel also imagines this mythic figure's spiritual motivations -- a theme that should generate lots of discussion."

This is the fourth year the library has offered a Spanish-language book discussion, and the second year the book has been offered in either Spanish or English. Although participants may read the book in English, the discussion will be in Spanish.

FMI: Patricia Rocha at 307-733-2164 ext. 237.

Labels: book discussion, humanities, Latin America

- posted by Michael Shay @ 1:10 PM 0 comments