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Author Events

AN EVENING WITH HISTORIAN RICK ATKINSON AND SUSAN SWAIN – JUNE 19 @ 5:00 PM

LOUIS T. GRAVES MEMORIAL PUBLIC LIBRARY

~ ANNUAL AUTHOR EVENT ~

JUNE 19 @ 5:00 PM AT THE KENNEBUNK RIVER CLUB

The Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library Board of Trustees invites you to an evening with Pulitzer Prize winning author, historian and journalist, Rick Atkinson as he discusses the newest volume in his Revolution Trilogy, The Fate of the Day, with Susan Swain, recently retired co-Chief Executive Officer, President and board member of C-SPAN.

The Annual Summer Author Event will be held Thursday, June 19 at the Kennebunk River Club, 116 Ocean Avenue, Kennebunkport. Doors open at 5:00 PM for cocktails and appetizers with the program beginning promptly at 5:45 PM. As the library’s largest annual fundraiser, the event supports the library’s essential operations and celebrates the community’s commitment to ideas, featuring nationally recognized authors and speakers.

“Rick Atkinson takes his place among the greatest of all historians. This superb second volume in his Revolution Trilogy is that rare narrative that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Familiar characters become dimensional and complicated, new ones burst to life vividly, and the battles and struggles that created our country now have clarity and meaning.” —KEN BURNS

Coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the beginning of America’s war for independence, Atkinson’s THE FATE OF THE DAY: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 is the second volume of his landmark Revolution Trilogy following, The British Are Coming. Atkinson’s brilliant account of the lethal conflict between the Americans and the British offers not only deeply researched and spectacularly dramatic history, but also a new perspective on the demands that a democracy makes on its citizens.

Atkinson has produced a remarkable oeuvre of bestselling history that includes the Liberation Trilogy (the first volume, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942–1943, received the Pulitzer in History), The Long Gray Line, Crusade, In the Company of Soldiers.

Atkinson will be interviewed by Susan Swain, who audiences will recognize from her decades of work with C-SPAN, where she helped launch BookTV and American History TV in addition to holding key responsibilities with day-to-day operations as co-Chief Executive Officer of C-SPAN, the nation’s eighth largest cable television network.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Attendees receive a copy of THE FATE OF THE DAY with the purchase of two event tickets, to be given at the event.

Some sponsors include: Spinnaker Trust, Kennebunk River Club, the Colony Hotel, Kitchen Chicks Catering, Robert and Marjorie Dennis, Michael and Victoria Donaghy, Allyn and Norma Lamb, Paul Mahoney, Sarah and Tom Vander Schaaff, Maine & Vine, Hurlbutt Designs, Edison Press, Mark and Victoria Lamarre, Tom Stone and Lisa Coppola, Greg and Heather Taggart, Kennebunkport Resort Collection, Kennebunk Savings Bank, and Schooner Eleanor.

AUTHOR EVENT – DAVID ROHDE – NOVEMBER 9 @ 4:00 PM

We are pleased to welcome Pulitzer Prize Winning Author and Maine native David Rohde to the Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library on Saturday, November 9 @ 4:00 p.m. Mr. Rohde will be interviewed by author and associate editor for the Washington Post, David Maraniss. Rohde’s book (published August 2024), Where Tyranny Begins: The Justice Department, the FBI, and the War Against Democracy will be featured in the discussion. 

A suggested donation of $25 would be appreciated. Please stop by the Library or call (207) 967-2778 to reserve your seat. You may also purchase your ticket through our website (www.graveslibrary.org/support).  A wine and cheese reception and book signing will follow. The Library is located at 18 Maine Street, Kennebunkport, Maine. Parking is available at Consolidated School (School Street) or the Village Fire Station (North Street). 

A ride shuttle will be provided by Kennebunkport Recreation from Consolidated School from 3:15 to 3:45 p.m. and return from 6:00 to 6:30 pm after the program.

 

David S. Rohde is an investigative journalist and American author. He is the former news director for The New Yorker and now serves as Senior Executive Editor, National Security for NBC News. While a reporter for The Christian Science Monitor, he won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1996 for his coverage of the Srebrenica massacre. From 2002 to 2005, he was co-chief of the New York Times’ South Asia Bureau. He later contributed to the newspaper’s team coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan that received the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, and was a finalist in his own right in the category in 2010. He is also a global affairs analyst for CNN.

While in Afghanistan, Rohde was kidnapped by members of the Taliban in November 2008 but managed to escape in June 2009 after seven months of captivity. His publications include  Endgame: The Betrayal and Fall of Srebrenica, Europe’s Worst Massacre Since World War II; A Safe Area: Srebrenica – Europe’s Worst Massacre Since the Holocaust, 1997;  A Rope and a Prayer: A Kidnapping from Two Sides; In Deep: The FBI, the CIA, and the Truth about America’s “Deep State” and Where Tyranny Begins: The Justice Department, the FBI, and the War Against Democracy.

David Maraniss is a New York Times bestselling author and associate editor at The Washington Post. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and was a finalist three other times. Among his bestselling books are biographies of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Roberto Clemente, Jim Thorpe and Vince Lombardi, and a trilogy about the 1960s. He currently lives in Washington D.C. and Madison, Wisconsin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUTHOR VISIT DAVID BALDACCI – A BENEFIT FOR GRAVES LIBRARY (SOLD OUT)

DAVID BALDACCI – A BENEFIT FOR GRAVES LIBRARY – JUNE 22, 2023

We are excited to welcome celebrated author David Baldacci to our 12th annual Author Event on June 22 at 5:00 PM at the historic Kennebunk River Club Casino, 116 Ocean Avenue in Kennebunkport.  David Baldacci is the national and international best-selling author of widely read crime and thriller books and series. He published his first novel, Absolute Power, in 1996 and has written a total of 47 novels for adults, several of which were adapted for film and television. He has also published seven novels for young readers. David’s books are published in over 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, with 150 million copies sold worldwide. His newest thriller, Simply Lies, was released in April 2023.

David Baldacci has been writing since childhood when his mother gave him a lined notebook in which to write down his stories. (Much later, when David thanked her for being the spark that ignited his writing career, she revealed that she’d given him the notebook to keep him quiet, “because every mom needs a break now and then.”)  A lifelong Virginian, he received his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law, after which he practiced law in Washington, D.C.

In addition to being a prolific writer, David is a devoted philanthropist. His greatest efforts are dedicated to his family’s Wish You Well Foundation, established by David and his wife Michelle. The Foundation supports adult and family literacy by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of new and existing literacy and educational programs in the United States.

“We are beyond thrilled to have Mr. Baldacci join us this year,” said Graves Library Executive Director Mary-Lou Boucouvalas. “We are also extremely grateful for the wonderful community support provided by our event sponsors. One hundred percent of the funds raised will support the daily operations of the Library.”

This special fundraiser is being underwritten by Spinnaker Trust, along with the Kennebunk River Club, Fine Print Booksellers, Kennebunk Beach Realty, John and Mary Mills, Mike and Denise Iafolla, Paul Mahoney, Robert and Marjie Dennis, Mutasia, Mark and Vicky Lamarre, Billy and Rosemary Shore, Anne and Ken Raynor, Bob and Jane Garvey, Kitchen Chicks Catering, the Colony Hotel, Edison Press, Hurlbutt Designs, Schooner Eleanor, and South Portland Wine Company.

The ticket price of $75 includes an autographed copy of Simply Lies. Tickets can be purchased here at Graves Library.

Call us at (207) 967-2778 for more information. Seating is limited.  Don’t miss this extraordinary event with David Baldacci!

AUTHOR TALK WITH HUMORIST AND ESSAYIST ANDY YOUNG – OCTOBER 6, 2022

Join us on Thursday, October 6th at 6:00 pm for Works in Progress: An Author Talk with Humorist and Essayist Andy Young. Andy Young’s recent book, Work(s) in Progress is comprised of a series of essays delivered with humor and wit, which cover a range of topics, from snow removal etiquette to high school sports to dreams, education, grudges, vengeance, and 24-letter alphabets. Andy is an English teacher at Kennebunk High School and has written essays that have been published in nearly a dozen different newspapers in New England. Call (207) 967-2778 for more information.

A SPECIAL EVENT WITH WILLIAM MARTIN – IN HONOR OF OUR VETERANS

In honor of Veteran’s Day, New York Times best-selling author William Martin will join us for a special author talk on Saturday, November 19th at 3:30 pm to discuss his newest title, December ’41, released in May 2022.

About December ’41:

“From New York Times bestselling author William Martin comes a WWII thriller as intense as The Day of the Jackal and as gripping as The Eye of the Needle. In December ’41, Martin takes us on the ultimate manhunt, a desperate chase from Los Angeles to Washington, D. C., in the first weeks of the Second World War.

On the day after Pearl Harbor, shocked Americans gather around their radios to hear Franklin Roosevelt declare war. In Los Angeles, a German agent named Martin Browning is planning to kill FDR on the night he lights the National Christmas Tree. Who will stop him? Relentless FBI Agent Frank Carter? Kevin Cusack, a Hollywood script reader who also spies on the German Bund of Los Angeles, and becomes a suspect himself? Or Vivian Hopewell, the aspiring actress who signs on to play Martin Browning’s wife and cannot help but fall in love with him?

The clock is ticking. The tracks are laid. The train of narrow escapes, mistaken identities, and shocking deaths is right on schedule. It’s a thrilling ride that will sweep you from the back lots of Hollywood to the speeding Super Chief to that solemn Christmas Eve, when twenty thousand people gather on the South Lawn of the White House and the lives of Franklin Roosevelt and his surprise guest, Winston Churchill, hang in the balance” [MACMILLAN].

Tickets for this very special Veteran’s Day author event are available on Eventbrite  for $10. The ticket price includes the author discussion and a wine and cheese reception. All proceeds benefit the Graves Library – we thank you for your support! Please call (207) 967-2778 for more information. 

PASCO LECTURE SERIES – WESLEY MCNAIR

THE PASCO LECTURE SERIES PRESENTS
A CONVERSATION WITH WESLEY MCNAIR

Please join us on Sunday, October 30 at 2:00 pm for a conversation with poet, writer, editor, and professor, Wesley McNair. Wesley will be discussing his newest work, Late Wonders: New & Selected Poems, which will be released in September 2022. Late Wonders “is a collection for anyone who believes mixing a little sorrow and little comedy makes for poetry that moves the heart.” [GODINE].

The Pasco Lecture series is sponsored by the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation, Kennebunk Savings Bank, and the Graves Library snack team.  This event is free to the public.  Copies of the book can be purchased through Graves Library or Fine Print Booksellers (Dock Square).  Call (207) 967-2778 for more information.

 

BOOK SIGNING WITH GIOVANNA AND ANITA MCBRIDE

Join us on August 1st at 10:00 am for a very special “pop-up” book reading and signing with Giovanna (Gigi) McBride, author of Gigi at the Whitehouse!, and her mother Anita McBride, former Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush!

Gigi at the White House! is based on Gigi’s real-life experience. It was written for early readers and follows Gigi on many adventures exploring the White House at the Easter Egg Roll, Fourth of July, Halloween, and Christmas. Gigi at the White House! is included on First Lady Laura Bush’s 2022 Summer Reading List for Kids. Copies of the book will be available for sale and signing at the event.

For more information about the White House Historical Association, visit this link.

ANNUAL AUTHOR EVENT WITH DAVID MARANISS – SEPTEMBER 29, 2022

The Trustees of the Louis T. Graves Memorial Public Library are pleased to announce their Annual Author Event to be held at the Kennebunk River Club from 5:00 – 7:00 pm on Thursday, September 29, 2022.  This year’s fundraising event will feature award-winning author and journalist, David Maraniss. The evening will begin with a wine reception, followed by a discussion between David Maraniss and Peter Slen, Senior Executive Producer at C-SPAN. A book signing of David’s newest title, A Path Lit by Lighting, will follow the reception and discussion.  Tickets are $60/each (non-refundable), and are available for purchase at the Library (18 Maine Street), or online via Eventbrite. Ticket sales close the day before the event, on Wednesday, September 28th at 3:00 pm.

For tickets, click HERE.

 

David Maraniss is a New York Times bestselling author and associate editor at The Washington Post. He has won two Pulitzer Prizes for journalism and was a finalist three other times. Among his bestselling books are biographies of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Roberto Clemente, and Vince Lombardi, and a trilogy about the 1960s. He currently lives in Washington D.C. and Madison, Wisconsin.

For more information about David Maraniss, visit his website.

Here is what people are saying about David’s latest book, A Path Lit by Lightning: 

“In different hands I might be dubious, but David Maraniss revives the titanic Jim Thorpe for a new generation with a surgeon’s care, the diligence of a great researcher, and the poignance and humanity that is the signature of his writing. Path Lit By Lightning is a masterful look at this country’s first super-athlete, unflinching from what conquest did to his people, from the rousing and bittersweet journey of fame and identity, nor from an American century often far less heroic than the book’s protagonist. It’s simply brilliant.”

– Howard Bryant, author of The Last Hero: A Life of Henry Aaron

“Goes beyond the myth and into the guts of Thorpe’s life, using extensive research, historical nuance and bittersweet honesty to tell the story of a gifted and complicated man. . . . Maraniss’ biography does justice to the struggles and triumphs of a truly great man.”

– Mary Ann Gwinn, Los Angeles Times

“A sensitive and compelling life of the great, ill-treated athlete Jim Thorpe. . . . Racism was a powerful element in Thorpe’s life, and Maraniss explores this topic with insight and nuance, just as he did in his biography of Roberto Clemente. . . . A tale that, though well known in outline, Maraniss enriches with his considerable skills as a writer and researcher.”

– Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

 

 

 

 

 

We are very grateful to our Sponsors Spinnaker Trust, Fine Print Booksellers, Kennebunk Beach Realty, Cider Mill Press, Mutasia, Inc., and Rosemary and Billy Shore, for helping to make this event possible!  We would also like to thank our In-Kind donors – The Kennebunk River Club, Kitchen Chicks Catering, Hurlbutt Designs, Schooner Eleanor, So-Po Wine Co., The Wine House on Main, Wallingford Farm, and Maine & Vine.

 

VIRTUAL CONVERSATION WITH JOHN GRISHAM

The Trustees of Graves Public Library invite you to join us for a very special, virtual lunch conversation with America’s Favorite Storyteller – John Grisham on Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 12:00 pm.

We are honored that he has chosen to hold this virtual launch of his latest book, The Judge’s List, as a benefit to the Graves Library. His appearance is made possible by Kennebunkport friends of the Library, Billy and Rosemary Shore.

Since first publishing A Time to Kill in 1988, Grisham has written one novel a year and all of them have become international bestsellers. There are currently over 300 million John Grisham books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 40 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films, including The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, and A Time to Kill. 

In his latest book, The Judge’s List, investigator Lacy Stoltz follows the trail of a serial killer, and closes in on a shocking suspect—a sitting judge.  The man is brilliant, patient, and always one step ahead of law enforcement. He is the most cunning of all serial killers. He knows forensics, police procedure, and most important: he knows the law.  He is a judge, in Florida—under Lacy’s jurisdiction.  He has a list, with the names of his victims and targets, all unsuspecting people unlucky enough to have crossed his path and wronged him in some way. How can Lacy pursue him, without becoming the next name on his list?  The Judge’s List is by any measure John Grisham’s most surprising, chilling novel yet. 

Your $50 donation includes the link to this special event and a copy of The Judge’s List with a bookplate signed by John Grisham!

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

This event is being generously sponsored by Spinnaker Trust, Rosemary and Billy Shore, Kennebunk Beach Realty, Fine Print Booksellers, John and Mary Mills, Partners Bank, Pack Maynard Realty, Mutasia, Inc., Cider Mill Press, Kennebunk Savings Bank, and The Climate Initiative.  In Kind sponsors include Tourist & Town, Volk Packaging, and Doubleday Books.

All proceeds benefit Graves Library.  PURCHASE TICKETS HERE  or call us for details (207-967-2778).