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Upcoming events and things to do in Asheville, NC. Below is a list of events for festivals, concerts, art exhibitions, group meetups and more.

Interested in adding an event to our calendar? Please click the green “Post Your Event” button below.

Friday, February 3, 2023
Celebrate Black Legacy Month
Feb 3 all-day
Buncombe County Libraires

Join us throughout February as we celebrate Black Legacy Month with programs and events for all ages! In addition to the programs listed below, we will have special story times and exhibits at most of our libraries.

  • Bright Star Touring Theatre: African Folktales – February 1 at 4pm at the Weaverville Library (for children ages 3 and up)
  • Book Club: Jazz by Toni Morrison – Thursday, February 2 a 3pm at the Weaverville Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Tuesday, February 7 at 6pm
  • Book Club: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict Tuesday, February 14 at 1pm at the Leicester Library
  • Book Club: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland – February 16 at 2:30pm at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – February 21 at 7pm at the Fairview Library
  • Black Experience Book Club: The Furrows by Namwali Serpell – February 23 at 6:30pm at the Noir Collective, co-sponsored by the East Asheville library

Drop by your local library and check us out. Email or call if you have any questions.

Our librarians have also put together a Black Legacy Month reading list for all ages.

Black Legacy Month Reading List 2023

Books for Adults

Adult Fiction

  • Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
  • On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library edited by Glory Edim
  • What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harries
  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
  • The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fannone Jeffers
  • How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemison
  • Deacon King Kong by James McBride
  • Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  • Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall
  • The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
  • Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
  • Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Adult nonfiction

  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
  • Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay
  • The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones
  • Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
  • Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby*
  • The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
  • All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
  • Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson*
  • You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin*
  • Counting Descent by Clint Smith
  • The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Here For It by R. Eric Thomas*
  • Koshersoul: the faith and food journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty

*especially good on audio because the authors read their work!

Picture books for families to share

  • My Heart Flies Open by Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis
  • Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe by Kate Messner
  • My N.C. From A to Z by Michelle Lanier
  • Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep by JaNay Brown-Wood
  • Curls by Ruth Forman
  • Fly by Brittany J. Thurman
  • Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
  • Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens
  • Bright Brown Baby, A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson

Chapter books for older kids

  • Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. BaptistBlended by Sharon Draper
  • Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • Tristan Strong Trilogy (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Tristan Strong Destroys the World, and Tristan Strong Keeps Punching) by Kwame Mbalia
  • From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
  • Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia
  • Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
  • Operation Sisterhood by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
  • The Door of No Return by Alexander Kwame

Books for teens

  • Quincredible by Rodney Barnes
  • The Legendborn Cycle (Legendborn and Bloodmarked) by Tracy Deonn
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
  • Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
  • Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
  • Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
  • Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
  • Okoye to the People by Ibi Zoboi
PPP Loan Forgiveness: Nearly $16M in Loan Forgiveness Still Available for Buncombe Businesses
Feb 3 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
online

More than 400 local businesses could benefit from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. According to reports from the Federal Government’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Buncombe County businesses may be eligible for $15.8 million and your small business could receive full or partial loan forgiveness. “Small businesses were under huge stress from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to face challenges with supply chain issues and inflation. PPP loan forgiveness represents an opportunity for small businesses to gain additional relief, keep their doors open and continue to provide high quality jobs in our community,” explains Intergovernmental Director Timothy Love.

Wondering if your business is eligible? It’s definitely worth taking a moment to find out. “The process and requirements are quick. In many cases, detailed documentation may not be required during the application process. Typical documents include bank statements, tax forms, and business costs,” says Love. “PPP loan forgiveness may not require any additional work with your lender and you can apply for direct forgiveness through the SBA portal.”

To apply or learn more, please see the below links (Please note: This program is administered by the federal government)

  • Apply here (Borrowers may submit a loan forgiveness application any time before the maturity date of the loan, which is either two or five years from loan origination.)
  • FAQs
Seeking local businesses to partner w/ Hendersonville Theatre
Feb 3 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Hendersonville Theatre

we are looking for local businesses to partner with to sponsor our upcoming theatre season, concert series, and special events! As a non-profit, local, community theatre, we are able to make events happen in our community through donations and sponsorship support. With your help, we can continue to provide quality live theatre, concerts, and more! Interested in becoming a season or show sponsor? We take donations at any level! For more information about sponsorship levels, visit the sponsorship page on our website here: SPONSORSHIPS – Hendersonville Theatre

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Friends of the South Buncombe Library Book Sale
Feb 3 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
South Buncombe Library

The Friends of the South Buncombe Library are pleased to announce their first live, in-person book sale of 2023!  We will have thousands of books in fiction and non-fiction at bargain prices, in every genre and for every age group.

Prices have changed since our last sale, but are still a bargain: most adult hardbacks are $2.00 and paperbacks are $1.00.  Children’s items are still just $1.00 & 50¢!  And all movies and music are $1.00.

Proceeds benefit your library in so many ways: purchasing library supplies and equipment, newspapers, and large print books; providing children’s programs; and improving the grounds.

Sale Hours: 10am-4pm Friday and Saturday, with 10am-12pm on Friday reserved for Friends of the Library members.  Not a member?  We’re happy to sign you up at the door; the minimum donation is just $10.00.

AV material and children’s book bag sale on the last hour of business Saturday, if supplies allow!

Saturday, February 4, 2023
Celebrate Black Legacy Month
Feb 4 all-day
Buncombe County Libraires

Join us throughout February as we celebrate Black Legacy Month with programs and events for all ages! In addition to the programs listed below, we will have special story times and exhibits at most of our libraries.

  • Bright Star Touring Theatre: African Folktales – February 1 at 4pm at the Weaverville Library (for children ages 3 and up)
  • Book Club: Jazz by Toni Morrison – Thursday, February 2 a 3pm at the Weaverville Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Tuesday, February 7 at 6pm
  • Book Club: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict Tuesday, February 14 at 1pm at the Leicester Library
  • Book Club: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland – February 16 at 2:30pm at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – February 21 at 7pm at the Fairview Library
  • Black Experience Book Club: The Furrows by Namwali Serpell – February 23 at 6:30pm at the Noir Collective, co-sponsored by the East Asheville library

Drop by your local library and check us out. Email or call if you have any questions.

Our librarians have also put together a Black Legacy Month reading list for all ages.

Black Legacy Month Reading List 2023

Books for Adults

Adult Fiction

  • Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
  • On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library edited by Glory Edim
  • What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harries
  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
  • The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fannone Jeffers
  • How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemison
  • Deacon King Kong by James McBride
  • Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  • Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall
  • The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
  • Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
  • Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Adult nonfiction

  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
  • Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay
  • The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones
  • Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
  • Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby*
  • The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
  • All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
  • Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson*
  • You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin*
  • Counting Descent by Clint Smith
  • The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Here For It by R. Eric Thomas*
  • Koshersoul: the faith and food journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty

*especially good on audio because the authors read their work!

Picture books for families to share

  • My Heart Flies Open by Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis
  • Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe by Kate Messner
  • My N.C. From A to Z by Michelle Lanier
  • Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep by JaNay Brown-Wood
  • Curls by Ruth Forman
  • Fly by Brittany J. Thurman
  • Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
  • Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens
  • Bright Brown Baby, A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson

Chapter books for older kids

  • Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. BaptistBlended by Sharon Draper
  • Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • Tristan Strong Trilogy (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Tristan Strong Destroys the World, and Tristan Strong Keeps Punching) by Kwame Mbalia
  • From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
  • Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia
  • Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
  • Operation Sisterhood by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
  • The Door of No Return by Alexander Kwame

Books for teens

  • Quincredible by Rodney Barnes
  • The Legendborn Cycle (Legendborn and Bloodmarked) by Tracy Deonn
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
  • Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
  • Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
  • Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
  • Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
  • Okoye to the People by Ibi Zoboi
PPP Loan Forgiveness: Nearly $16M in Loan Forgiveness Still Available for Buncombe Businesses
Feb 4 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
online

More than 400 local businesses could benefit from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. According to reports from the Federal Government’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Buncombe County businesses may be eligible for $15.8 million and your small business could receive full or partial loan forgiveness. “Small businesses were under huge stress from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to face challenges with supply chain issues and inflation. PPP loan forgiveness represents an opportunity for small businesses to gain additional relief, keep their doors open and continue to provide high quality jobs in our community,” explains Intergovernmental Director Timothy Love.

Wondering if your business is eligible? It’s definitely worth taking a moment to find out. “The process and requirements are quick. In many cases, detailed documentation may not be required during the application process. Typical documents include bank statements, tax forms, and business costs,” says Love. “PPP loan forgiveness may not require any additional work with your lender and you can apply for direct forgiveness through the SBA portal.”

To apply or learn more, please see the below links (Please note: This program is administered by the federal government)

  • Apply here (Borrowers may submit a loan forgiveness application any time before the maturity date of the loan, which is either two or five years from loan origination.)
  • FAQs
Friends of the South Buncombe Library Book Sale
Feb 4 @ 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
South Buncombe Library

The Friends of the South Buncombe Library are pleased to announce their first live, in-person book sale of 2023!  We will have thousands of books in fiction and non-fiction at bargain prices, in every genre and for every age group.

Prices have changed since our last sale, but are still a bargain: most adult hardbacks are $2.00 and paperbacks are $1.00.  Children’s items are still just $1.00 & 50¢!  And all movies and music are $1.00.

Proceeds benefit your library in so many ways: purchasing library supplies and equipment, newspapers, and large print books; providing children’s programs; and improving the grounds.

Sale Hours: 10am-4pm Friday and Saturday, with 10am-12pm on Friday reserved for Friends of the Library members.  Not a member?  We’re happy to sign you up at the door; the minimum donation is just $10.00.

AV material and children’s book bag sale on the last hour of business Saturday, if supplies allow!

Sunday, February 5, 2023
PPP Loan Forgiveness: Nearly $16M in Loan Forgiveness Still Available for Buncombe Businesses
Feb 5 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
online

More than 400 local businesses could benefit from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. According to reports from the Federal Government’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Buncombe County businesses may be eligible for $15.8 million and your small business could receive full or partial loan forgiveness. “Small businesses were under huge stress from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to face challenges with supply chain issues and inflation. PPP loan forgiveness represents an opportunity for small businesses to gain additional relief, keep their doors open and continue to provide high quality jobs in our community,” explains Intergovernmental Director Timothy Love.

Wondering if your business is eligible? It’s definitely worth taking a moment to find out. “The process and requirements are quick. In many cases, detailed documentation may not be required during the application process. Typical documents include bank statements, tax forms, and business costs,” says Love. “PPP loan forgiveness may not require any additional work with your lender and you can apply for direct forgiveness through the SBA portal.”

To apply or learn more, please see the below links (Please note: This program is administered by the federal government)

  • Apply here (Borrowers may submit a loan forgiveness application any time before the maturity date of the loan, which is either two or five years from loan origination.)
  • FAQs
Hybrid | Poetrio: Glenis Redmond, Molly Rice, Niina Pollari
Feb 5 @ 4:30 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore and Virtual

This is a hybrid event, meaning there is an option to attend virtually and a limited number of seats are available to attend the event in-store.

The event is free but registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance. 

Please click here to register for the VIRTUAL event. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.

Please click here to register for the IN-PERSON event. Note the important event details on the RSVP form.

This event includes a book signing. If you would like a signed book but can’t attend in person, use the order comments field when you order below to request a signed copy and tell us to whom the book should be personalized.

If you decide to attend and to purchase books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!


Glenis Redmond is the First Poet Laureate of Greenville, South Carolina. She is a Kennedy Center Teaching Artist, and a Cave Canem alumni. The Listening Skin (Four Way Books) is her sixth poetry book. She is presently working on a seventh collection, Port Cities: Portals of the Second (Domestic) Middle Passage. She received the highest arts award in South Carolina—the Governor’s Award—and was inducted into the South Carolina Academy of Authors. Redmond received her MFA in Poetry from Warren Wilson College. For more, visit http://www.glenisredmond.com

In The Listening Skin, Glenis Redmond returns to the ancestors and the deep knowing that comes from being ever ready to receive the wisdom they give us. She plants us again in the South Carolinian soil and reaches across decades and continents back to the motherland for historical context, for truth, and for healing. She does not flinch from racism nor the complexities of what it means to carry trauma inside the Black body. These poems are beautifully rendered but don’t shrink. I am grateful for the depth and breadth of the music and the keen use of the line in this collection, but mostly I’m taken by the way Glenis holds us up to the light. In her sure hands we shine!

Molly Rice has held several residencies teaching poetry, storytelling, theatre, film, and English as a Second Language in hundreds of schools, colleges, and organizations in North Carolina, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Russia, and Hungary. She has taught for seventeen years at St. Stephens High School where she is director of the Tractor Shed Theatre. She’s published in magazines including Fortnight Magazine, The Stinging Fly, and Iodine Poetry Journal. She resides with her husband and son in Hickory, North Carolina. For more, visit https://www.mollyrice.com

In Molly Rice’s Forever Eighty-Eights, there are “no crystal stairs” in her southern mill hill childhood. Yet, the poet pushes onward following an urgent pulse, while unflinchingly calling forth ghosts, wounds, and secrets of the past. She bids them to come out of their hiding places, while she battles both hardships and heartbreaks. In this work, Molly reckons, but she also fathoms beauty and pays homage by uplifting people, places, and moments deeply rooted in North Carolina. With her forging she creates a throughway—each poem a stair to “reach landings and turn corners.”

Monday, February 6, 2023
Celebrate Black Legacy Month
Feb 6 all-day
Buncombe County Libraires

Join us throughout February as we celebrate Black Legacy Month with programs and events for all ages! In addition to the programs listed below, we will have special story times and exhibits at most of our libraries.

  • Bright Star Touring Theatre: African Folktales – February 1 at 4pm at the Weaverville Library (for children ages 3 and up)
  • Book Club: Jazz by Toni Morrison – Thursday, February 2 a 3pm at the Weaverville Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Tuesday, February 7 at 6pm
  • Book Club: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict Tuesday, February 14 at 1pm at the Leicester Library
  • Book Club: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland – February 16 at 2:30pm at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – February 21 at 7pm at the Fairview Library
  • Black Experience Book Club: The Furrows by Namwali Serpell – February 23 at 6:30pm at the Noir Collective, co-sponsored by the East Asheville library

Drop by your local library and check us out. Email or call if you have any questions.

Our librarians have also put together a Black Legacy Month reading list for all ages.

Black Legacy Month Reading List 2023

Books for Adults

Adult Fiction

  • Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
  • On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library edited by Glory Edim
  • What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harries
  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
  • The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fannone Jeffers
  • How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemison
  • Deacon King Kong by James McBride
  • Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  • Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall
  • The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
  • Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
  • Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Adult nonfiction

  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
  • Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay
  • The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones
  • Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
  • Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby*
  • The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
  • All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
  • Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson*
  • You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin*
  • Counting Descent by Clint Smith
  • The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Here For It by R. Eric Thomas*
  • Koshersoul: the faith and food journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty

*especially good on audio because the authors read their work!

Picture books for families to share

  • My Heart Flies Open by Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis
  • Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe by Kate Messner
  • My N.C. From A to Z by Michelle Lanier
  • Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep by JaNay Brown-Wood
  • Curls by Ruth Forman
  • Fly by Brittany J. Thurman
  • Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
  • Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens
  • Bright Brown Baby, A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson

Chapter books for older kids

  • Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. BaptistBlended by Sharon Draper
  • Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • Tristan Strong Trilogy (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Tristan Strong Destroys the World, and Tristan Strong Keeps Punching) by Kwame Mbalia
  • From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
  • Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia
  • Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
  • Operation Sisterhood by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
  • The Door of No Return by Alexander Kwame

Books for teens

  • Quincredible by Rodney Barnes
  • The Legendborn Cycle (Legendborn and Bloodmarked) by Tracy Deonn
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
  • Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
  • Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
  • Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
  • Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
  • Okoye to the People by Ibi Zoboi
PPP Loan Forgiveness: Nearly $16M in Loan Forgiveness Still Available for Buncombe Businesses
Feb 6 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
online

More than 400 local businesses could benefit from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. According to reports from the Federal Government’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Buncombe County businesses may be eligible for $15.8 million and your small business could receive full or partial loan forgiveness. “Small businesses were under huge stress from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to face challenges with supply chain issues and inflation. PPP loan forgiveness represents an opportunity for small businesses to gain additional relief, keep their doors open and continue to provide high quality jobs in our community,” explains Intergovernmental Director Timothy Love.

Wondering if your business is eligible? It’s definitely worth taking a moment to find out. “The process and requirements are quick. In many cases, detailed documentation may not be required during the application process. Typical documents include bank statements, tax forms, and business costs,” says Love. “PPP loan forgiveness may not require any additional work with your lender and you can apply for direct forgiveness through the SBA portal.”

To apply or learn more, please see the below links (Please note: This program is administered by the federal government)

  • Apply here (Borrowers may submit a loan forgiveness application any time before the maturity date of the loan, which is either two or five years from loan origination.)
  • FAQs
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Celebrate Black Legacy Month
Feb 7 all-day
Buncombe County Libraires

Join us throughout February as we celebrate Black Legacy Month with programs and events for all ages! In addition to the programs listed below, we will have special story times and exhibits at most of our libraries.

  • Bright Star Touring Theatre: African Folktales – February 1 at 4pm at the Weaverville Library (for children ages 3 and up)
  • Book Club: Jazz by Toni Morrison – Thursday, February 2 a 3pm at the Weaverville Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Tuesday, February 7 at 6pm
  • Book Club: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict Tuesday, February 14 at 1pm at the Leicester Library
  • Book Club: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland – February 16 at 2:30pm at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – February 21 at 7pm at the Fairview Library
  • Black Experience Book Club: The Furrows by Namwali Serpell – February 23 at 6:30pm at the Noir Collective, co-sponsored by the East Asheville library

Drop by your local library and check us out. Email or call if you have any questions.

Our librarians have also put together a Black Legacy Month reading list for all ages.

Black Legacy Month Reading List 2023

Books for Adults

Adult Fiction

  • Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
  • On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library edited by Glory Edim
  • What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harries
  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
  • The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fannone Jeffers
  • How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemison
  • Deacon King Kong by James McBride
  • Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  • Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall
  • The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
  • Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
  • Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Adult nonfiction

  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
  • Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay
  • The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones
  • Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
  • Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby*
  • The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
  • All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
  • Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson*
  • You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin*
  • Counting Descent by Clint Smith
  • The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Here For It by R. Eric Thomas*
  • Koshersoul: the faith and food journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty

*especially good on audio because the authors read their work!

Picture books for families to share

  • My Heart Flies Open by Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis
  • Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe by Kate Messner
  • My N.C. From A to Z by Michelle Lanier
  • Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep by JaNay Brown-Wood
  • Curls by Ruth Forman
  • Fly by Brittany J. Thurman
  • Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
  • Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens
  • Bright Brown Baby, A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson

Chapter books for older kids

  • Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. BaptistBlended by Sharon Draper
  • Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • Tristan Strong Trilogy (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Tristan Strong Destroys the World, and Tristan Strong Keeps Punching) by Kwame Mbalia
  • From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
  • Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia
  • Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
  • Operation Sisterhood by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
  • The Door of No Return by Alexander Kwame

Books for teens

  • Quincredible by Rodney Barnes
  • The Legendborn Cycle (Legendborn and Bloodmarked) by Tracy Deonn
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
  • Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
  • Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
  • Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
  • Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
  • Okoye to the People by Ibi Zoboi
PPP Loan Forgiveness: Nearly $16M in Loan Forgiveness Still Available for Buncombe Businesses
Feb 7 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
online

More than 400 local businesses could benefit from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. According to reports from the Federal Government’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Buncombe County businesses may be eligible for $15.8 million and your small business could receive full or partial loan forgiveness. “Small businesses were under huge stress from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to face challenges with supply chain issues and inflation. PPP loan forgiveness represents an opportunity for small businesses to gain additional relief, keep their doors open and continue to provide high quality jobs in our community,” explains Intergovernmental Director Timothy Love.

Wondering if your business is eligible? It’s definitely worth taking a moment to find out. “The process and requirements are quick. In many cases, detailed documentation may not be required during the application process. Typical documents include bank statements, tax forms, and business costs,” says Love. “PPP loan forgiveness may not require any additional work with your lender and you can apply for direct forgiveness through the SBA portal.”

To apply or learn more, please see the below links (Please note: This program is administered by the federal government)

  • Apply here (Borrowers may submit a loan forgiveness application any time before the maturity date of the loan, which is either two or five years from loan origination.)
  • FAQs
Webinar QuickBooks Online: Understanding Customer Transactions
Feb 7 @ 10:00 am
online

Join QuickBooks Certified Pro Advisor, Candy Williams, as she helps you to understand bookkeeping concepts for your small business.

Hybrid | Jennie Liu launches Enly and the Buskin’ Blues
Feb 7 @ 6:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore and Virtual

This is a hybrid event, meaning there is an option to attend virtually and a limited number of seats are available to attend the event in-store. The event is free but registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance. 

Please click here to register for the VIRTUAL event. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.

Please click here to register for the IN-PERSON event. Note the important event details on the RSVP form.

This event includes a book signing. If you would like a signed book but can’t attend in person, use the order comments field when you order below to request a signed copy and tell us to whom the book should be personalized.

If you decide to attend and to purchase books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!


Twelve-year-old Enly Wu Lewis is determined to go to band camp and follow in the footsteps of his musician father, who died years ago. But his mom, a single parent working two jobs, is saving every penny for his older brother’s college tuition. So Enly sets out to earn the money for camp on his own, by busking with an obscure instrument he can only kind of play. When someone drops a winning scratch-off lottery ticket into his tip box, Enly thinks it’s the answer to his problems–but he’ll have to overcome teenage thieves and his own family if he wants to achieve his dreams.

Jennie Liu is the daughter of Chinese immigrants. She has been fascinated by the attitudes, social policies, and changes in China each time she visits. Her young adult novels have won honors including a Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention and an In the Margins: Best Books for Teens award She lives in North Carolina with her family.

WILD (Women in Lively Discussion) Book Club
Feb 7 @ 6:30 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore

WILD (Women in Lively Discussion) Book Club

Tuesday, February 7, 2023 – 6:30pm
Tuesday, March 7, 2023 – 6:30pm
Tuesday, April 4, 2023 – 6:30pm
Tuesday, May 2, 2023 – 6:30pm

Join former Malaprop’s General Manager Linda-Marie Barrett for this woman-only book club that seeks to have fun by reading books (fiction & non) by women writers. Click here to see a full schedule of what the club is reading. Club attendees get 10% off the book at Malaprop’s!

The club meets at 6:30 P.M. on the first Tuesday of the month.

Please RSVP to the moderator at [email protected] for location and details.

Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Celebrate Black Legacy Month
Feb 8 all-day
Buncombe County Libraires

Join us throughout February as we celebrate Black Legacy Month with programs and events for all ages! In addition to the programs listed below, we will have special story times and exhibits at most of our libraries.

  • Bright Star Touring Theatre: African Folktales – February 1 at 4pm at the Weaverville Library (for children ages 3 and up)
  • Book Club: Jazz by Toni Morrison – Thursday, February 2 a 3pm at the Weaverville Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Tuesday, February 7 at 6pm
  • Book Club: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict Tuesday, February 14 at 1pm at the Leicester Library
  • Book Club: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland – February 16 at 2:30pm at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – February 21 at 7pm at the Fairview Library
  • Black Experience Book Club: The Furrows by Namwali Serpell – February 23 at 6:30pm at the Noir Collective, co-sponsored by the East Asheville library

Drop by your local library and check us out. Email or call if you have any questions.

Our librarians have also put together a Black Legacy Month reading list for all ages.

Black Legacy Month Reading List 2023

Books for Adults

Adult Fiction

  • Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
  • On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library edited by Glory Edim
  • What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harries
  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
  • The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fannone Jeffers
  • How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemison
  • Deacon King Kong by James McBride
  • Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  • Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall
  • The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
  • Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
  • Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Adult nonfiction

  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
  • Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay
  • The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones
  • Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
  • Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby*
  • The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
  • All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
  • Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson*
  • You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin*
  • Counting Descent by Clint Smith
  • The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Here For It by R. Eric Thomas*
  • Koshersoul: the faith and food journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty

*especially good on audio because the authors read their work!

Picture books for families to share

  • My Heart Flies Open by Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis
  • Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe by Kate Messner
  • My N.C. From A to Z by Michelle Lanier
  • Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep by JaNay Brown-Wood
  • Curls by Ruth Forman
  • Fly by Brittany J. Thurman
  • Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
  • Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens
  • Bright Brown Baby, A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson

Chapter books for older kids

  • Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. BaptistBlended by Sharon Draper
  • Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • Tristan Strong Trilogy (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Tristan Strong Destroys the World, and Tristan Strong Keeps Punching) by Kwame Mbalia
  • From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
  • Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia
  • Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
  • Operation Sisterhood by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
  • The Door of No Return by Alexander Kwame

Books for teens

  • Quincredible by Rodney Barnes
  • The Legendborn Cycle (Legendborn and Bloodmarked) by Tracy Deonn
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
  • Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
  • Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
  • Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
  • Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
  • Okoye to the People by Ibi Zoboi
Business Morning Update
Feb 8 @ 7:45 am – 9:00 am
Program Elk's Lodge
This monthly event, co-sponsored with Blue Ridge Community College’s Small Business Center, the City of Hendersonville Main Street program, and the Hendersonville Merchants & Business Association features several speakers on timely community events and issues affecting our business community.
Stay tuned for February’s Speakers.
2023 Business Morning Updates are Presented by Southern Quality Company, and our February Sponsor is Hulsey Media.
PPP Loan Forgiveness: Nearly $16M in Loan Forgiveness Still Available for Buncombe Businesses
Feb 8 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
online

More than 400 local businesses could benefit from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. According to reports from the Federal Government’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Buncombe County businesses may be eligible for $15.8 million and your small business could receive full or partial loan forgiveness. “Small businesses were under huge stress from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to face challenges with supply chain issues and inflation. PPP loan forgiveness represents an opportunity for small businesses to gain additional relief, keep their doors open and continue to provide high quality jobs in our community,” explains Intergovernmental Director Timothy Love.

Wondering if your business is eligible? It’s definitely worth taking a moment to find out. “The process and requirements are quick. In many cases, detailed documentation may not be required during the application process. Typical documents include bank statements, tax forms, and business costs,” says Love. “PPP loan forgiveness may not require any additional work with your lender and you can apply for direct forgiveness through the SBA portal.”

To apply or learn more, please see the below links (Please note: This program is administered by the federal government)

  • Apply here (Borrowers may submit a loan forgiveness application any time before the maturity date of the loan, which is either two or five years from loan origination.)
  • FAQs
The Rumpus presents: Morgan Thomas + Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn
Feb 8 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Story Palor

Morgan Thomas is a writer from the Gulf Coast. Their debut story collection, MANYWHERE, was published by MCD-FSG. Their work has appeared in The Atlantic, American Short Fiction, The Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. They were the recipient of Lambda Literary’s Judith Markowitz Award for Exceptional New LGBTQ+ Writers and have also received support from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Southern Studies Fellowship, and the Fulbright Foundation.

Alysia Li Ying Sawcyhn is the author of the essay collection A Fish Growing Lungs, and she is the editor-in-chief of The Rumpus. Her nonfiction has appeared in the St. Petersburg Review, Gulf Coast, Brevity, Prairie Schooner, Southeast Review, and elsewhere. She has taught creative writing at Catapult, the University or Maryland, and currently teaches at Warren Wilson.

Founded in 2009 in San Francisco, CA and now based in Asheville, NC with readers and editors all over the US and abroad, The Rumpus is one of the longest-running independent online literary and culture magazines. Our mostly volunteer-run magazine strives to be a platform for risk-taking voices and writing that might not find a home elsewhere. We lift up new voices alongside those of more established writers readers already know and love. Often, we are an emerging writer’s first notable publication, which is something we’re really proud of. We believe that literature builds community, and we’re excited to bring readers and writers together.

Note: Story Parlor will have its bar open and drinks will be available for purchase, along with Rumpus merch and the authors’ books.

Thursday, February 9, 2023
Celebrate Black Legacy Month
Feb 9 all-day
Buncombe County Libraires

Join us throughout February as we celebrate Black Legacy Month with programs and events for all ages! In addition to the programs listed below, we will have special story times and exhibits at most of our libraries.

  • Bright Star Touring Theatre: African Folktales – February 1 at 4pm at the Weaverville Library (for children ages 3 and up)
  • Book Club: Jazz by Toni Morrison – Thursday, February 2 a 3pm at the Weaverville Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Tuesday, February 7 at 6pm
  • Book Club: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict Tuesday, February 14 at 1pm at the Leicester Library
  • Book Club: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland – February 16 at 2:30pm at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – February 21 at 7pm at the Fairview Library
  • Black Experience Book Club: The Furrows by Namwali Serpell – February 23 at 6:30pm at the Noir Collective, co-sponsored by the East Asheville library

Drop by your local library and check us out. Email or call if you have any questions.

Our librarians have also put together a Black Legacy Month reading list for all ages.

Black Legacy Month Reading List 2023

Books for Adults

Adult Fiction

  • Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
  • On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library edited by Glory Edim
  • What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harries
  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
  • The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fannone Jeffers
  • How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemison
  • Deacon King Kong by James McBride
  • Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  • Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall
  • The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
  • Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
  • Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Adult nonfiction

  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
  • Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay
  • The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones
  • Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
  • Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby*
  • The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
  • All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
  • Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson*
  • You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin*
  • Counting Descent by Clint Smith
  • The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Here For It by R. Eric Thomas*
  • Koshersoul: the faith and food journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty

*especially good on audio because the authors read their work!

Picture books for families to share

  • My Heart Flies Open by Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis
  • Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe by Kate Messner
  • My N.C. From A to Z by Michelle Lanier
  • Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep by JaNay Brown-Wood
  • Curls by Ruth Forman
  • Fly by Brittany J. Thurman
  • Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
  • Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens
  • Bright Brown Baby, A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson

Chapter books for older kids

  • Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. BaptistBlended by Sharon Draper
  • Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • Tristan Strong Trilogy (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Tristan Strong Destroys the World, and Tristan Strong Keeps Punching) by Kwame Mbalia
  • From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
  • Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia
  • Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
  • Operation Sisterhood by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
  • The Door of No Return by Alexander Kwame

Books for teens

  • Quincredible by Rodney Barnes
  • The Legendborn Cycle (Legendborn and Bloodmarked) by Tracy Deonn
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
  • Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
  • Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
  • Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
  • Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
  • Okoye to the People by Ibi Zoboi
PPP Loan Forgiveness: Nearly $16M in Loan Forgiveness Still Available for Buncombe Businesses
Feb 9 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
online

More than 400 local businesses could benefit from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. According to reports from the Federal Government’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Buncombe County businesses may be eligible for $15.8 million and your small business could receive full or partial loan forgiveness. “Small businesses were under huge stress from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to face challenges with supply chain issues and inflation. PPP loan forgiveness represents an opportunity for small businesses to gain additional relief, keep their doors open and continue to provide high quality jobs in our community,” explains Intergovernmental Director Timothy Love.

Wondering if your business is eligible? It’s definitely worth taking a moment to find out. “The process and requirements are quick. In many cases, detailed documentation may not be required during the application process. Typical documents include bank statements, tax forms, and business costs,” says Love. “PPP loan forgiveness may not require any additional work with your lender and you can apply for direct forgiveness through the SBA portal.”

To apply or learn more, please see the below links (Please note: This program is administered by the federal government)

  • Apply here (Borrowers may submit a loan forgiveness application any time before the maturity date of the loan, which is either two or five years from loan origination.)
  • FAQs
Hybrid | James Ponti presents City Spies: City of the Dead, in conversation with Alan Gratz
Feb 9 @ 6:00 pm
Malaprop's Bookstore and Virtual

This is a hybrid event, meaning there is an option to attend virtually and a limited number of seats are available to attend the event in-store. The event is free but registration is required for both in-person and virtual attendance. 

Please click here to register for the VIRTUAL event. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.

Please click here to register for the IN-PERSON event. Note the important event details on the RSVP form.

This event includes a book signing. If you would like a signed book but can’t attend in person, order below by February 8 and use the order comments field to request a signed copy and tell us to whom the book should be personalized.

If you decide to attend and to purchase books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do this you make it possible for us to continue hosting author events and you keep more dollars in our community. You may also support our work by purchasing a gift card or making a donation of any amount below. Thank you!


In this fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the young group of spies go codebreaking in Cairo in another international adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls. Codename Kathmandu, better known as Kat, loves logic and order, has a favorite eight-digit number, and can spot a pattern from a mile away. So when a series of cyberattacks hits key locations in London while the spies are testing security for the British Museum, it’s clear that Kat’s skill for finding reason in what seems like randomness makes her the perfect candidate to lead the job. And while the team follows the deciphered messages to Egypt and the ancient City of the Dead to discover who is behind the attacks and why, Kat soon realizes that there’s another layer to the mystery. With more players, more clues, and involving higher levels of British Intelligence than ever before, this mission is one of the most complex that the group has faced to date. And it’s also going to bring about a change to the City Spies…

James Ponti is the New York Times bestselling author of three middle grade book series: the all-new City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series, about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award lists and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle Grade. James is also an Emmy–nominated television writer and producer who has worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History, and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida. Find out more at JamesPonti.com.

Alan Gratz is the New York Times bestselling author of seventeen novels for young readers, including Ground ZeroRefugee, Allies,Grenade, Prisoner B-3087, Projekt 1065, and Ban This Book. A Knoxville, Tennessee native, Alan is now a full-time writer living in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife and daughter.

Short Story Discussion via Zoom “E A Recollection” with Dan and Ana Clare
Feb 9 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
online

 

Thomas Wolfe Short Story Discussions are a partnership between the Wilma Dykeman Legacy and the Thomas Wolfe Memorial State Historic Site. Our text is The Complete Short Stories of Thomas Wolfe, edited by Francis E. Skipp with a Foreword by James Dickey (New York: Scribner’s, 1987).

Friday, February 10, 2023
Celebrate Black Legacy Month
Feb 10 all-day
Buncombe County Libraires

Join us throughout February as we celebrate Black Legacy Month with programs and events for all ages! In addition to the programs listed below, we will have special story times and exhibits at most of our libraries.

  • Bright Star Touring Theatre: African Folktales – February 1 at 4pm at the Weaverville Library (for children ages 3 and up)
  • Book Club: Jazz by Toni Morrison – Thursday, February 2 a 3pm at the Weaverville Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Tuesday, February 7 at 6pm
  • Book Club: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict Tuesday, February 14 at 1pm at the Leicester Library
  • Book Club: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland – February 16 at 2:30pm at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – February 21 at 7pm at the Fairview Library
  • Black Experience Book Club: The Furrows by Namwali Serpell – February 23 at 6:30pm at the Noir Collective, co-sponsored by the East Asheville library

Drop by your local library and check us out. Email or call if you have any questions.

Our librarians have also put together a Black Legacy Month reading list for all ages.

Black Legacy Month Reading List 2023

Books for Adults

Adult Fiction

  • Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
  • On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library edited by Glory Edim
  • What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harries
  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
  • The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fannone Jeffers
  • How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemison
  • Deacon King Kong by James McBride
  • Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  • Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall
  • The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
  • Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
  • Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Adult nonfiction

  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
  • Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay
  • The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones
  • Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
  • Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby*
  • The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
  • All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
  • Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson*
  • You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin*
  • Counting Descent by Clint Smith
  • The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Here For It by R. Eric Thomas*
  • Koshersoul: the faith and food journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty

*especially good on audio because the authors read their work!

Picture books for families to share

  • My Heart Flies Open by Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis
  • Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe by Kate Messner
  • My N.C. From A to Z by Michelle Lanier
  • Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep by JaNay Brown-Wood
  • Curls by Ruth Forman
  • Fly by Brittany J. Thurman
  • Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
  • Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens
  • Bright Brown Baby, A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson

Chapter books for older kids

  • Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. BaptistBlended by Sharon Draper
  • Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • Tristan Strong Trilogy (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Tristan Strong Destroys the World, and Tristan Strong Keeps Punching) by Kwame Mbalia
  • From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
  • Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia
  • Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
  • Operation Sisterhood by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
  • The Door of No Return by Alexander Kwame

Books for teens

  • Quincredible by Rodney Barnes
  • The Legendborn Cycle (Legendborn and Bloodmarked) by Tracy Deonn
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
  • Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
  • Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
  • Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
  • Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
  • Okoye to the People by Ibi Zoboi
AM Power Hour 
Feb 10 @ 8:00 am – 9:00 am
Sam's Club Hendersonville
Enjoy a more productive day by meeting prospective customers at the start of your day. You may find a strong referral source, a new vendor, the perfect client, or simply get a foot in the door for connecting again later at another Chamber event. AM Power Hour is great if you are an early-bird or can’t make our after-hours networking events.
Thank you to We Sell WNC, for being a Presenting Sponsor of the 2023 AM Power Hours. February’s AM Power hour is Hosted by Sam’s Club.
PPP Loan Forgiveness: Nearly $16M in Loan Forgiveness Still Available for Buncombe Businesses
Feb 10 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
online

More than 400 local businesses could benefit from Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness. According to reports from the Federal Government’s Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, Buncombe County businesses may be eligible for $15.8 million and your small business could receive full or partial loan forgiveness. “Small businesses were under huge stress from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to face challenges with supply chain issues and inflation. PPP loan forgiveness represents an opportunity for small businesses to gain additional relief, keep their doors open and continue to provide high quality jobs in our community,” explains Intergovernmental Director Timothy Love.

Wondering if your business is eligible? It’s definitely worth taking a moment to find out. “The process and requirements are quick. In many cases, detailed documentation may not be required during the application process. Typical documents include bank statements, tax forms, and business costs,” says Love. “PPP loan forgiveness may not require any additional work with your lender and you can apply for direct forgiveness through the SBA portal.”

To apply or learn more, please see the below links (Please note: This program is administered by the federal government)

  • Apply here (Borrowers may submit a loan forgiveness application any time before the maturity date of the loan, which is either two or five years from loan origination.)
  • FAQs
Kick Off Business Success with a Plan Seminar
Feb 10 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Henderson County Chamber of Commerce
The author of the Success Planning Template will assist you in creating your success plan. This new “custom” business success planning template, based on industry best practices, makes it easier and faster to create a success plan for 2023.
Have a question about using the Success Planning Template or want to learn more about it, the seminar helps local businesses face new challenges and have focuses in 2023 ranging from business: start-up, growth, and sustainability, scaling-up, turnaround, succession, or selling a business.
With a completed success plan, you have the option to enter the 2023 Business Success Challenge Contest. The contest began in January and runs through March. All participants will be judged throughout April and the winner will be announced in May.
The winner receives; chamber membership, billboard ad, business resources gift cards, and access to business experts to help with access to capital, accounting, branding, content creation, graphic design, marketing, photography, social media, video, and website expertise to answer questions for greater clarity and direction in 2023.
Author and Artist Sophie Labelle – the Trans Agenda book tour
Feb 10 @ 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
East Asheville Public Library

Just what is the trans agenda, anyway? French-Canadian YA author Sophie Labelle is visiting Asheville as part of her Trans Agenda tour to explain it! Her book The Trans Agenda offers rebuttals of popular anti-trans talking points and a positive vision of a world where everyone is free to be themselves.

Free. Malaprop’s Bookstore will be on site for those who would like to purchase copies of Sophie’s books.

To learn more about the author’s work, visit her web site, serioustransvibes.com

Saturday, February 11, 2023
Celebrate Black Legacy Month
Feb 11 all-day
Buncombe County Libraires

Join us throughout February as we celebrate Black Legacy Month with programs and events for all ages! In addition to the programs listed below, we will have special story times and exhibits at most of our libraries.

  • Bright Star Touring Theatre: African Folktales – February 1 at 4pm at the Weaverville Library (for children ages 3 and up)
  • Book Club: Jazz by Toni Morrison – Thursday, February 2 a 3pm at the Weaverville Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Tuesday, February 7 at 6pm
  • Book Club: The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict Tuesday, February 14 at 1pm at the Leicester Library
  • Book Club: Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina by Misty Copeland – February 16 at 2:30pm at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library
  • Book Club: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – February 21 at 7pm at the Fairview Library
  • Black Experience Book Club: The Furrows by Namwali Serpell – February 23 at 6:30pm at the Noir Collective, co-sponsored by the East Asheville library

Drop by your local library and check us out. Email or call if you have any questions.

Our librarians have also put together a Black Legacy Month reading list for all ages.

Black Legacy Month Reading List 2023

Books for Adults

Adult Fiction

  • Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
  • On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library edited by Glory Edim
  • What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harries
  • Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
  • The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois by Honoree Fannone Jeffers
  • How Long ‘Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemison
  • Deacon King Kong by James McBride
  • Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
  • Black Bottom Saints by Alice Randall
  • The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb
  • Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
  • Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
  • Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

Adult nonfiction

  • Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
  • Carefree Black Girls: A Celebration of Black women in Popular Culture by Zeba Blay
  • The 1619 Project edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones
  • Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey
  • Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby*
  • The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee
  • All That She Carried by Tiya Miles
  • Please Don’t Sit On My Bed In Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson*
  • You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin*
  • Counting Descent by Clint Smith
  • The Body Is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor
  • Here For It by R. Eric Thomas*
  • Koshersoul: the faith and food journey of an African American Jew by Michael W. Twitty

*especially good on audio because the authors read their work!

Picture books for families to share

  • My Heart Flies Open by Omileye Achikeobi-Lewis
  • Only the Best: The Exceptional Life and Fashion of Ann Lowe by Kate Messner
  • My N.C. From A to Z by Michelle Lanier
  • Shhh! The Baby’s Asleep by JaNay Brown-Wood
  • Curls by Ruth Forman
  • Fly by Brittany J. Thurman
  • Opal Lee and What it Means to be Free: The True Story of the Grandmother of Juneteenth by Alice Faye Duncan
  • Build a House by Rhiannon Giddens
  • Bright Brown Baby, A Treasury by Andrea Davis Pinkney
  • Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson

Chapter books for older kids

  • Isaiah Dunn is My Hero by Kelly J. BaptistBlended by Sharon Draper
  • Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
  • Tristan Strong Trilogy (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, Tristan Strong Destroys the World, and Tristan Strong Keeps Punching) by Kwame Mbalia
  • From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Janae Marks
  • Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia
  • Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson
  • Operation Sisterhood by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
  • The Door of No Return by Alexander Kwame

Books for teens

  • Quincredible by Rodney Barnes
  • The Legendborn Cycle (Legendborn and Bloodmarked) by Tracy Deonn
  • All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
  • You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
  • Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson
  • Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon
  • Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
  • Bitter by Akwaeke Emezi
  • On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
  • Okoye to the People by Ibi Zoboi