The Rock Island Public Library will join more than 200 Illinois libraries in hosting two free online presentations in October with nationally-renowned authors: Erika Sánchez on Wednesday, Oct. 9, and Jason Reynolds on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
These high-profile authors are presented through Illinois Libraries Present (ILP), a collaborative effort featuring virtual events with bestselling and award-winning authors and esteemed speakers. Both events are free and open to all who sign up through the Rock Island Public Library, or another participating ILP member.
Here’s a look at the presentations:
- Being Imperfect with Erika Sánchez – Ms. Sánchez, award-winning author of “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,” presents online during Hispanic Heritage Month. Cynthia Pelayo, also an award-winning author, joins Ms. Sánchez in the conversation at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
Erika L. Sánchez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her debut poetry collection, “Lessons on Expulsion,” was a finalist for the PEN America Open Book Award. Her debut young adult novel, “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,” was a New York Times bestseller, National Book Award finalist, and Tomás Rivera Award winner. Recognized by “Time” as one of the best YA novels of all time, “I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter” has also been adapted for the stage at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago and is being made into a film directed by America Ferrera.
Ms. Sánchez’ critically acclaimed memoir-in-essays, “Crying in the Bathroom,” won the Chicago Review of Books Nonfiction award. Ms. Sánchez was a Fulbright Scholar, a Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent fellow from the Poetry Foundation, a Princeton Arts Fellow, a recipient of the 21st Century Award from the Chicago Public Library Foundation, and a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. She lives in Chicago with her family.
Bram Stoker winner
Ms. Pelayo is a Bram Stoker Award winning and International Latino Book Award winning author and poet. Ms. Pelayo writes fairy tales that blend genre and explore concepts of grief, mourning, and violence. She is the author of “Loteria,” “Santa Muerte,” “The Missing,” “Poems of My Night,” “Into the Forest” and “All the Way Through,” “Children of Chicago,” “Crime Scene,” and “The Shoemaker’s Magician.”
To sign up, visit the library events calendar or https://bit.ly/ILP_ErikaSanchez and mention the Rock Island Library.
- Raise Your Voice with Jason Reynolds (youth program) – Renowned youth literature author Jason Reynolds will join the library for a special online conversation entitled “Raise Your Voice,” at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 22.
The #1 New York Times bestselling author, advocate, and mentor served as the 2020-2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. The recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, a Carnegie Medal, an NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Reynolds’ beloved and award-winning titles include “Stamped” (with Ibram X. Kendi), “Stuntboy, the Track series” (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), “Miles Morales, All American Boys” (with Brendan Kiely), “When I Was the Greatest,” “The Boy in the Black Suit,” “Look Both Ways,” “Ain’t Burned All the Bright,” and “Long Way Down.”
A talk show regular
Mr. Reynolds has also appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS Sunday Morning, and more. The short documentary Dear, Dreamer is a lyrical portrait of Mr. Reynolds’ life and work as a rising literary star, as well as a testament to shared experiences and the power of seeing yourself in books. In his podcast, My Mother Made Me, he and his mother Isabell explore their shared history and what they’re teaching each other.
Mr. Reynolds lives in Washington, DC, where he is on faculty at Lesley University, for the Writing for Young People MFA Program. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com
To sign up, visit the library events calendar or https://bit.ly/ILP_JasonReynolds, and mention the Rock Island Library. For assistance with either event, call the Library’s Reference & Adult Services desk at (309) 732-7341.
Illinois Libraries Present is funded, in part, by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).
