Register here: https://bit.ly/ILP_MarleeMatlin In celebration of Deaf Awareness Month, Marlee Matlin joins Illinois Libraries Present to share the highs and lows of her Hollywood career and journeys as an activist. The youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar, Matlin’s acting career recently achieved another milestone as her 2021 film CODA swept every category it was… Continue reading A Conversation with Marlee Matlin: From Oscar to West Wing

Join us for an evening with two-time National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward as she discusses how her literary vision and personal experiences address urgent questions about racism and social injustice. Register here: https://bit.ly/ILP_JesmynWard Ward, hailed as “the new Toni Morrison” by the American Booksellers Association, is the author of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir, including… Continue reading A Conversation with Award Winning Novelist Jesmyn Ward

Join us for a conversation with Caitlin Doughty, mortician, bestselling author, and advocate for death acceptance. Hailed by The New York Times as "a relentlessly curious and chipper tour guide to the underworld,” she’ll discuss reform of Western funeral industry practices and much more with Mark Bazer (The Interview Show). Register here: https://bit.ly/ILP_CaitlinDoughty Caitlin Doughty… Continue reading Illinois Libraries Present: Caitlin Doughty (Virtual)

Join Shauna Sever, cookbook author, TV and radio contributor, and daughter of the great Midwest, for this special Illinois Libraries Present holiday season event. Shauna will share her love of food, baking, and some tips to make your holiday gatherings delicious. Click here to register. As a writer, Shauna’s work is best defined by her… Continue reading Illinois Libraries Present: Midwest Baking with Shauna Sever (virtual)

Kick off your new year with a conversation about joy with best-selling essayist and award-winning poet Ross Gay. An exploration of the joy we incite when we turn our attention to what we love and what brings us together, Ross will discuss his most recent collection of essays, Inciting Joy, with performance poet Dan “Sully”… Continue reading Inciting Joy: In Conversation with Ross Gay (virtual)

The Galena Public Library is joining libraries across the state of Illinois to host entertaining and hilarious New York Times best-selling science author, Mary Roach on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023 at 7PM. Mary is the author of Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers; Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, and Packing for Mars: The… Continue reading Illinois Libraries Present: The Weird and Wonderful World of Mary Roach

Actor, author, and restaurateur Danny Trejo will discuss how he developed a prolific career in the entertainment industry with a hard-earned and atypical road to success. From years of imprisonment to helping troubled youth battle drug addictions, from acting to producing, and now on to restaurant ventures, Trejo’s name, face, and achievements are well recognized… Continue reading Danny Trejo Talks Tacos, Hollywood, and Redemption (virtual)