The month of March will be a busy one at the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library with an author fair and a city-wide read taking place. We spoke with Adult Services Librarian Alora Bauer to learn more about the upcoming events.
Dan: So you've got some exciting events coming soon to the library. Let's start off by talking about the author fair. When's that going to be and what can folks expect at that event?
Alora: Yeah, so our author fair is coming up on Saturday, March 5. it's gonna start at 10am and go until 3:30pm. We'll have about 35 local authors in attendance. It really offers something for everyone. There's books for children, young adults, adults, and all sorts of various genres across fiction and nonfiction. So, history, fantasy memoirs, poetry, a little bit of something for everyone.
Dan: I saw the the guest speaker is going to be Reba Johnson. Who is Reba and how she tied in with this event?
Alora: Reba Johnson is originally from Poplar Bluff. She lives in Kentucky now, but she just self published her fourth book called Bullies in the Boardroom. So she is going to be our guest speaker. She'll be here at noon and talking about her new book.
Dan: Are there several local published authors there in the area?
Alora: Yeah, definitely. Several of the local authors in attendance are actually from here in Poplar Bluff, of course, we have other ones from around Missouri and Arkansas. But we have quite a few here in Poplar Bluff, so it's something that is definitely of interest to people. And so we have our panel discussion on publishing that really should be useful information to those looking to publish.
Dan: So I guess if someone's never published before, this would be a great starter for them to get some basic information and kind of get started, right?
Alora: Yes. And so we will have our panel discussion at 12:45 p.m.. And it'll sort of talk about the ins and outs of publishing, whether that's self publishing or a small press, and that will feature Reba and then also Ellie Bounds and John Fisher.
Dan: Well, the other thing I want to ask you about is the "Book in the Bluff," your city wide read tell us what book you chose and why you chose that book.
Alora: So our community one read event. This year we chose West with Giraffes by Linda Rutledge. So this one really has broad appeal as well. It's very emotional, but it's also very exciting. It's actually inspired by a true story of these two giraffes who made headlines during the Depression as they traveled from the East Coast to the West Coast and it's about their journey. So we thought it would have broad appeal and hopefully everyone will enjoy it as much as we did.
Dan: And Linda Rutledge, the author, will be joining folks there via zoom right?
Alora: Yes. So, on April 5, we will have a zoom visit with the author at 5:30 p.m. And so people can attend in the comfort of their own home if they want or they are welcome to come here at the library and we will be streaming it for everyone.
Dan: Okay, so how can folks find out more about the author fair and the city- wide read?
Alora: So the author fair, they can go to poplarbluff.org/authorfair and there they will find the basic event information as well as a list of the authors who will be in attendance and their bio information. And then for the "Book in the Bluff" they can go to poplarbluff.org/bookinthebluff, and we have a whole calendar of events that include a book club, a writing workshop, storytime, we have Dickerson Park Zoo and they can find that full calendar there.
