FREE writing conference set for Saturday, March 23, 2024, at the Ben May Main Library.
Aspiring and accomplished writers and readers of all genres are welcome at the 2024 Mobile Literary Festival ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE. This year’s festival will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Ben May Main Library (701 Government Street) on Saturday, March 23 in historic downtown Mobile, Alabama.
FREE offerings include:
• Setting the Stage: a panel discussion on setting with Carrie Dalby, Candice Marley Conner, and Michael Strecker
• Entrances, Exits, & the In-betweens: a panel discussion on plotting with Jason Stuart, Amy Delcambre, and Carolyn Haines
• Find Your Audience: Learn to market your book with Mandy Haynes, Cynthia Eden, and Lena Patton Webb
• Sue Brannan Walker’s Poetry (Brown Bag) Lunch & Listen
• Scene to Screen: Dive into screen adaptations with Jodie Cain Smith and Adam Prince
• Writing Away Refuge Pitch War!
We are pleased to welcome back The Haunted Book Shop’s popup shop inside the library, featuring area author favorites, national bestsellers, writing craft books, and children’s books.
This year, we are approaching writing from a stage and screen angle to help all of us bring our words on the page to life.
The 2024 Mobile Literary Festival is brought to you by the Mobile Public Library, The Haunted Book Shop, and Mobile Writers’ Guild.
For more information, please email the Main Reference Desk at mainref@mplonline.org or call (251)340-1458.
A brief Friends of the Mobile Public Library Annual Meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. followed by a discussion with the award-winning writer Michael Farris Smith. Mr. Smith’s novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists with Esquire, NPR, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Oprah Magazine, Book Riot, and numerous other outlets, and have been named Indie Next, Barnes & Noble Discover, and Amazon Best of the Month selections. He has also written the feature-film adaptations of his novels Desperation Road and The Fighter, titled for the screen as Rumble Through the Dark.
After his talk, there will be a question and answer session, followed by a book signing. Book sales will be provided by the Haunted Book Shop. We also welcome you to the reception in the Armbrecht Briskman Meeting Room.
This event will be streamed on Facebook Live at: https://www.facebook.com/MobilePublicLibraryFriends
For more information on this event, please email Adrienne McSwain at amcswain@mplonline.org or call (251) 494-2298. We hope to see you there!
Check out Michael Farris Smith new book called Salvage This World available now: https://www.michaelfarrissmith.com/.
The Friends of the Mobile Public Library: https://www.mobilepubliclibrary.org/friends/.
The Haunted Book Shop: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/.
You Need a Schoolhouse!
Join us at the Ben May Main Library for an evening discussion about Rosenwald Schools with Stephanie Deutsch, author of You Need A Schoolhouse. The program will open by screening the short film Rosenwald: Toward A More Perfect Union by the director/producer Charles Poe. Following the screening, there will be a reading from You Need A Schoolhouse by Mrs. Deutsch. Her discussion will offer a rare insight into the collaboration between Booker T. Washington, the founder of Tuskegee Institute, and Julius Rosenwald, the president of Sears, Roebuck, and Company. They brought thousands of modern schoolhouses to African American communities in the rural South during the era preceding the civil rights movement. Furthermore, Ms. Deutsch will also speak on the Rosenwald campaign, which advocates for the establishment of a National Historical Park that would commemorate and interpret Rosenwald’s overall legacy.
After her talk, there will be a question and answer session, followed by light refreshment served in the Armbrecht Briskman Meeting Room. Before leaving, please take time to view the Rosenwald Schools Exhibit located the Lobby.
To receive more information about the Rosenwald Campaign, use this link: https://www.rosenwaldpark.org/campaign-3
For more information on this event at the Ben May Main Library, please email Adrienne McSwain at amcswain@mplonline.org or call (251) 494-2298.
A brief Friends of the Mobile Public Library Annual Meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m. followed by a discussion with the award-winning writer Michael Farris Smith. Mr. Smith’s novels have appeared on Best of the Year lists with Esquire, NPR, Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Oprah Magazine, Book Riot, and numerous other outlets, and have been named Indie Next, Barnes & Noble Discover, and Amazon Best of the Month selections. He has also written the feature-film adaptations of his novels Desperation Road and The Fighter, titled for the screen as Rumble Through the Dark.
After his talk, there will be a question and answer session, followed by a book signing. Book sales will be provided by the Haunted Book Shop. We also welcome you to the reception in the Armbrecht Briskman Meeting Room.
This event will be streamed on Facebook Live at: https://www.facebook.com/MobilePublicLibraryFriends
For more information on this event, please email Adrienne McSwain at amcswain@mplonline.org or call (251) 494-2298. We hope to see you there!
Check out Michael Farris Smith new book called Salvage This World available now: https://www.michaelfarrissmith.com/.
The Friends of the Mobile Public Library: https://www.mobilepubliclibrary.org/friends/.
The Haunted Book Shop: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/.
Spoken Word of Mobile is composed of lovers of poetry and all things creative.
In an official partnership between the Mobile Public Library and Spoken Word of Mobile, join us at the Toulminville Branch with the Poets of Spoken Word to present their published book along with a book signing. Refreshments will be served. We hope to see you there!
AvailableKindle Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/b0c896gl8g.
For more information, please call Gert Laffiette at (251) 494-4259 or email glaffiette@mplonline.org.
Join us for a discussion with Ann Bedsole.
Ann Bedsole is an American politician, businesswoman, community activist, and philanthropist. She was the first Republican woman to serve in the Alabama House of Representatives and, alongside Frances Strong, the first woman to serve in the Alabama Senate. She will be joining us and sharing details from her book “Leave Your Footprint.”
After her talk, there will be a question and answer session, followed by a book signing and reception in the Armbrecht Briskman Meeting Room.
For more information, call (251) 494-2298 or email amcswain@mplonline.org.
Nick Tabor will share about his book, Africatown: America’s Last Slave Ship and the Community It Created. Joe Womack, President of C.H.E.S.S. (Clean, Healthy, Educated, Safe & Sustainable) and Dr. Kern Jackson, director of the University of South Alabama’s African American Studies program, will join Nick for a panel discussion following his presentation. Copies of Nick’s book will be available for purchase. Learn more about the book at: https://www.nicktabor.com/
Additionally, Elizabeth Theris-Boone will give an introductory presentation to the audience about the Local History & Genealogy Library in downtown Mobile. She will share the resources available through the Local History & Genealogy Library, especially related to Black history and ancestry research, as well as resources specific to Africatown.
Join us for this free event at the GulfQuest theater located at 155 Water St. Please contact Valerie Longa at vlonga@mplonline.org or via phone at 251-545-3366 for more information.
Join Mobile’s top literary talent at the Ben May Main Library!
Join us for FREE creative writing workshops, The Haunted Book Shop Pop-up Shop, the Mobile Writers’ Guild Pitch War, poetry readings, and more at the 2023 Mobile Literary Festival! This free festival is sponsored by the Mobile Public Library, Mobile Writers’ Guild, and The Haunted Book Shop. Join the Mobile, Alabama, literary community for:
- Children’s Books: Manuscripts and Pictures and Publishing…Oh my!
- Pantser vs Plotter: The Great Debate!
- What’s the story? Writing Nonfiction & Memoir
- Sue Brannan Walker’s Brown Bag Poetry Lunch & Listen
- Tales of an Indie Bookstore Owner with Angela Trigg
- Mobile Writers’ Guild Pitch War
For information on this event, contact Valerie Longa at vlonga@mplonline.org or (251) 545-3366.
Join us at the Ben May Main Library’s Bernheim Hall!
This event is free and open to all. Ms. Saab will present about her acclaimed book, “The Last Checkmate,” as well as her newest novel, “Daughters of Victory.” A brief FOL business meeting will precede the presentation.
Gabriella Saab graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor of business administration in marketing and lives in her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, where she works as a barre instructor. She is of Lebanese heritage and is one of the co-hosts of @hfchitchat on Twitter, a recurring monthly chat and community celebrating the love of reading and writing historical fiction.
Another feature of this year’s annual meeting will include a presentation of awards to local teen winners of the Maryln Schwartz Creative Writing Contest. Following Gabriella’s presentation, a reception with heavy hors d’oeuvres will be held in the Armbrecht/Briskman Meeting Room. Books will be available for purchase from the Haunted Book Shop, and Ms. Saab will be available for signing.
For more information on this speaker please visit: https://gabriellasaab.com/. For more information on this event email vlonga@mplonline.org or call (251)545-3366.
