Central Library Grand Re-Opening Celebration
May 31 & June1, 2008

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Bill Crider | Saturday, May 31, 1 PM

Bill Crider is the author of more than 50 published novels and numerous short stories. He won the Anthony Award for best first mystery novel in 1987 for Too Late To Die and was nominated for the Shamus Award for best first private-eye novel for Dead On The Island. He won the Golden Duck award for “best juvenile science fiction novel” for Mike Gonzo And The UFO Terror. He and his wife, Judy, won the best short story Anthony in 2002 for their story Chocolate Moose. The Mystery Writers of America nominated his short story Cranked for an Edgar Award. His latest novel is Of All Sad Words.

Ellen Hopkins | Saturday, May 31, 1:30 PM

Ellen Hopkins has been writing poetry for many years. Her first novel, Crank, also written in verse, met with critical acclaim. She lives with her husband and son in Carson City, Nevada. Hopkins’ new book, Identical, is set for a Summer 2008 release. In addition to her presentation, Hopkins will offer a Writing Workshop for Teens in conjunction with a poetry-writing contest.

Anita Bunkley | Saturday, May 31, 3 PM

An NAACP Image Award nominee and a member of the Texas Institute Of Letters, the online African American Literature Book Club voted author Anita Bunkley one of the 50 favorite African-American authors of the twentieth century. She is currently nominated for a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine, the foremost trade magazine for writers of romance. Her current releases are Suite Embrace and Between Goodbyes.

Katherine Center | Saturday, May 31, 4 PM

Katherine Center graduated from Vassar College, where she won the Vassar College Fiction Prize, and the University of Houston, where she received the Delores Welder Mitchell fellowship and earned an MA in fiction. Her first novel, The Bright Side of Disaster, has been featured in People Magazine, USA Today, Vanity Fair, the Houston Chronicle, and the Dallas Morning News. The paperback edition has been chosen by Target as a Breakout Selection and is a Barnes & Noble Book Club pick. BookPage named Katherine one of seven new writers to watch, and she just had an essay published in Real Simple. Her second novel is due out from Random House in the spring of 2009.

Rosemary Wells | Sunday, June 1, 1:30 PM

In conjunction with Inprint’s Cool Brains! Series (Kids)

Rosemary Wells, who began her career as a book designer for a large publishing company, has been writing and illustrating for more than 30 years. Featured in her more than 60 books are such characters as Max and Ruby and Noisy Nora. Her most recent books are Max’s ABCs and Red Moon at Sharpsburg. The recipient of many awards and citations for her books, she spearheaded a national campaign for early literacy called “Read to Your Bunny - the Most Important Twenty Minutes of Your Day.” She lives in Greenwich, CT.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni | Sunday, June 1, 2 PM

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is the author of the best­selling novels Queen of Dreams, Mistress of Spices, Sister of My Heart, The Vine of Desire, and The Conch Bearer (for children), as well as the prizewinning collections Arranged Marriage and The Unknown Errors of Our Lives (stories), and Black Candle and Leaving Yuba City (poems). Her writing has won an American Book Award, two Pushcart Prizes, two PEN Syndicated Fiction Awards, a C.Y. Lee Creative Writing Award, an Allen Ginsberg Poetry Prize, and a Distinguished Achievement Award from the South Asian Literary Association. Divakaruni’s work has been translated into 20 languages and included in over 70 anthologies, including Best American Short Stories, The O’Henry Prize Stories, and The Pushcart Prize Anthology. She lives in Houston, Texas, and teaches at the University of Houston, where she is the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Creative Writing.

David Wiesner | Sunday, June 1, 3:30 PM

In conjunction with Inprint’s Cool Brains! Series (Kids)

David Wiesner has illustrated more than 20 award-winning books for young readers. Two of the picture books he both wrote and illustrated became instant classics when they won the prestigious Caldecott Medal: Tuesday in 1992 and The Three Pigs in 2002. Two of his other titles, Sector 7 and Free Fall, are Caldecott Honor Books. An exhibit of Wiesner’s original artwork, “Seeing the Story,” toured the United States in 2000 and 2001. Among his many honors, Wiesner holds the Japan Picture Book Award for Tuesday, the Prix Sorcières (the French equivalent of the Caldecott Medal) for The Three Pigs, and a 2004 IBBY Honour Book nomination for illustration, also for The Three Pigs. Flotsam, his most recent work, was a New York Times bestseller and was recently named winner of the 2007 Caldecott Medal, making Wiesner only the second person in the award’s long history to have won three times.

Bapsi Sidhwa | Sunday, June 1, 4 PM

Born in Karachi and raised in Lahore, Pakistan, Bapsi Sidhwa has been widely celebrated as the finest novelist produced by her country. She is the author of several novels, including The Crow Eaters, An American Brat, Cracking India, and, most recently, Water, which received the 2007 Premio Mondello in Italy. Among her many honors, Sidhwa has received the Bunting Fellowship at Radcliffe/Harvard, the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Writer’s Award, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s highest honor in the arts. She lives in Houston.

ABOUT THE MUSIC PERFORMERS

José Luis Orozco – Saturday, May 31, Noon (Kids)

José Luis Orozco is a bilingual children’s author and recording artist. As a child, he was a member of the Mexico City Boys Choir, where he had the opportunity to perform for audiences all over the world. Today he holds an MA in Multicultural Education and he has recorded a series of children’s albums entitled Lírica Infantil. In addition, he is the author of three award-winning songbooks, De Colores, Diez Deditos, and Fiestas. He has also released a vibrant children’s video, Cantamos y Aprendemos. Every year José Luis Orozco reaches millions of children. His recordings are widely used in schools and public libraries in the United States and America.

Trout Fishing In America – Saturday, May 31, 2 PM

Can it really be 30 years? Though they play with the passion of kids half their age, Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet’s longtime friendship and musical partnership predates the Internet boom, the compact disc and even the Carter presidency. Known collectively as Trout Fishing in America, Grimwood and Idlet continue to win new fans with original songs that illustrate their unique way of looking at the world. Their well-crafted sound is anchored in Idlet’s melodic guitar, Grimwood’s upright bass and their exceptional vocal power.

At 6’9” Ezra Idlet physically towers above his partner Keith Grimwood, 5’ 5 1/2”. Closer observation of these two talented performers reveals a type of synergy that few artists achieve in a lifetime. The size difference may be what initially catches the eye, but the distinctive songs, superb musicianship, intelligence, humor, charm and performance skill is what has built their loyal and diverse fan base.