authors - The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library

30Oct, 2022

2022 Spirit of Literacy Award Winners Announced

Please join us in congratulating the 2022 Spirit of Literacy Award (SOL) winners: Peggy Sharp Chamberlain, Phillip Payne, Mariko Whelan, and the Literary Society of the Southwest (LSSW). The awards will be presented on Saturday, November 5.

Since 2002, the SOL Awards recognize significant contributions to support libraries and literacy in Scottsdale by individuals, corporations, foundations, and other entities. The Friends Board of Directors selects the winners annually.

Sharp Chamberlain was a six year member and former Chair of the Scottsdale Library Board. She also served three years on the Friends Board of Directors and re-launched its membership program, in addition to providing authors for children’s programs at the library.

Payne is the owner and artist-in-residence at Anticus Fine Art Gallery/Independent Bookstore in Old Town Scottsdale. He hosts author presentations and book clubs, and has partnered with the Friends and LDV Winery on three art, book, and wine pairings during 2022.

Whelan is the Early Learning, Youth & Teen Services Coordinator for Scottsdale Public Library. She is a published author who presents at conferences on early learning, and facilitates programs sponsored by the Friends such as Family Read Aloud Nights and Girls in STEM.

LSSW provides grants to community organizations with literacy missions and hosts luncheons with author discussions. LSSW provided funding to the Friends for the SkyRoom renovation and FRAN program.

For the first time, the 2022 SOL award presentations will be open to the public as they will be incorporated into the Scottsdale Library Cardholder Celebration on November 5 at Scottsdale Stadium. The awards will be presented at 6pm.

1Mar, 2022

Friends Members Enjoy High Tea With Authors

The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library celebrated “We Love Reading” month with a high tea celebration featuring 18 guests, six local authors and an afternoon of fun on February 24.

TeaTime Scottsdale served as host for this sold out event. Guests enjoyed multiple varieties of tea, sandwiches, and desserts while discussing books with authors Dan Baldwin, Donis Casey, Dianne Freeman, Karen Odden, Betty Webb, and Dianne White.

To ensure a safe and intimate event, each table featured three Friends members and an author. While the event was not exclusive to Friends members, they received a $10 discount on tickets. In all, 14 of the 18 attendees were Friends members.

The Friends want to extend a special thank you to Sonoran National Insurance Group for its sponsorship of this event.

The event was such a success that a sequel is already being discussed. In order to receive priority notice (and discounts) for all Friends events, consider becoming a member today.

13Feb, 2022

Friends to Host Author Wynne Brown on March 6

The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library is pleased to host Arizona author Wynne Brown at the Museum of the West in Old Town Scottsdale on Sunday, March 6 from 2pm to 4pm.

*Wynne Brown and her book* The Forgotten Botanist

Brown’s most recent book is The Forgotten Botanist: Sara Plummer Lemmon’s Life of Science and Art.

This is the story of two botanists (Sara Plummer Lemmon and her husband John Gill Lemmon) that discover hundreds of new plant species in the Western United States.

Friends is hosting this event at the Museum of the West to bring together literary and historical audiences. The presentation with include a conversation with the author and free book signing.

Friends members will receive a special meet-and-greet session with Brown in addition to her presentation.

Although this free event is taking place in the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust theater, registration is required and attendance will be limited due to COVID-19. If you would like to reserve your spot, please contact the Museum of the West at 480-686-9539 or info@scottsdalemuseumwest.org.

4Nov, 2021

Author Jenn McKinlay Entertains Friends Members

The latest “Airtime With an Author” event welcomed New York Times best-selling author Jenn McKinlay to the patio at Appaloosa Library on Tuesday, November 2.

*Author Jenn McKinlay discusses her work with Friends members*

McKinlay is the author of 49 books, specializing in mystery and romance novels. She is based in Phoenix.

She previously worked part time at Phoenix Public Library while pursuing her dream of becoming an author, and met her husband while both were library employees.

McKinlay discussed how she got started as an author, providing funny stories about her experiences working with editors. She explained ongoing challenges in the writing industry, and documented key family events that coincided with career milestones.

The event offered limited capacity, was outside, and practiced social distancing to ensure member safety. McKinlay also signed copies of her books.

“Airtime With an Author” events are one of the many perks of becoming a Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library member, and are held several times per year.

27Aug, 2021

Join Us for Book Bingo on October 26

Just in time for Halloween, you can enjoy some book tricks and treats featuring New York Times best-selling authors at our free book bingo event on Tuesday, October 26 from 3pm to 4:30pm.

This virtual event is open to Maricopa County residents, and features authors Matt Coyle, Nicola Harrison, Greta Kelly, Laura Morelli, Sarah Warburton, and Karen White. While you enjoy the authors speak about their work, you’ll also be marking off key words on the bingo card supplied on your phone.

Just like in regular bingo, participants will compete to cover five squares in a row. Winners will receive free copies of the authors’ books.

To register for this event, please visit https://adventuresbythebook.com/event/book-bingo-trick-treat-2021/ and scroll down to where it says “Tickets.” You’ll receive a Zoom link and bingo card the week of the event from Adventures By the Book.

Avid readers should also consider becoming a Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library member to join our monthly book club discussions, which are available at the Contributing Friend level and above.

10May, 2021

Third “Airtime With an Author” Event Welcomes Donis Casey

Local author Donis Casey was the latest local author to entertain the Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library members with an hour long talk about her mystery novels on Friday, May 7 at Arabian Library.

Book Signing — *Author Donis Casey signs copies of her book for Friends members*

The event was held outdoors on the patio with limited attendance due to COVID-19, and Casey spoke about how she got started writing, why she chose the mystery genre, and how she develops her characters across a series of novels.

Her Alafair Tucker mysteries feature a woman (Tucker) with 10 children, and each book in the series spotlights one of the children in the middle of the mystery. While most are set in 1910s Oklahoma, The Wrong Hill to Die On takes place in Arizona. Each book in the series also features recipes at the end related to the novel’s topic.

“It’s very hard to fool mystery readers, because if you read a lot of mysteries they know all your tricks,” Casey told the crowd. “That’s the fun of being a mystery writer is you have to try to fool the reader with a misdirect or a surprise.”

Casey also discussed her newest series, the Bianca Dangerous Hollywood mysteries. Her latest novel in this series, Valentino Will Die, came out earlier this year.

Due to summer weather, our next “Airtime with an Author” event won’t take place until the fall. These events are exclusive to Friends members, so be sure to join today so you don’t miss out on great local author presentations.

26Feb, 2021

Anne A. Wilson Shares Writing Journey with Friends Members

The second “Airtime with an Author” event welcomed Phoenix native Anne A. Wilson to address the Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library members at Appaloosa Library on February 24.

*Author Anne A. Wilson speaks with Friends members about her novel* Hover

Wilson is an adventure fiction writer that gained inspiration from her time as a helicopter pilot for the US Navy.

Her hour long talk offered a unique perspective in that when she was a cadet at the US Naval Academy, it was less than 10 percent female.

Growing up with a math and science background, she maintained a journal during her time in the Navy that helped hone her writing skills and provide background research.

Anne’s two novels, Hover and Clear to Lift, both feature female protagonists that are Navy helicopter pilots. While the two books are unrelated, she is open to the idea of developing a series.

In addition to providing a background of her writing process and how she got started (see video below), Anne entertained the crowd with tales of her most notable rescues, including during the 1997 Lake Tahoe Basin flood.

“Airtime with an Author” events are exclusive to Friends members and hosted several times each year. Due to COVID-19, these events have thus far limited attendance to 15 people with mandatory mask wearing and an outdoor setting.

In November 2020, the Friends welcomed Scottsdale’s Karen Odden for the inaugural session. Stay tuned for details regarding the next Airtime with an Author event.

19Nov, 2020

Author Karen Odden Entertains Friends Members at Exclusive Event

The Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library welcomed best-selling mystery author Karen Odden to speak with a limited audience of Friends members at Appaloosa Library on Wednesday, November 18.

This event begins a recurring series called “Airtime with an Author,” where Friends members are treated to intimate conversations with authors.

Odden, a Scottsdale resident, spoke to the audience about her adventures in writing Victorian mysteries. This includes her most recent release, A Trace of Deceit.

Odden spoke for an hour about her experience as a mystery writer, her love of the Victorian era, and her passion for character development. She also autographed copies of her books.

Odden’s first book, the USA Today Bestseller A Lady in the Smoke, won the 2017 New Mexico-Arizona award for eBook Fiction. Her second book, A Dangerous Duet, won the New Mexico-Arizona book award for Historical Fiction in 2019.

The Friends encountered difficulty staging events this year due to COVID-19. As a result, this event had attendance restricted to 15 people, mandatory mask wearing, and an outdoor setting on the patio at Appaloosa.

We look forward to hosting future “Airtime with an Author” events in the coming months. If you’d like to participate (and receive other benefits), you’ll need to become a member of the Friends.

1Nov, 2018

Scottsdale Library History Salon Series is Back in January

Scottsdale Public Library has announced its next round of free salon series events celebrating the history of Scottsdale beginning in January.

The first event on Thursday, January 10, 2019 will feature Golf in Scottsdale at Arabian Library at 6pm, just in time for the annual Phoenix Open golf tournament.

Join us at Civic Center Library on Thursday, February 14, 2019 for History of Scottsdale Housing at 6pm.

The March event will delve into How Scottsdale Evolved as a Health & Wellness Center. It will take place Thursday, March 14, 2019 at 6pm in Appaloosa Library, which will turn 10 years old in 2019.

In April, we’ll explore Why Scottsdale Looks the Way It Does at Mustang Library Auditorium on Thursday, April 11, 2019 at 6pm.

Lastly, on May 2, 2019 we hope to celebrate the opening of the Scottsdale Heritage Connection (SHC) with Preserving Scottsdale’s Stories: Publications and Oral Histories in the SHC Collection. This event will take place in Civic Center Library’s Copper Gallery at 6pm.

All events are hosted by Scottsdale historians and authors Joan Fudala and Doug Sydnor. They will include photos, videos and other historic documents that will be featured in the SHC when it opens in 2019.

The SHC is being funded through a capital campaign by the Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library.

For more information on the series or the City’s historical collection, please visit http://www.scottsdalelibrary.org/historical.

1Aug, 2018

Scottsdale Library History Salon Series to Continue This Fall

The Scottsdale Public Library will be continuing its salon series celebrating the history of Scottsdale in September with three free events.

While the previous salon series showcased all its events at the Civic Center branch, this fall’s series will offer programming at three different Library branches.

Just in time for the new school year, the event on Thursday, September 8 will feature A History of Scottsdale’s Schools at Mustang Library from 6pm to 7pm.

Join us at Civic Center Library on Thursday, October 11 for Celebrate 68! 50th Anniversary of Scottsdale’s Civic Center from 6pm to 7pm. This will also include a salute to the Civic Center Architect, Bennie Gonzales.

The last event will help prepare for Scottsdale’s winter visitors with Scottsdale’s Tourism & Resort History. It will take place Thursday, November 15 from 6pm to 7pm at Appaloosa Library, which will turn 10 years old in 2019.

The SHC is a permanent exhibition opening set to open in 2019 to showcase all of the City of Scottsdale’s historical documents. It is being funded through a capital campaign by the Friends of the Scottsdale Public Library.

For more information on the series or the City’s historical collection, please visit http://www.scottsdalelibrary.org/historical.