Library Live.
We are thrilled to welcome these four brilliant authors to our 2022 series. Library Live is for adventurous readers who enjoy hearing from established literary figures and emerging talent. Novelists, poets, historians, journalists, biographers, memoirists and more share their ideas firsthand with our community. Participate, engage, and be challenged by our presentations with today’s most gifted scribes.
WALTER STAHR
Salmon P. Chase: Lincoln’s Vital Rival
Thursday, February 24, 7:00pm
Salmon P. Chase is best remembered as Lincoln’s rival for the Republican nomination in 1860. But there would not have been a national Republican Party, and Lincoln could not have won the presidency, were it not for the vital groundwork Chase had already laid in previous decades. Drawing on previously overlooked sources, Stahr’s book sheds new light on a complex and fascinating political figure at the center of the fight for racial justice in 19th century America and the pivotal years framing the Civil War. Walter Stahr is a New York Times bestselling author and two-time winner of the Seward Award for Excellence in Civil War Biography. www.walterstahr.com
BRIT BENNETT
The Vanishing Half
Thursday, March 3, 7:00pm
Novelist Brit Bennett is one of today’s most exciting new voices in literary fiction. Her lectures are as unflinching and memorable as her writing and will give audiences a window into her craft while exploring broader themes of race, family, and relationship. Bennett was named a “5 Under 35” honoree by the National Book Foundation and she has also been a New York Times number-one bestseller. Before publishing her novel, Brit Bennett has also built an impressive platform as a social commentator. Her work has also been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and The Paris Review. www.britbennett.com
ADIN DOBKIN
Sprinting Through No Man’s Land: Endurance, Tragedy and Rebirth in the 1919 Tour de France
Thursday, March 24, 7:00pm
Sprinting Through No Man’s Land traces the 1919 Tour de France cycling race, which began just one day after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles marking the end of World War I. Dobkin explores the amazing capacity of human endurance and experiences of the athletes — many of whom arrived at the competition straight from the warfront — as they cycled through a devastated, post-war landscape in a grueling month-long competition. Dobkin illustrates how the cyclists united a country that had been torn apart by unprecedented desolation and tragedy. The works of this Brooklyn writer and journalist have been featured in The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, The Paris Review Daily, and more. www.adindobkin.com
CHARLES YU
Interior Chinatown: Screenwriting, Representation, and Identity
Thursday, April 28, 7:00pm
Drawing on his experience as a fiction writer and as a television writer and producer, Charles Yu discusses his acclaimed novel, Interior Chinatown (the winner of the 2020 National Book Award for fiction), and the issues of immigration, assimilation, and representation that animate his storytelling. Yu also addresses the role of family and the confines of stereotypes that persist today in film and television. He is an award-winning author of four books, twice nominated for Writers Guild of America awards for his work on the HBO series, Westworld. Charles Yu has written for numerous TV shows on FX, AMC and HBO and his published work has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired, among others. www.charlesyuauthor.com
LECTURE DETAILS
Held in Friends Room at Central Library, 1000 Avocado Avenue, Newport Beach, CA 92660
Free parking on the ground level and in the parking structure
Limited Seating
Thursday, 7:00pm – 8:30pm || Doors open at 6:30pm
Lecture, Book Sale & Signing, Refreshments
General $35 || NBPLF Member $30
Masks are required for unvaccinated individuals and recommended for all attendees for indoor events
Newport Beach Public Library Foundation follows the State of California guidelines for indoor gatherings, and we are staying informed on all the latest requirements. We will email all attendees with the latest information one week before the event.
REGISTRATION / BOOK PURCHASE
Tickets on sale November 10, 2021 || Box office closes at 2pm on the day of the event
Opportunity to buy a signed copy of the speakers’ publications at the event
QUESTIONS
Contact Director of Programs Kunga Wangmo-Upshaw kupshaw@nbplf.foundation or 949-717-3818.
2021 Sponsors
The Foundation would like to recognize below the funding Sponsors and Partners that supported Library Live Series during the pandemic closure when the speakers had to be presented virtually
Silver
Greg and Sally Palmer
Bronze
Karen and Bruce Clark
Pacific Life Foundation
Todd and Natasha Palmaer
Samuel and Tammy Tang
Iron
Nancy and Brant Dahlfors
Trisha O’Donnell
Barbara Roberts
Paul and Susan Shimoff
Tom Weinberg Staple
Steel
Loren Blackwood
Dr. Barbara Ann Hamkalo
Elizabeth and Bryant Henry
Bill and Carolyn Klein
Tricia Nichols
Ronald M. Simon/ Simon Foundation for Education and Housing
Ann Stephens
Stone
The Black Business Network of OC
Judy and Len Cannatelli
Barbara Glabman
Melanie and Gary Singer
Partners
Laguna Beach Books
Newport Beach Public Library
City of Newport Beach
Firebrand Media LLC
2022 Library Live Committee
Loren Blackwood
Johanna Kim, Chair
Lindsay Means
Dorothy Larson
Toby Larson
Ann Stephens
Tammy Tang, Chair
Paul Watkins (Library Trustee Liaison)