Galena LitFest: A Picnic with Nellie Bly (in-person)

Born Elizabeth Jane Cochrane (1864-1922), a pioneer of investigative journalism who is better known by her nom de plume,”Nellie Bly,” became famous for her exposé of the New York City Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell’s Island. On November 14, 1889, Cochrane began a solo trip around the world in emulation of the fictional character Phileas Fogg from the 1873 Jules Verne novel “Around the World in Eighty Days” — completing her trip on January 25, 1890 in the record-breaking time of 72 days, six hours, 11 minutes, & 14 seconds.

Debra Ann Miller is a professional actress, vocalist and voice-over talent with over 40 years of experience as a performer for live audiences, television, and film. Since 1997, she has traveled the country with Michael Krebs of With Lincoln Production as one of our nation’s more controversial First Ladies, Mary Todd Lincoln in Visiting the Lincolns. In 2010 she began creating her own company focused on writing and producing one-woman plays in which she portrays important historical figures such as authors Jane Austen, Beatrix Potter, Mary Shelley, Louisa May Alcott, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, as well as a one-woman performance as Mary Todd Lincoln entitled Mrs. Lincoln’s Salon.

Galena LitFest is an annual program with events in January and May planned by the Galena Public Library with generous support from the Friends of the Galena Public Library.