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“Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river” - Lisa See

by Brandon Priddy, Public Services Librarian 

     I wanted to share an update from our Summer Reading series that ended last week.  We had 220 adults participate in our Summer Reading challenge and over 560 books were read!  While it was a shame we couldn’t celebrate in person, I’m so happy we had so many participants this year in our first ever completely online Summer Reading experience.  I hope everyone had a lot of fun and our winners enjoy their prizes! Our Associate Director for Public Services, Sharon Bruni, has compiled the most popular books read by you all this Summer in our Best of Summer book list.  It’s a great place to look if you want some new reading ideas!

     If you’ve been reading books all Summer, maybe you thought about writing your own? I’m happy to announce an upcoming program “Everything You Need to Know About Writing a Children’s Book” next week on August 19th at 7PM with local authors Judy Press and Sam Smith who will share their expertise in publishing Children’s Literature.  You can register for their program here.  Judy Press is the author of 20 published books for children, including the award-winning art activity book, THE LITTLE HANDS ART BOOK. Judy teaches art and writing in Pittsburgh area retirement communities. She has presented numerous teacher seminars, school visits, library workshops and book signings throughout the country.  Sam Smith is a freelance commercial writer and children’s book author. Her first picture book, CATE’S MAGIC GARDEN, celebrates the power of positivity. It was published by Two Hoots Press in 2017. Sam is on the SCBWI PA WEST Leadership Team, participates in two writing critique groups, co-chairs the Lincoln Read-A-Thon and serves as the Marketing Director for the MLSA.

     Free Library streaming video service Kanopy has some great resources on publishing your first book!  I highly recommend the twenty-four part Great Courses series How to Publish Your Book. The series promises to “take an in-depth look at the world of writing and getting published: the history of the business, the competition in the modern market, and the major and minor players in the industry. Clear up some common misconceptions about what it takes to become a published writer and get an overview of what to expect if you pursue a career as a writer.”  This series is great because it covers writing non-fiction and fiction and also talks about traditional publishing methods and self-publishing.  So get a cup of coffee and get to work on that first draft!

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