author talk

10 12, 2022

Murder mystery authors Kylie Logan & Shelley Costa coming to Mentor Library

By |2022-10-10T11:13:46-04:00October 12, 2022|

Authors Shelley Costa and Kylie Logan have written several books and short stories between the two of them, often of a murder-mystery variety.

Costa is the author of the Val Cameron mystery series. Her writing has been nominated for both the Edgar and Agatha Awards. She’s also received a Special Mention for The Pushcart Prize. Meanwhile, Kylie Logan is the national bestselling author of The League of Literary Ladies Mysteries, the Button Box Mysteries, the Chili Cook-Off Mysteries, and more.

During a charming and insightful interview, they discuss the importance of voice, setting, and resilience. They also share their personal experiences with agents, publishers, rewrites, and almoooost getting a TV deal. We also chat about those delicious Cozy Mystery titles. This is a great video for both mystery fans and those who would like to write them!

Our special thanks to Shelley, Kylie, and moderator Rachel Coxon.

By the way, we love a good mystery at Mentor Public Library, and we’ve hosted several of our favorite mystery authors over the years. You can see our interviews with them (and, in a few cases, their entire talks) on our YouTube channel, including:

05 6, 2022

Discover True-Crime Stories of Murder & Mayhem on Lake Erie

By |2022-05-03T10:19:56-04:00May 6, 2022|

Local historian and author Wendy Koile has written about the legends of Lake Erie and disasters on its shores. So, for her newest book, she explores stories of murder and mayhem on the lake.

In this interview, Koile explains how researching history is like treasure hunting. (She has experience with both.) She also shares why she loves Lake Erie and wants to tell its stories. Finally, she recommends where you should eat if you only have one night in Geneva-on-the-Lake.

For more true crime from our YouTube channel:

04 22, 2022

Go ‘Trespassing Across America’ with Writer & Roamer Ken Ilgunas

By |2022-04-18T11:58:00-04:00April 22, 2022|

Meet Ken Ilgunas – the wordsmith and wanderer who trekked nearly 2,000 miles across North America.

Ilgunas followed the proposed route of the Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to the Gulf Coast of Texas. During his odyssey, Ilgunas encountered stampedes of cows, charging moose and climate-change skeptics. He wrote about the experience in his book, Trespassing Across America: One Man’s Epic Never-Done-Before (and sort of Illegal) Hike Across the Heartland. It’s both a memoir of traveling the Great Plains and reflection on climate change.

Ilgunas visited our library earlier this month. While here, he discussed:

  • why he walked 1,700 miles (most of it by himself) to protest the pipeline and encourage people to think about climate change
  • what libraries meant to him and what he read during his journey
  • what “the right to roam” is and why he considers it so valuable
  • the importance of walking to both his writing and thinking
  • why he loves Scotland.
10 13, 2021

Marty Gitlin Shares the Joy of Cartoons & Cereal

By |2021-10-12T14:28:55-04:00October 13, 2021|

Here’s an interview that will draw you in!

Award-winning author and pop-culture historian Martin Gitlin, the writer of A Celebration of Animation: The 100 Greatest Cartoon Characters in Television History, discusses:

  • his metric for ranking the greatest animated characters in history
  • why Bugs Bunny tops the list
  • his favorite cartoon to share with his children
  • why he prefers Warner Brother cartoons over Disney
  • how and why he wrote an encyclopedia of cereals.

Marty also shares the joy of still appreciating as an adult what you loved as a kid!

You can visit our YouTube channel for more author interviews, including discussions with bestsellers like Karin Slaughter, Paula McLain and Christina Baker Kline, as well as upcoming authors like Stephen Markley and Rebekah Frumkin.

06 23, 2021

Meet Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, the East Side Joan of Arc

By |2021-06-23T19:00:37-04:00June 23, 2021|

While still a teenager, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn teamed with the Industrial Workers of the World (Wobblies) to fight for free speech and improved conditions for workers in the culinary, mining, and garment industries.

Explore the life of this remarkable woman with Dr. Lara Vapnek. Vapnek literally wrote the book on Flynn, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: Modern American Revolutionary. Stick around until the end of her talks for a very special guest.

This program is part of Lake County Reads – a countywide, summerlong series of book talks and online programs that concludes with a special evening with bestselling and celebrated author Jess Walter on Aug. 5.

Throughout the summer, the public and academic libraries in Lake County will host book-club discussions where all are invited to talk about Walter’s literary smash The Cold Millions. They’re also offering free online programs that take a deeper dive into the themes and historical context of Walter’s story. For example, you can learn about the suffragettes’ fight for women’s rights, discover some of the lesser-known but key figures in the early Labor Movement, or even enjoy a ragtime concert with The Ragged Blade Band.

The libraries have also teamed with Literary Cleveland for a series of writing workshops and author talks that explore the idea of writing about the working class. It crescendos with an author talk from Walter himself.

All of these programs and book-club discussions are free to attend. They will be hosted via Zoom, and registration is required to get the link. Get more information and sign up for any of these programs at www.leagueoflibraries.org.

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