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Greetings from the Director
This fal
l the Concord Festival of Authors Bridge Year will take place during the month of October as a coordinated effort by a number of local organizations. The founder and sole organizer of the festival, Rob Mitchell, retired last November after an incredible 25 years. "When I stepped away from coordinating the Festival, I assumed that was the end of its 25 year run," says Mitchell, "I should have known better. Folks from the Concord Free Public Library, the Concord Museum, The Concord Bookshop, Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House, and Be Well Be Here, haven't just turned the page, they are writing a whole new chapter. I am confident that with their energy and enthusiasm, the Festival won't just continue, it will be better than ever."
In this issue of the Newsletter please find an overview of events taking place at the Concord Free Public Library. For additional information on Festival events and highlights from the Festival's Bridge Year follow the Concord Festival of Authors on Facebook (@concordfestivalofauthors), Twitter (@concord_fest), and Instagram (@concordfestivalofauthors). For a complete Event Schedule,
click here. For a listing of all library events, please see our
program card here.
The Library Corporation Trustees invite you to a
public forum on Thursday, October 18 from 6:00 - 7:00 pm at the Town House's Hearing Room, which will highlight the exciting Library expansion plans. I hope to see you there.
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 Join Kerry Cronin, Library Director and the Concord Free Public Library Corporation Trustees for a brief presentation and update on the Library's expansion plans. This will be an opportunity to learn more about how the anticipated changes will positively impact programming and meeting space in addition to creating entirely new Children's and Teen areas.
The public forum will take place on Thursday, October 18, from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Concord Town House Hearing Room, at 22 Monument Street. Please contact Marcy Eckel with questions at meckel@cfplcorp.org. |
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Concord Festival of Authors - Bridge Year
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Cristina Powell, A Brighter Way 
Monday, October 1, 7:00 p.m.
Fowler Branch
The Concord Festival of Authors, which celebrates both the spoken and written word, proudly presents artist Cristina Powell, whose story will inspire us all. Adopted from Peru as an infant, Cristina was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and a movement disorder at fifteen months. Rather than believe that she would never walk or talk, Cristina learned in her own way through home schooling that anything is possible. Not only does she walk, talk, and paint beautifully, she is the founder of the non-profit, A Brighter Way, dedicated to sharing her artistic creativity to benefit cancer and pain foundations. Her artwork will be exhibited at the event.
Crystal King 
Tuesday, October 2, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Crystal King will read from her novel Feast of Sorrow, and talk about the world of ancient Roman cuisine. King will also delve a little into the world of Bartolomeo Scappi, Renaissance chef to several popes and the subject of her forthcoming novel, The Chef's Secret. Attendees will receive recipes that they can try at home.
Gregory Maguire
Wednesday, October 3, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Gregory Maguire, Concord author best known for the novel Wicked, has written nearly 40 other books. Quite a few of them are based on fairy tales and beloved children's classics. Maguire will read some selected passages from across his career and informally discuss creativity, the value of children's reading to a rich childhood, and fairy tales.
Dive Deep: the Mindful Practice of Writing with Melissa Jean 
Tuesday, October 9, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
In this workshop, Melissa Jean will discuss ways in which mindfulness principles can be brought to bear on each stage of the writing process-drafting, revising, editing, and even proofreading. The bulk of the workshop will be dedicated to experimenting with mindfulness practices that facilitate self-discovery and creativity.
Regie O'Hare Gibson 
Wednesday, October 10, 7:00 p.m.
Fowler Branch
Regie O'Hare Gibson is a former National Poetry Slam Individual Champion, and was selected as one of Chicago Tribune's Artist of the Year for Excellence for his poetry. His full-length book of poetry Storms Beneath The Skin (EM Press) was published in 2001 and received the Golden Pen Award.
Scarecrow Festival Family Day, with author Josh Funk 
Sunday, October 14, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Main Library
See the creative scarecrows decorating the Main Library's Lawn. Enjoy music, food and an author reading! Josh Funk will read from his new book Lost in the Library. Rain or shine. If rain, events will be indoors in the Children's Room.
Lynne Griffin: Parents who Write 
Monday, October 15, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Lynne Griffin is a nationally recognized expert on relationships and family life. She is the author of Girl Sent Away, Sea Escape, Life Without Summer and the nonfiction guides, Let's Talk About It: Adolescent Mental Health, and Negotiation Generation: Take Back Your Parental Authority Without Punishment.
 Jenna Blum
Tuesday, October 16, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Jenna Blum is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of
Those Who Save Us,
The Stormchasers, and
The Lost Family. She is one of Oprah's Top 30 Women Writers. Jenna is based in Boston, where she has taught fiction and novel workshops for over 20 years.
Jim Sherblom 
Wednesday, October 17, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Join
Rev. Dr. Jim Sherblom for a discussion of his new book,
Spiritual Pilgrim: Awakening Journeys of a Twenty-First Century Transcendentalist. Rev. Dr. Sherblom has traveled on pilgrimages with Sufi's, Taoists, Shamans, Buddhists, Christians and Transcendentalists. His new book
Spiritual Pilgrim tells the stories of those mystic journeys.
Christopher White 
Thursday, October 18, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Christopher G. White will discuss his new book
Other Worlds: Spirituality and the Search for Invisible Dimensions.
Other Worlds examines how the idea that the universe has multiple, invisible dimensions has inspired science fiction, fantasy novels, films, modern art, and all manner of spiritual thought reaching well beyond the realm of formal religion. Christopher G. White is Professor of Religion at Vassar College.
Steve Almond
Friday, October 19, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Steve Almond's new book,
Bad Stories, argues that bad outcomes arise directly from the bad stories we tell ourselves. Using literature as a lens, he explores entertainment, sports, and political parody, the degeneration of our free press into a for-profit industry, and our enduring pathologies of race, class, immigration, and tribalism.
Sonya Larson and Dariel Suarez: the Short Story 
Monday, October 22, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Sonya Larson's short fiction and essays have appeared in several publications, including
Best American Short Stories 2017,
American Short Fiction,
American Literary Review, and many more.
Dariel Suarez's story collection,
A Kind of Solitude, was selected as the winner of the 2017 Spokane Short Fiction Prize and is forthcoming from Willow Springs Books in fall of 2018.
Nina Englander 
Thursday, October 23, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Dr. Nina Englander has been a practicing chiropractor for over 25 years. With her book Elevate, she offers her insight as a seasoned healer, teacher and keen observer of human beings.
Creative Word Building with Chris Sharp 
Thursday, October 25, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Chris Sharp studied English Literature and Anthropology at Brown University, and Mayan Archaeology at the Harvard Field School in Honduras. His first novel,
The Elementalists, is the first in a dark YA series and was called one of the "Overlooked Books of 2014", by Slate Magazine.
John Matteson
Friday, October 26, 7:30 p.m.
Main Library
In honor of the
Little Women Sesquicentennial Celebration, Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House presents in partnership with the Concord Festival of Authors Pulitzer Prize winner
Prof. John T. Matteson. In addition to discussing the enduring nature of
Little Women, Professor Matteson will offer insights into and an advance preview of his forthcoming book, which is primarily focused on the Battle of Fredericksburg.
Festival Read: Book Discussion
Saturday, October 27, 11:00 a.m.
Main Library
Monday, October 29, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
In this session, participants will learn about motivation-boosting techniques every writer can borrow from that seemingly unlikely source: sports. You'll learn how to use an athlete's tools like interval training, periodization, and the concept of training zones to help you embark on and complete your writing project.
Mystery Night: Hallie Ephron, Richard Cass, and Sheila Connolly, Moderated by Kate Flora
Wednesday, October 31, 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
What better way to spend your Halloween than in the world of mysteries? Unwilling to let the fun of Mystery Night fade away, The Bridge Year of the Concord Festival of Authors continues the tradition with three fascinating authors of traditional mysteries and thrillers.
Kate Flora will moderate with presenters
Hallie Ephron,
Sheila Connolly, and
Richard Cass.
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"Duty chains me to my galley": Publishing Louisa May Alcott
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 A joint lecture by Joel Myerson, Carolina Distinguished Professor of American Literature, Emeritus, University of South Carolina and Daniel Shealy, Professor of English, University of North Carolina, Charlotte will take place on Saturday, October 13, 6:00 p.m. at the Main Library.
This program is in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women. Reception to follow. R.S.V.P. by October 10 to ConEvents@minlib.net or call 978 318-3355. Open to all.
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Ruth Ratner Miller Award for Excellence in American History
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 Professor Annette Gordon-Reed will be speaking at the Concord Free Public Library in partnership with the Concord Festival of Authors as the 2018 recipient of the Ruth Ratner Miller Award for Excellence in American History. The event will take place on Saturday, October 20 at 7:30 p.m. at the Main Library.
Gordon-Reed is a Pulitzer Prize winning professor of history at Harvard Law School and Harvard University.
The event is ticketed - $15 for adults and $5 for students - and sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Free Public Library. Tickets are on sale at the Main Library (129 Main St.) and the Concord Bookshop.
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Poetry at the Library: Gail Mazur and Matt Miller
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 The Poetry at the Library Series will feature poets Gail Mazur and Matt Miller on Sunday, October 28 at 3:00 p.m. as part of the Concord Festival of Authors-Bridge Year.
Widely published and recipient of a number of awards and fellowships, Gail Mazur eloquently contemplates in her 7th collection, Forbidden City (Univ of Chicago, 2018) the relationship of art and life at this special Concord Festival of Authors event hosted by the Concord Free Public Library. At the collection's heart is the poet's long marriage to the renowned artist Michael Mazur (1935-2009). A fascinating range of tone infuses the book-grieving, but clear-eyed rather than lugubrious, sometimes whimsical, even comical, and often exuberant.
Poet Matt Miller will read from his 3rd collection, The Wounded for the Water (Salmon Poetry, 2018), hailed as a "beautiful, sublime lesson on the art of drowning, the wonder of living, and the scars that act as memory," and for its poems that evoke "echoes of Hopkins, coupled with a tender directness and images of clinical grit."
For a Complete List of
Concord Festival of Author-Bridge Year
Events
, please
click here
.
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Tuesday Book Group
October 9, 9:30-11:15 a.m.
Trustees' Room, Main Library
We will read and discuss
by Jess Walter. Copies of the book are available at the Main Library. All are
welcome.
 Cookbook Club*
Wednesday, October 10, 12:00-1:30 p.m.
Fowler Branch
Check out a copy of
Purely Pumpkin, by Allison Day or
Recipes from the Root Cellar, by Andrea Chesman at the Circulation Desk, pick a recipe, and prepare it for the program. We will sample lots of good food, talk about what worked and what did not, and select future cookbooks. Advance registration is required. [
Register]
Book Discussion at Debra's Natural Gourmet
Monday, October 15, 7:00 p.m.
Debra's Natural Gourmet
The Library is teaming up with
Debra's Natural Gourmet for a book discussion, which will take place at Debra's at 98 Commonwealth Avenue in West Concord. Electronic copies of this month's selection,
An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones, are available on Hoopla. Please email Debra Stark at debra@debrasnaturalgourmet.com to register.
 Book-A-Mystery Discussion
Wednesday, October 17, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Fowler Branch Library
Love a good mystery? All are welcome to join the discussion. Copies of this month's title,
Buried troubles: a Rosaria O'Reilly mystery,
by Marian McMahon Stanley, are available at the Branch to check out.
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Reading Mindfully: How We Pay Attention to Stories 
Saturday, October 27, 10:00 a.m.
Main Library
Join Lara JK Wilson of Be Well Be Here for a session on reading mindfully. Reading is good for us - and our relationships! As reported in the New York Times, neuroscientists have discovered that stories "stimulate the brain and even change how we act in life," helping us gain insights into relationships and develop greater empathy. This is a fundamental component of mindfulness. As a prelude to discussing our Concord Festival Reads choice, we will examine mindful reading and relationships in Tayari Jones' celebrated novel, An American Marriage. Together, we will explore how, in a time of sound bites and distraction, reading to cultivate empathy and connect is an essential part of American life.
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Children's and Teen Programs
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Teen Advisory Board (TAB)
Tuesday, October 2, 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Fowler Branch
All middle schoolers are welcome to join the Teen Advisory Board. The board meets monthly to share ideas about the Library, eat snacks, discuss books, do crafts, and watch movies.
Read to Luna the Yellow Lab 
Tuesday, October 2, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Main Library
Looking for Love? Read to Luna. She is a great listener! Luna is part of the Pets and People Foundation, Inc. Sessions are 15 minutes long. Registration is required. [Register]
Book and Cookie Club
Thursday, October 11, 4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Main Library
Enjoy cookies and fun activities as we discuss the newest books for kids in this monthly book club! The book discussed this month will be The Truth As Told by Mason Buttle by Leslie O'Connor. For kids in grades 4 and 5.
Toddler Sing-a-long with Ed Morgan* 
Fridays, October 12 & 19, 10:00 a.m. (Fowler Branch)
Halloween Sing-a-long with Ed Morgan*
Friday, October 26, 3:00 p.m. (Main Library)
Come sing and dance along with The Music Man, singer and musician Ed Morgan. Families are invited to enjoy this family friendly concert.
Teen Geek Club 
Tuesday, October 16, 4:00 -5:30 p.m.
Main Library
What do you GEEK? Comics, graphic novels, or RPGs? Anime, manga, music, or movies? TV shows or silly YouTube clips? Come hang out with other geeks! We will do a different geeky activity every month. You are welcome to bring your own video games or card games. Snacks will be provided. For Grades 8-12. Registration is appreciated. [Register]
ArtSplorers
Monday, October 22, 10:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Fowler Branch
Join us for some creative, open-ended art activities and a story. Turn your imagination on, and wear clothes you don't mind getting messy. For kids ages 18 months to 5 years old, with a caregiver. Limited to 15 children.
Oreo Cookie Taste-off 
Tuesday, October 23, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Main Library
Join us for the ultimate Oreo taste-off. We will have multiple flavors of Oreo cookies on hand to taste and rate, from best to worst flavors. We will provide the cookies (and milk)! For Grades 6-12. Space is limited. Registration is required. [Register]
Birds of Prey*
Wednesday, October 24, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Fowler Branch
Join Concord resident and bird enthusiast Melani Sleder to learn more about these wonderful birds. Activities include learning raptor calls, making a cardboard tube raptor, coloring pages, and much more. For kids ages 8 to 13.
Halloween Singalong with Singer and Musician Liz Buchanan*
Saturday, October 27, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Main Library
Join us in the children's room for a not so scary Halloween Singalong with singer and musician Liz Buchanan. This program is perfect for young children and their families. Come in costume if you wish!
Halloween Party 
Tuesday, October 30, 4:00 pm
Fowler Branch
Join us for what is sure to be a scary good time. Play games, make crafts and Halloween cookies, and scare yourself silly! Costumes encouraged. For children in preschool through grade 2.
* Click here for a complete list of Children's Programs at both libraries.
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iPad/iPhone 102 
Wednesday, October 3, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Main Library
This class is a continuation of the iPad 101 class offered in May and will focus on storage, apps and photo. Free and open to all. [
Register]
Getting Around with Google Maps 
Wednesday, October 24, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Main Library
In this class we will talk about tips and techniques on how to best use Google Maps on your computer, Android or iPad/iPhone. Free and open to all. [Register]
Drop-In Tech Help
Friday, October 12 & 26, 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Main Library Lobby
Stop in with any questions you may have about your mobile devices, laptops and/or Library's eBooks etc. Open to all.
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