Three authors to help raise funds for Advancing Children's Literacy

FALLBROOK – Friends of the Fallbrook Library continues planning for its inaugural fundraising event Advancing Children's Literacy. Funds raised will be dedicated for children's programs, including an ongoing distribution of free books to local kids from its bookstore, the Bottom Shelf, beginning January 2024.

A special celebration will be held on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. at the library. Attendees can enjoy an afternoon of fun and festivities featuring delicious hors d'oeuvres, a hosted wine bar and silent auction.

The silent auction will include many local items as well as a four night stay at a beautiful location near Cabo San Lucas, and a set of original Bloom County animated books signed by author Berkley Breathed.

Three best-selling Southern California authors, Thomas Perry, Susan Strait and T. Jefferson Parker will speak, take questions and sign books. A panel discussion with the award-winning authors will be moderated by radio host Barbara Whitesides.

Straight's most recent novel, Mecca, was published March 2022 and released in paperback March 2023. Mecca was a national bestseller, a finalist for The Kirkus Prize, and named a best novel of the year by The Washington Post and NPR, as well as a Top Ten California Book by the New York Times, and winner of the Southwest Book of the Year for Fiction.

Straight was born in Riverside, California in 1960, and still lives there with her family. She is the Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside, where she has taught since 1988.

Perry is the author of 30 novels including the Jane Whitefield series (Vanishing Act, Dance for the Dead, Shadow Woman, The Face Changers, Blood Money, Runner, Poison Flower, and String of Beads), Death Benefits, and Pursuit, the first recipient of the Gumshoe Award for best novel.

Perry was the Bouchercon Guest of Honor at Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Anchorage in 2007. He won the Edgar for The Butcher's Boy, and Metzger's Dog was a New York Times Notable Book. Metzger's Dog was voted one of NPR's 100 Best Thrillers Ever. Perry's latest novel, The Murder Book, is a best-seller and Amazon has named it one the best books of 2023.

Parker is a three time Edgar Award winner and a New York Times best-selling author who writes brilliant stories about life in Southern California. The Rescue is Parker's 28th novel. It is a gripping thriller that explores the strength of the human-animal bond and how far we will go to protect what we love.

Parker was born in L.A. and grew up in Southern California. He studied English at UC Irvine and worked as a newspaper reporter for five years while writing his first book, "Laguna Heat" on evenings and weekends. HBO made "Laguna Heat" into one of its first original television movies in 1987. Parker is a Fallbrook resident and an avid supporter of the Fallbrook Library.

This is an exciting opportunity to meet and mingle with the authors and bid on an opportunity to appear in their upcoming novels. Tickets for the event are $50 and may be purchased online at the FOFL https://fallbrooklibraryfriends.org/ or at the Bottom Shelf.

Contact Nancy Kreile at [email protected] for any questions regarding the event or the Advancing Children's Literacy program. The Fallbrook Library is located at 124 S. Mission Road.

Submitted by Friends of the Fallbrook Library.