RA for All Roadshow Interviews Brit Bennet, Live on Stage...Tonight and You Can Watch [for free] From Anywhere!

One of my specialties is moderating conversations with authors. I do this frequently. Most of the opportunities are with multiple authors at once, but here in Chicagoland, I have been helping libraries host the authors of their One Book, One Community reads for years. I have done Erin Morgenstern, Luis Alberta Urrea, Emma Donoghue and tonight Brit Bennett.

This event is for Schaumburg Township District Library in the NW suburbs of Chicago. Here is their page with all of the information on their One Book, One Community for The Vanishing Half.

I will be having a conversation with Bennett live on stage tonight at 7pm central, but anyone can watch us virtually via the Live Stream [or the recording] here.

While I will be taking questions for at least the last 15 minutes, but please note, this event is not a chance for patrons to pepper Ms. Bennett with questions, rather our focus is on her work in general and this book specifically. We are going to have a conversation not a Q&A. Participants will be able to learn more about the book, yes, but also about Ms. Bennett as an author. And you better bet I am leaving time for her to suggest books to all of us. 

Any of you who have attended any of my basic RA training events know that I talk about both The Mothers and The Vanishing Half often. You can click here or here to read my reviews on both titles. 

Bennett's work is brilliant, and I focus on it frequently, precisely because she is able to write stories that focus on very specific Black communities, employ provocative issues at their core [abortion and passing] and yet, the overall effect of both is a universal story about human nature. 

It is no surprise to me that this book, which came out early in the pandemic [June 2020] was on every year end bestseller list still for 2021 and all library most checked out titles as well [including my home library.] But, I think the staying power of her novel is worth discussing, especially from her perspective. 

This is a taste of what you can expect tonight. 

I hope you can join us on YouTube.

Details here or below.

AN EVENING WITH BRIT BENNETT, AUTHOR OF THE VANISHING HALF 

Thursday, Feb. 24 6-9 p.m. Al Larson Prairie Center For the Arts  Masks must be worn at all times during this in-person program.

You’ve read The Vanishing Half for our One Book, One Community, now meet the author. New York Times bestseller Brit Bennett will be here for one night only, discussing her life and her books, and answering your questions. After her visit, Bennett’s books will be available for purchase and signing thanks to Read Between the Lynes bookstore. Doors will open at 6 p.m. to allow ample time for seating before Ms. Bennett joins us at 7 p.m.

If the event is full, or if you prefer, you can watch the event live-streamed on SchaumburgLibrary.tv.