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Local Author Showcase at Oak Lawn Public Library June 12
Oak Lawn Public Library, located at 9427 S. Raymond Ave., is kicking off its adult and teen summer reading season with a Local Author Showcase featuring a book fair and 30 authors Wednesday, June 12 from 6-8 p.m. The event is free.
A third of the participating authors are from Oak Lawn, and the remainder hail from other south suburbs and Chicago. Fiction Librarian Emily Bettcher said, “This is our second year doing the Local Author Showcase, and we were blown away to find 20 authors last year. A book fair with 30 authors is a dream come true for our Library!”
Bettcher said the diversity of the authors this year is incredible, “The authors who are coming have written mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, young adult, fantasy and memoir. There are a few nonfiction authors writing about finance and health, plus several authors focusing on wellness and self-help. We’ve even got poets and a coloring book author who dresses as a mermaid!”
The Local Author Showcase has been a hit with authors as well as patrons. Young adult science fiction and fantasy author Zachary Jeffries of Evergreen Park said the event in 2023 was, “amazing, one of my favorites of the year.”
More than 200 people attended last year’s Showcase. Oak Lawn author Jennifer Worrell said it was, “such fun, and clearly put together by and for book lovers.”
A high point of last year’s Showcase was conversation cards that got discussion flowing between authors and readers. Bettcher said, “We loved hearing the authors and readers talking last year. Even though we’re at a library, it’s great for the Local Author Showcase to be a loud, fun event.”
Author David Kennerson a former college football player, has incorporated experiences from his attempts to get signed by a professional football team into his book “Fail Forward.” Kennerson explained, “What the Local Author Showcase gives me as an author is the opportunity to interact with the readers of my book and be able to tell my inspirational stories to them directly.”
Victoria Witkewitz, an Oak Lawn High School graduate who writes thrillers, said, “The Library was my headquarters for study time and working on research projects. It’s exciting to come full circle to give back to the community I came from.”
Bookie’s Bookstore will sell books at the Local Author Showcase. “Bookie’s likes to partner with OLPL for as many events as we can,” says Operations Manager Rich Wojcikowski. “This event in particular is near and dear to our hearts as Bookie’s has relationships with many of the participating authors.”
First-time featured author Ciara Ward said, “I am excited to just share my books and be around other authors. I love to network and the potential to sell books is a bonus.”
Registration is not required. Visit the Oak Lawn Public Library website at www.olpl.org and view the Events Calendar to sign up for updates about this event and secure a sweet treat on the day. Please call the Library at 708-422-2990 for more information.
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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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