Residents Have Chance to Write With NYT Bestselling Author This Week!
Workshop and Talk Celebrate MDI's Big Read
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND—Is there an ideal reading experience?
Back in 2022, author Kevin Wilson told the New York Times, “Well, there really is nothing as lovely as reading to your kids, saying the words on the page out loud, your kid right next to you, both of you building the story in your head, imagining it in similar and different ways, until you’re ready to drift off to sleep.
“Otherwise, I’d choose a five-hour layover in the Raleigh-Durham Airport with a backpack full of books I’ve been wanting to read and candy bars, hiding in a corner of the airport where no one can see me.”
You don’t need kids to read aloud. You don’t even need a five-hour layover. You just need a book—a good book—and all the libraries on Mount Desert Island have plenty of those and this spring, they’ve even been passing out free ones to keep. Those books were Wilson’s and it’s all been a part of the Big Read: MDI, a program that’s taken island readers by storm this spring.
To an author, it doesn’t matter where a book is read. It just matters that it’s read.
“When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, just as I did when I was young.” – Maya Angelou
For the Jesup Memorial Library and Northeast Harbor Library staff members this spring, and now summer, as they prepare for a duo of events with Wilson, reading experiences that are lovely are key, but so is connecting community members around authors and books and also creating community.
"The first half of 2024 has been filled with lots of great opportunities to connect around the book Nothing to See Here including book discussions, a 90s dance party, Screenagers, and so much more,” said Youth Services Librarian Abby Morrow. “I'm so happy we have the opportunity to offer a writing workshop and author talk with Kevin Wilson. Thank you to the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Midwest, and the many local partners and partner organizations who have made this possible. It's the perfect way to wrap up our series! We hope you can join us."
“The writer is an explorer. Every step is an advance into a new land.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
The workshop will be at the Northeast Harbor Library on Wednesday, June 26, from 5-7 p.m. The author talk is the next day at the Jesup Memorial Library at 7 p.m.
The workshop is a chance to write with, learn from personally, and interact with an author and professor who has been much acclaimed. It’s a chance to explore thoughts, self, and family on paper or laptop. Or as Voltaire said, “Writing is the painting of the voice.”
"Kevin's book Nothing to See Here is a hilarious, poignant, and deeply moving book about friendship, loss, love, and growth. This was one of my favorite books to read this year and I am so excited that the Jesup will be hosting him for this year's Big Read,” said Jesup Memorial Library Director Matt DeLaney.
Wilson is coming to the island thanks to the grant Morrow mentioned. The Jesup collaborated with other libraries, school staff, and many partners around the state which allowed the library to distribute free copies of the book.
Wilson’s reading and writing workshop are a highlight of the NEA Big Read: MDI. The Jesup Memorial Library was awarded an NEA Big Read grant for 2024. The NEA Big Read aims to broaden our understanding of the world, our communities, and ourselves through the power of a shared reading experience.
“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” – Mason Cooley
AUTHOR TALK DETAILS
On Thursday, June 27, at 7 p.m., Wilson will be at the Jesup Memorial Library for an author talk on his book — and MDI’s Big Read selection — Nothing to See Here. During this event, Wilson will delve into his writing process, share insights from his literary career and take questions from the audience. Attendees will also have the opportunity to get their books signed by the author. Books will be for sale, courtesy of Sherman’s Maine Coast Books.
WORKSHOP DETAILS
On Wednesday, June 26, from 5-7 p.m. at the Northeast Harbor Library, Wilson will lead a writing workshop for adults focused on writing family stories. The workshop is open to writers of both fiction and non-fiction, regardless of their level of experience. Space is limited and registration is required.
MORE ABOUT KEVIN WILSON
Kevin Wilson is the author of two collections, Tunneling to the Center of the Earth (Ecco/Harper Perennial, 2009), which received an Alex Award from the American Library Association and the Shirley Jackson Award, and Baby You’re Gonna Be Mine (Ecco, 2018), and three novels, The Family Fang (Ecco, 2011), Perfect Little World (Ecco, 2017), and Nothing to See Here (Ecco, 2019), a New York Times bestseller and a Read with Jenna book club selection. His fiction has appeared in Ploughshares, Southern Review, One Story, A Public Space, and elsewhere, and has appeared in Best American Short Stories 2020 and 2021, as well as The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2012. He has received fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, and the KHN Center for the Arts. He lives in Sewanee, Tennessee, with his wife, the poet Leigh Anne Couch, and his sons, Griff and Patch, where he is an Associate Professor in the English Department at Sewanee: The University of the South.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE EVENTS AND HOW TO REGISTER
These events are free and offered in-person or virtually via Zoom. Register for the workshop at https://nehlibrary.libcal.com/event/10802101. Register for the talk at www.jesuplibrary.org/events/kevinwilson-authortalk.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
If you’d like to donate to help support us, you can, but no pressure! Just click here.