The New England Library Association is pleased to introduce the outstanding author speakers who will participate in the 2008 Annual Conference.
The Jordan Miller Storytelling Program is being presented by Eshu and Motoko on Sunday afternoon. Eshu Bumpus captivates his audience by telling a variety of African, African-American and World folktales leavened with music, humor and mystery. A native of Osaka, Japan, Motoko trained with late master mime Tony Montanaro (1927-2002). Her partner, Eshu, introduced her to the world of American storytelling. Motoko has performed professionally since 1993, going to hundreds of schools, libraries, museums and festivals.
The Sunday Banquet speaker will be Simon Winchester, author of more than 20 books and numerous articles for magazines and newspapers. His background as a foreign correspondent for the British journal The Guardian and his wide-ranging interests have led him to write on a vast variety of topics. Three of his recent books, The Map That Changed the World, Krakatoa and The Crack in the Edge of the World, draw on his university education in geology. The Map That Changed the World describes the work of William Smith, who created the first geological map and is considered the father of modern geology. Krakatoa, about the 1883 volcanic eruption in Java, and The Crack in the Edge of the World, detailing the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, both outline the impact of geological natural disasters. His newest book, The Man Who Loved China, will be published in May 2008. The story of Joseph Needham is well described by the subtitle: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom, exploring China during World War II and writing about Chinese inventions and technology in the years following the war. Our thanks to HarperCollins for sponsoring Simon Winchester’s appearance.
The New England Round Table of Teen and Children’s Librarians has invited Cynthia Lord to speak at their Monday luncheon. She is the much-honored author of Rules, a Newbery Honor Medal book. It describes a sister’s challenges and frustrations of living with a brother with autism, and according to School Library Journal “…this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance.” In addition to many awards her first book was nominated for Kids’ Choice awards in 25 states and Canadian provinces, and won in her home state of Maine, to her great delight. She is at work on a second book, Touch Blue, to be published in the spring of 2009. A true New England author, she grew up in rural New Hampshire and now lives in Maine. She has made numerous school, library and book store appearance throughout Maine and New Hampshire.
Tuesday is a triple-threat author treat. Raouf Mama will appear Tuesday morning in the President’s Pick: One Book program. He is currently an English professor at Eastern Connecticut State University, where the NELA president, Kris Jacobi, is Head Cataloger in the J. Eugene Smith Library. Dr. Mama is also an internationally known bilingual storyteller, who performs in English and French indigenous tales from his native Benin in West Africa. We will read and discuss his first book, Why Goats Smell Bad and Other Stories from Benin, described by Kirkus Reviews as “a wide-ranging collection from an understudied tradition” and praised by Booklist as “a rich, varied source of lively tales.” In addition to his writing and storytelling performances he conducts workshops on the power of folktales as multicultural teaching and learning tools.
Medical thriller writer Michael Palmer will speak at the Tuesday luncheon. He trained as a doctor in Boston hospitals, practiced medicine full-time for twenty years, and currently works part time for the Massachusetts Medical Society. His first book published in 1982, The Sisterhood, about a secret society of nurses dedicated to mercy killings, has been translated into 30 languages and is still available in paperback. Each of his next eleven titles was a New York Times bestseller, and one, Extreme Measure, was made into a Hollywood film starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. His newest book, The First Patient, is a novel at the crossroads of presidential politics and cutting-edge medicine. President Bill Clinton called it “...an exciting thriller that captures the intense atmosphere of the White House, how the medical system works, and how the 25th amendment could be brought into play” and Publishers Weekly notes that “The roller-coaster ride of a plot builds to an undeniably shocking conclusion.” Thanks to Macmillan for sponsoring Michael Palmer’s appearance.
A Tuesday afternoon program will feature Jane Cleland, author of the Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series, set in coastal New Hampshire, where Jane once owned an antiques shop. The series has been called an Antiques Roadshow for mystery fans, as the heroine uses her knowledge of antiques to solve crimes. The first book in the series, Consigned to Death, was a finalist for an Agatha, a David and a Macavity Award for Best First Novel. Critics have called her third title, Antiques to Die For, “engaging” (Publishers Weekly) and her “…writing top-notch, her plotting and pace smooth and assured” (author Julia Spencer-Fleming.) Jane lives in New York City and is president of the New York chapter of Mystery Writers of America. She will take us “Under the Writer’s Veil,” describing her writing process and the secrets of producing a popular suspense novel.
The Jordan Miller Storytelling Program is being presented by Eshu and Motoko on Sunday afternoon. Eshu Bumpus captivates his audience by telling a variety of African, African-American and World folktales leavened with music, humor and mystery. A native of Osaka, Japan, Motoko trained with late master mime Tony Montanaro (1927-2002). Her partner, Eshu, introduced her to the world of American storytelling. Motoko has performed professionally since 1993, going to hundreds of schools, libraries, museums and festivals.
The Sunday Banquet speaker will be Simon Winchester, author of more than 20 books and numerous articles for magazines and newspapers. His background as a foreign correspondent for the British journal The Guardian and his wide-ranging interests have led him to write on a vast variety of topics. Three of his recent books, The Map That Changed the World, Krakatoa and The Crack in the Edge of the World, draw on his university education in geology. The Map That Changed the World describes the work of William Smith, who created the first geological map and is considered the father of modern geology. Krakatoa, about the 1883 volcanic eruption in Java, and The Crack in the Edge of the World, detailing the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, both outline the impact of geological natural disasters. His newest book, The Man Who Loved China, will be published in May 2008. The story of Joseph Needham is well described by the subtitle: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom, exploring China during World War II and writing about Chinese inventions and technology in the years following the war. Our thanks to HarperCollins for sponsoring Simon Winchester’s appearance.
The New England Round Table of Teen and Children’s Librarians has invited Cynthia Lord to speak at their Monday luncheon. She is the much-honored author of Rules, a Newbery Honor Medal book. It describes a sister’s challenges and frustrations of living with a brother with autism, and according to School Library Journal “…this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance.” In addition to many awards her first book was nominated for Kids’ Choice awards in 25 states and Canadian provinces, and won in her home state of Maine, to her great delight. She is at work on a second book, Touch Blue, to be published in the spring of 2009. A true New England author, she grew up in rural New Hampshire and now lives in Maine. She has made numerous school, library and book store appearance throughout Maine and New Hampshire.
Tuesday is a triple-threat author treat. Raouf Mama will appear Tuesday morning in the President’s Pick: One Book program. He is currently an English professor at Eastern Connecticut State University, where the NELA president, Kris Jacobi, is Head Cataloger in the J. Eugene Smith Library. Dr. Mama is also an internationally known bilingual storyteller, who performs in English and French indigenous tales from his native Benin in West Africa. We will read and discuss his first book, Why Goats Smell Bad and Other Stories from Benin, described by Kirkus Reviews as “a wide-ranging collection from an understudied tradition” and praised by Booklist as “a rich, varied source of lively tales.” In addition to his writing and storytelling performances he conducts workshops on the power of folktales as multicultural teaching and learning tools.
Medical thriller writer Michael Palmer will speak at the Tuesday luncheon. He trained as a doctor in Boston hospitals, practiced medicine full-time for twenty years, and currently works part time for the Massachusetts Medical Society. His first book published in 1982, The Sisterhood, about a secret society of nurses dedicated to mercy killings, has been translated into 30 languages and is still available in paperback. Each of his next eleven titles was a New York Times bestseller, and one, Extreme Measure, was made into a Hollywood film starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker. His newest book, The First Patient, is a novel at the crossroads of presidential politics and cutting-edge medicine. President Bill Clinton called it “...an exciting thriller that captures the intense atmosphere of the White House, how the medical system works, and how the 25th amendment could be brought into play” and Publishers Weekly notes that “The roller-coaster ride of a plot builds to an undeniably shocking conclusion.” Thanks to Macmillan for sponsoring Michael Palmer’s appearance.
A Tuesday afternoon program will feature Jane Cleland, author of the Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series, set in coastal New Hampshire, where Jane once owned an antiques shop. The series has been called an Antiques Roadshow for mystery fans, as the heroine uses her knowledge of antiques to solve crimes. The first book in the series, Consigned to Death, was a finalist for an Agatha, a David and a Macavity Award for Best First Novel. Critics have called her third title, Antiques to Die For, “engaging” (Publishers Weekly) and her “…writing top-notch, her plotting and pace smooth and assured” (author Julia Spencer-Fleming.) Jane lives in New York City and is president of the New York chapter of Mystery Writers of America. She will take us “Under the Writer’s Veil,” describing her writing process and the secrets of producing a popular suspense novel.