New Reading Series At Library To Feature Connecticut Writers
A new reading series to be presented at C.H. Booth Library will give fans of the written word inside access to the work of authors who live and write in the Nutmeg State.
The first event, taking place Sunday, November 8, from 2 to 4 pm in the library’s main meeting room, will feature five writers including Newtown Poet Laureate Lisa Schwartz and Ridgefield’s Chris Belden, author of the just-released novel, Shriver.
The series is curated by Newtown author Sophfronia Scott.
Writers will read from both published works and works in progress, with time in between each reading for discussion and Q&A with the audience about the craft of writing. The format is similar to that of the event Ms Scott hosted for Los Angeles-based author Mathieu Cailler when he visited Newtown in August.
“The audience really seemed to enjoy that structure,” says Ms Scott. “One of the participants asked if we could continue offering the program with local authors. I thought it was a great idea.”
Connecticut is home to a large number of writers, both famous and emerging. Last month Governor Dannel Malloy proclaimed September 1 “Connecticut Authors’ Day” in recognition of the hard work of the state’s talented authors and their contribution to society. Newtown itself has so many authors that part of the Booth Library’s collection is devoted to their works.
“Writers are a solitary bunch,” Ms Scott notes. “It’s hard to seek out public forums for our work and a lot easier to stay inside writing. But good writing is a two-way conversation. It helps us to hear from readers, and readers enjoy hearing about how the pages in their hands came to be. I hope this series will be a great forum for an ongoing conversation about literature.”
Refreshments will be served and copies of books available for purchase. The library is at 25 Main Street in Newtown.
November’s Featured Writers
In addition to Chris Belden, Sophronia Scott and Lisa Schwartz, the November 8 program will also feature Mary Bailey and Linda Legters.
Mary Bailey is both a writer and a sculptor. Her short stories have appeared in numerous literary magazines including Bellingham Review, Hunger Mountain, Connecticut Review, Gargoyle and Confrontation.
She won The Writer’s Voice New Voice in Fiction Award in New York City, and has received grants from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and the New England Foundation for the Arts. She earned her MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and her BA from Brown University.
She is currently working on what she vows is going to be the final draft of a novel. To read a few of her stories or check out her sculpture go to marybaileyart.com.
Chris Belden is the author of the story collection, The Floating Lady of Lake Tawaba, winner of the 2013 Fairfield Book Prize; and the novel Carry-on. His novel Shriver, originally published in 2013, has just been reissued by Touchstone/Simon & Schuster.
Mr Belden teaches writing at Westport Writers Workshop and at Garner Correctional Institution, the maximum security prison on Nunnawauk Road in Newtown.
Linda Legters will be reading from her forthcoming novel, Connected Underneath.
Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Glimmer Train, Alaska Quarterly, and Calliope. She teaches literature and writing at Norwalk Community College as well as JoinOneRoom.com, and lives in Newtown.
Lisa Schwartz is the former Poetry Editor of The Newtowner, a local literary arts publication founded in 2009 in Newtown. She was recently named Newtown’s first Poet Laureate, a designation granting her the singular honor of promoting poetry and engaging the community in the literary arts.
Sophfronia Scott lives in Sandy Hook with her husband and son, and is way behind with her leaf raking.
She holds a BA in English from Harvard and an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is the author of the novel All I Need to Get By. Her work has appeared in Killens Review of Arts & Letters, Saranac Review, Numéro Cinq, Barnstorm Literary Journal, Ruminate, Sleet Magazine, NewYorkTimes.com and O, The Oprah Magazine.
She has completed her second novel, and is on the faculty of Regis University’s Mile-High MFA in Denver, Colo.
For additional information or to make a reservation, call 203-426-4533 or visit chboothlibrary.org.