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Monday, August 27, 2018

Stories from the Road - Summer 2018 Edition

I love my job. It's not just about the work; it's the people I get to meet and the wonderful places across the state I get to visit. Don't get me wrong, I do love my line of work. I've been doing it now for over 20 years and it allows me the opportunity to be creative, forces me to keep up with technology, and allows me to do something that has visible results. What more could anyone ask?

Scholastic Summer Reading Road Trip bus

Recently, I was able to travel to two places I have never visited, the first being the Sardis Public Library, a branch of First Regional Library. MLC Consultant Mac Buntin asked me to tag along when he traveled there for the Scholastic Summer Reading Road Trip bus visit. The library entered a Scholastic sweepstakes to have the bus pay a visit and they were the only location in Mississippi to be selected. Michael Strose with Scholastic told me that Sardis was the perfect spot for a stop and they were thrilled with the turnout. Scholastic had two buses traveling across the country the entire month of July to remind children to keep up their reading skills. Ciardi Love, Youth Specialist with First Regional Library, said having the Scholastic bus stop by the Sardis Public Library was a great way to remind kids in the area that reading is fun!
Michael Strose with Scholastic and Ciardi Love with First Regional Library System channeling their inner Harry Potter.

Did you know? Reading gives you superpowers!
My next trip was with MLC Consultant Shellie Zeigler. We headed out early one morning to visit Union County Library System in the northeastern area of the state. Our first stop was in New Albany, where we caught up with the new library system director, Sissy Bullock. This is one of the cutest places I've been and it's easy to see that the residents are committed to taking care of their wonderful community. The library is a bustling place with lots of patrons taking advantage of the services offered. They are doing some renovations to the restrooms and the meeting rooms to make the space even more inviting. 
Shellie Zeigler, MLC Consultant, and Sissy Bullock, Union County Library Director
New Albany Public Library
After Shellie and I talked with Sissy about how MLC can assist the library, we headed out to the Myrtle Public Library. It truly was a "happy place" and people were coming and going during our visit.
Myrtle Public Library
We had a wonderful visit and a trip back to this beautiful part of the state is certainly in my future.

My travels across Mississippi with my colleagues have been fantastic. Now that I am nearing my three-year anniversary with MLC, what better gift than to see the great work going on in Mississippi's public libraries! Can't wait until my next trip!

Friday, August 17, 2018

A Quick Shot of Authors at the Mississippi Book Festival


Photos from the 2017 Mississippi Book Festival


There will be over 80 authors and artists signing books, speaking on panels, or manning a table in the author’s alley at the Mississippi Book Festival. While we don’t have enough space to feature everyone, here’s a sampling of some of the authors and speakers present at the Book Festival!

Radley Balko is a criminal justice reporter for the Washington Post. He was named the L.A. Press Club Journalist of the Year in 2011 and his work has been cited by the US Supreme Court. With Tucker Carrington, he co-authored the book The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South. He will answer questions in the Lighting Round (11:00 am) and will appear on the panel “True Crime” (4:00 pm, State Capitol Room 201 H). His book signing is at 3:00 pm in the book signing tent

Jack E. Davis is a professor of environmental history at the University of Florida. His most recent book, The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in History. He will appear on the panels “American History” (10:45 am, C-SPAN Room, Old Supreme Court Room) and “The Gulf with Jack E. Davis” (2:45 pm, State Capitol Room 202). His book signing is at 9:45 am in the book signing tent.

Matthew Guinn is an associate professor of creative writing at Belhaven University. His novels include The Resurrectionist and The Scribe. He will answer questions in the Lightning Round (11:30 am) and will appear on the panel  “Southern Gothic Revisited” (2:45 pm, Galloway Foundery). His book signing is at 4:15 pm in the book signing tent.

Edward Lee is the chef/owner of 610 Magnolia, MilkWood, and Whiskey Dry in Louisville, Kentucky; and culinary director of Succotash in Penn Quarter, Washington, D.C., and National Harbor, Maryland. He is the author of Buttermilk Graffiti and Smoke & Pickles, and wrote and hosted the feature documentary Fermented. He will appear on the panel “Our Nation’s New Melting Pot Cuisine” (10:45 am, Galloway Fellowship Center). His book signing is at 9:45 am in the book signing tent.

Aimee Nezhukumatathil is the poetry editor of Orion magazine and the author of four books of poetry including Miracle Fruit and Oceanic. Awards include a Pushcart Prize, a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Angoff Award, and the Boatwright Prize. She will answer questions in the Lightning Round (2:45 pm) and will appear at the panel “Waxing Poetic with the Pros” (9:30 am, State Capitol Room 201 A). Her book signing is at 11:00 am in the book signing tent.

Salman Rushdie is the author of multiple books, including The Satanic Verses, Midnight’s Children, and Shalimar the Clown. Rushdie has won multiple awards including the Booker Prize for Fiction, the Hans Christian Anderson Literary Award, the Norman Mailer Prize, the PEN Pinter Prize, and the Whitbread Novel Award. In 2007, Rushdie was knighted for services to literature in the Queen's Birthday Honours. He has an Outstanding Lifetime Achievement in Cultural Humanism from Harvard University and has an Honorary Professorship from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He will appear on the panel “Salman Rushdie: The Welty Lecture” (2:45 pm, Galloway Sanctuary).

Katy Simpson Smith is the author of multiple books, including the novel Free Men and the nonfiction work We Have Raised All of You: Motherhood in the South, 1750-1835. Her work has also appeared in The Oxford American, Garden & Gun, and Literary Hub. She will answer questions in the Lightning Round (12:15 pm) and will appear on the panel “Best Bets in Historical Fiction” (2:45 pm, State Capitol Room 113). Her book signing is at 4:15 pm in the book signing tent.

Angie Thomas is the author of the young adult novel The Hate U Give. The Hate U Give has won multiple awards, including the Coretta Scott King Award, the William C. Morris Award, and the Michael L. Printz Award. A film adaptation is currently in development.  She will appear on the panels “Angie Thomas: Kidnote” (9:30 am, Galloway Sanctuary) and “Hope (Nation) and Other Four-Letter Words” (10:45 am, Galloway Sanctuary). Her book signing is at 12:15 pm in the book signing tent.

Jesmyn Ward is the author of the novels Salvage the Bones and Sing, Unburied, Sing. Both Bones and Sing won a National Book Award, making her the first woman to win two National Book Awards for fiction. Other awards include an Alex Award for Salvage the Bones and a MacArthur "genius grant" from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. She is currently an associate professor of creative writing at Tulane University. She will appear on the panel “A Conversation with Jesmyn Ward” (12:00 pm, State Capitol Room 113). Her book signing is at 11:00 am in the book signing tent.

Check out the Mississippi Book Festival’s website for information on panelists we haven’t covered here! Which author are you most excited to see? Chime off in the comments below!
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