#Summer is Heating Up!
We are really excited to bring a different kind of Writer’s Lab to the Library this month – a three-hour workshop on creating a Dungeons & Dragons campaign with a Wizards of the Coast employee! We also have great summery Lit Chats, gardening workshops for everyone, and 16 book clubs to check out. And, of course, the Jax Stacks Reading Challenge continues (with new prizes up for grabs)!
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Did you catch the BIG REVEAL?
Jax Book Fest returns to the Main Library September 22-23 with Joe Hill, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Horns, Heart-Shaped Box, and The Fireman. Hill is also the co-creator of the Eisner Award-winning series Locke & Key, now streaming on Netflix! He'll be joined by Angeline Boulley, the New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper's Daughter and Dan Santat, the Caldecott Medal award-winning and New York Times bestselling author and illustrator best known for The Adventures of Beekle: The Imaginary Friend.
Learn more at jaxlibrary.org/bookfest.
Lit Chat Interview with Beatriz Williams
Historical fiction author Beatriz Williams joins us on Monday, July 10, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Williams will be in conversation with interviewer Jessica Hatch live at the Regency Square Library and live on Zoom to talk about her books and writing process. A book signing will follow the program with copies available for sale on-site from The Bookmark.
Register for the Lit Chat!
Lit Chat Author Talk with Poet Jus Amanda Moore
Join us for a talk with local poet Jus Amanda Moore on Monday, July 17 at 6 p.m. at Bradham & Brooks Branch Library. She'll discuss her new book of poetry: Been Through to Breakthrough. This program is presented by The Friends of Bradham and Brooks Library. There will also be an audience Q&A, book signing and refreshments after the presentation.
Register for the Lit Chat!
Lit Chat Interview with Deb Rogers
Join us for a chat with Deb Rogers, the Northeast Florida-based author of Florida Woman! She'll talk about her books and writing process with interviewer Kay Huggins on Monday, July 24, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. live at the West Library and live on Zoom. Rogers will sign books after the program and copies will be available for sale on-site.
Register for the Lit Chat!
Network with Local Authors
Marketing to Your Audience - Saturday, July 1, at 10:15 a.m.
Learn the basics of marketing as an author with the Authors Roundtable, a local 501C3 that supports authors in reaching their highest potential. Meeting on the first Saturday of every month, authors participate in educational forums, workshops, classes, and events. All genres are welcome.
Register now!
Save your seat: Authors Roundtable will discuss romance writing on Saturday, August 5, at 10:15 a.m.!
Writer's Lab with Jason Tondro
Let's Dig a Dungeon: Designing a D&D Adventure - Saturday, July 15, at 10:15 a.m.
In this three-hour workshop, writer Jason Tondro from Wizards of the Coast will walk participants through the basics of a Dungeons & Dragons adventure and how to outline one. Participants will break into small groups to outline projects of their own with help from the instructor, and then the groups will come back together to share their projects and discuss next steps.
Join the waitlist!
Life Lit Workshops
Sign up for these great FREE gardening workshops with Master Gardeners and our friends at the UF Extension Office:
- Integrating Wildflowers into Your Landscape: Tuesday, July 11 @ 6 p.m., at Maxville Library
- Garden Mistakes: Tuesday, July 11 @ 6:30 p.m., at University Park Library
- Invasive or Aggressive... Let's Find Out: Monday, July 17 @ 6 p.m., at Webb Wesconnett
- Elements of a Florida-Friendly Yard: Monday, July 24 @ 6 p.m., at Argyle Library
Life Lit with Blue Zones Project Jacksonville
Do you want to live to 100? Looking for ways to make the healthier choice the easy choice when it comes to diet and exercise? You might be interested in joining the Blue Zones Challenge, an ongoing, community-wide partnership between Blue Zones Project Jacksonville and the City of Jacksonville, Baptist Health, Brooks Rehabilitation, and others.
4-Week Challenge Book Club
Every Thursday in July from 5:30 - 7 p.m., Blue Zones representatives will meet with challenge participants in the Conference Center at the Main Library to read and discuss the best-selling book The Blue Zones Challenge: A 4-Week Plan for a Longer, Better Life by Dan Buettner.
Note: Books will be provided free of charge to participants who commit to all four meetings. For more about the Blue Zones Challenge, watch Blue Zones founder Dan Beuttner's Ted Talk and read the Personal Pledge.
Register now!
Connect With Fellow Readers
Building that TBR list for an upcoming vacation? Looking for more ideas for books to read for that one elusive Jax Stacks Reading Challenge category? Join a Library Book Club and get book recommendations from librarians and book lovers like you! You might even make some bookish friends you can swap titles with!
Join a Library Book Club!
Expand Your Reading Horizons
Summer is the perfect opportunity to have fun, explore new interests, and interact with fellow readers - all while providing a good model for children enrolled in summer reading programs. Join Jax Stacks today! You can pick up a Jax Stacks 2023 Reading Challenge Bookmark at any Jacksonville Public Library.
Join us Wednesday, July 12 @ 7 p.m. at Southeast Library for: "A book read by a Library Book Club in 2023" and "A book by a 2023 Lit Chat Author."
Join the Challenge! Register for the Book Club!
History Chat: Guitar Greats of Jacksonville
Join us Tuesday, August 1 at 6 p.m. at the Willow Branch Library for History Chat: Guitar Greats of Jacksonville with Michael Ray FitzGerald, Ph.D. A musician, media scholar and former university instructor from Jacksonville, FitzGerald is the author of four books including the award-winning Jacksonville and the Roots of Southern Rock and Swamp Music, both of which examine the music and culture of North Florida.
Save your seat!
Lit Chat Interview with Hank Phillippi Ryan
USA Today bestselling mystery and thriller writer Hank Phillippi Ryan joins us to talk about her new book, The House Guest, on Wednesday, August 2, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. live at the Southeast Regional Library and live on Zoom. She will be in conversation with local crime writer and UNF professor Michael Wiley. A book signing will follow the program and copies will be available for sale on-site from The Bookmark.
