CMRLS Celebrates Mississippi Authors
Libraries have celebrated National
Library Week in April since 1958. For 62 years, during this week, libraries
across the country have held receptions and luncheons; brought in authors,
elected officials, or local celebrities to tout the benefits of the library for
a thriving community. Library staff planned special programs for
all ages. Civic clubs invited Library directors to give “State of the Library”
addresses. That is… until… COVID!
How is CMRLS celebrating this
year? We are celebrating Mississippi authors… virtually. John Grisham, Greg
Iles, Charlaine Harris, Janet Ferguson, and Katina Rankin are all considered successful
Mississippi authors and extremely popular authors with CMRLS patrons! The lineup
for this celebrated week:
·
Monday, April 5 – John
Grisham (Recorded, Library of Congress)
The first winner of the Library of Congress Prize for
American Fiction (2009), John Grisham is America’s most popular writer of legal
thrillers. The Guardians (Doubleday) is his hair-raising thriller about
wrongful convictions. Watch this interview with Marie Arana, literary director
of the Library of Congress, for the 2020 National Book Festival.
·
Tuesday, April 6 – Greg
Iles (Recorded, Mississippi Public
Broadcasting) Novelist Greg Iles of Natchez is interviewed in
2017 by Marshall Ramsey for Mississippi Public Broadcasting. Iles' most recent
book is Cemetery Road, out in 2019, discusses here the third installment
in his trilogy of books that began with the New York bestseller Natchez
Burning. Ramsey talks to Greg about Mississippi Blood and what the
future holds in store now for this prolific writer.
·
Wednesday, April 7 –
Charlaine
Harris (Recorded, Library of Congress)
Charlaine Harris appears at the 2012 Library of Congress
National Book Festival. Harris is the author of the Sookie Stackhouse book
series that was turned into the popular HBO series True Blood. Her
newest series is the Gunnie Rose series which includes 3 titles including the
2021 release of The Russian Cage.
·
Thursday, April 8, 6:30 p.m. – Janet
Ferguson (Live, ZOOM
meeting) Join us for a live discussion with
Mississippi author Janet Ferguson whose series Southern Hearts and Coastal
Hearts are well received in our CMRLS libraries. Ferguson is a
Grace Award winner, FHL Readers Choice Winner, and a Christy Award finalist. She
grew up in Mississippi and received a degree in Banking and Finance from the
University of Mississippi. She has served as a children’s minister and a church
youth volunteer. An avid reader, she worked as a librarian at a large public
high school. She writes humorous inspirational fiction for people with real
lives and real problems. Janet and her husband have two grown children, one really
smart dog, and a cat that allows them to share the space.
·
Friday, April 9 – Katina
Rankin (Recorded, Meet My Mississippi)
Katina Rankin, on-air personality, author, and humanitarian,
is interviewed by Patricia Neely Dorsey from Hill Country Network and Meet My
Mississippi. Rankin, who grew up in Magee, discusses her career and her
children's book Up North Down South / City Folk Meet Country Folk.
We hope you enjoy hearing this group
of authors discuss their work and a bit about their personal lives. Most of
all, we want you to appreciate the talent that comes from Mississippi. These represent
just a fraction of the literary legacy on which Mississippi can boast.
Happy National Library Week 2021!
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