Calendar of Events
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.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library impacts the pre-literacy skills and school readiness of children under the age of 5 in Buncombe County. The program mails a new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children each month until they turn five years old. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age. If you have any questions about the program, please send an email to [email protected].
A national panel of educators selects the Imagination Library titles, which include: The Little Engine that Could, Last Stop on Market Street, Violet the Pilot, As an Oak Tree Grows, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Look Out Kindergarten, here I come, and many more (take a look at all the titles).
Register your child now!
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The second speaker in our 2022 Grandfather Presents series is Ginger Zee. Ginger is the chief meteorologist and managing editor of the climate unit at ABC News. You can see her covering the nation’s weather headlines on Good Morning America and across all ABC News broadcasts and digital platforms. She also hosts an ABC News original digital series, Food Forecast, focused on climate and its impact on agriculture. Ginger has covered almost every major weather event and dozens of historic storms during the past 15 years—from Hurricane Katrina to Hurricane Sandy and Michael; from the Australian wildfires to the climate’s impact on Victoria Falls, Africa; and the aftermath of tornadoes all over the United States, most notably those in Moore and El Reno, Oklahoma. She has covered blizzards in Boston and record-breaking heat in Death Valley. She not only shares her passion for meteorology, but more importantly, she presents the compassion and human side of these storms.
Having storm-chased since college, Ginger has a genuine love for the atmosphere and a dedication to getting young people interested in science. She has written a STEM trilogy called Chasing Helicity for middle grades, which follows a storm chasing a young woman named Helicity across the U.S. while learning about science and life.
Ginger is the author of Natural Disaster: I Cover Them. I Am One and A Little Closer to Home: How I Found the Calm After the Storm, which debuted in January 2022. Both books focus on Ginger’s own depression and journey of discovery around mental health issues.
Ginger, who is an Emmy and Murrow Award-winning meteorologist, attended Valparaiso University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology. She served as an adjunct professor at her alma mater from 2008 to 2011. Ginger also holds the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist seal from the American Meteorological Society. In March 2020, Ginger was inducted into the Weather Hall of Fame in Oklahoma. She lives with her husband and two sons in New York.
Ginger agreed to be the face and voice of Grandfather’s new Weather and Climate exhibit in the Wilson Center. Guests can see her narrating a video on the differences between weather and climate and how they affect the mountain in the Paul & Susie O’Connell Exhibit Hall.
More About Grandfather Presents
Our 2022 speaker series at the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery includes three big Thursday night events with internationally and nationally known presenters. Presented by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, the series also includes three Saturday afternoon presentations focused on nature, adventure or conservation-related topics on a local or regional scale. Read more.
Schedule
5 – 6 p.m.: Entrance Gate opens for event. Proceed about one mile to Wilson Center for Nature Discovery.
5:15 – 5:45 p.m.: VIP event in the sunroom (holders of Pro Series Pass) to meet Ginger Zee.
5:30 – 6 p.m.: Reception for all ticket holders inside Wilson Center for Nature Discovery
6 – 7 p.m.: Presentation in Classroom in the Clouds event space
7 – 8 p.m.: Book Signing & Exhibits Open
Tickets
$50 per person (purchase below starting June 24)
Grandfather Presents Series Pass available for Bridge Club Members. Read more.
Refunds/Cancelations
The majority of Grandfather Mountain events generally sell out and have a waiting list. If you cannot attend the event that you registered for please let us know. Full refunds will be given to individuals who reach out to us at least five days before the event. This allows time for individuals on the waiting list to make accommodations to attend the event. To cancel your registration please call 828-733-2013 Monday-Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

We are shamelessly drumming up attention for our exciting new program at Lake Julian Park. Starting Thursday, March 31, Buncombe County Recreation Services is hosting a drum circle on the last Thursday of every month from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The only thing you need to bring is yourself and a drum, and then just let the rhythm and beautiful scenery do the work as you enjoy the beat and comradery of fellow percussionists.
All experience levels are welcome, and registration is not required. If you have any questions, please contact Park Ranger Zach Hickok at (828) 684-0376.
: Every Last Thursday until -Sept. 29 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Park shelter number 2, Lake Julian Park, 26 Lake Julian R

Join us for a virtual evening with Mary McMyne! McMyne will sign copies of The Book of Gothel purchased at Malaprop’s. Please order below and indicate that you want a signed copy in the “comments” section during checkout.
This is a free event, but registration is required. Click here to register. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.
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!
Everyone knows the tale of Rapunzel in her tower, but do you know the story of the witch who put her there? Haelewise has always lived under the shadow of her mother, Hedda–a woman who will do anything to keep her daughter protected. For with her strange black eyes and even stranger fainting spells, Haelewise is shunned by her village, and her only solace lies in the stories her mother tells of child-stealing witches, of princes in wolf-skins, of an ancient tower cloaked in mist, where women will find shelter if they are brave enough to seek it. Then, Hedda dies, and Haelewise is left unmoored. With nothing left for her in her village, she sets out to find the legendary tower her mother used to speak of–a place called Gothel, where Haelewise meets a wise woman willing to take her under her wing. But Haelewise is not the only woman to seek refuge at Gothel. It’s also a haven for a girl named Rika, who carries with her a secret the Church strives to keep hidden. A secret that reveals a dark world of ancient spells and murderous nobles behind the world Haelewise has always known… Told from her own perspective, The Book of Gothel is a lush, historical retelling filled with dark magic, crumbling towers, mysterious woods, and evil princes. This is the truth they never wanted you to know, as only a witch might tell it.
Mary McMyne has widely published stories and poems in venues like Redivider, Gulf Coast, Strange Horizons, and Apex Magazine, and her debut fairytale poetry chapbook, Wolf Skin (Dancing Girl Press, 2014), won the Elgin Chapbook Award. She is a graduate of the New York University MFA Program.

Author Anna North will join the East Asheville Library’s book club via Zoom for a discussion of her book Outlawed. Join us in person or click “sign up” on this event to receive the Zoom link for this hybrid event!
Programming disclaimer: The contents of this presentation are for informational purposes only. Nothing herein constitutes medical, legal, or financial advice nor is it a substitute for professional advice on any issue. You should not rely on the information received in this presentation for any important decisions, including medical, legal, or financial decisions. Always consult with an appropriate professional for specific advice related to your situation. The views and opinions expressed in this presentation do not necessarily reflect those of Buncombe County or its Public Library System.

Join host and Malaprop’s Bookseller Patricia Furnish to discuss a range of books across true crime and public affairs. The club meets the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. Click here to learn more about the club, view important news, and find the pick for this month.
Come experience the national parks! On five days in 2022, all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone. Mark your calendar for these entrance fee–free dates in 2022. Please check operating status at this park and others before traveling as there may be changes due to Covid-19.

NPS Photo
This landmark conservation legislation established the National Parks and Public Lands Legacy Restoration Fund, which uses revenue from energy development to provide up to $1.9 billion a year for five years to provide needed maintenance for critical facilities and infrastructure in our national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, recreation areas, and American Indian schools. The National Park Service, which has one of the largest asset portfolios of all federal agencies, receives 70 percent of the Legacy Restoration Fund each year.
GAOA also designated royalties from offshore oil and natural gas to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund to the tune of $900 million a year to invest in conservation and recreation opportunities across the nation.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund receives up to $900 million a year from offshore oil and natural gas royalties. This funding assists national parks in the acquisition of essential lands and provides states with money to invest in local conservation and recreation opportunities.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library impacts the pre-literacy skills and school readiness of children under the age of 5 in Buncombe County. The program mails a new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children each month until they turn five years old. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age. If you have any questions about the program, please send an email to [email protected].
A national panel of educators selects the Imagination Library titles, which include: The Little Engine that Could, Last Stop on Market Street, Violet the Pilot, As an Oak Tree Grows, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Look Out Kindergarten, here I come, and many more (take a look at all the titles).
Register your child now!
Western Carolina Rescue Ministries and iDaph Events present the 4th Annual Light Up the Night 5k! This event is a fundraising, nighttime walk/run event that welcomes all people regardless of ability, race, color, ethnicity, gender, or faith. All the proceeds from this event will directly benefit the continuous work of recovery, rescue, and restoration to individuals throughout WNC.
The first 200 people to register will also receive a FREE glow-in-the-dark commemorative finisher medal!
Each 5k registration will include a FREE t-shirt until July 10th at midnight. After that date, shirts will be available for purchase, in limited quantities and sizes, for $10. Glow sticks, necklaces and bracelets will be available for our in-person participants!
The event will take place at Carrier Park in Asheville, NC on Friday, August 5th. This is your time to shine! Runners will have a rolling start between 7:30 PM to 7:45 PM and take to the greenway to run or walk this fun and unique event.
In addition to the in-person event, there is also a virtual offering for participants who aren’t comfortable coming to an in-person event. The Virtual 5k event experience gives participants an opportunity to participate in this fundraising event ANYWHERE! Walk/Run/Hike 5k and submit your results online!
Western Carolina Rescue Ministries (WCRM) exists to serve the homeless, poor and addicted populations of Western North Carolina. They meet people in crisis, focus on helping them at the point of their need, invest in their future, and help them until they can move forward.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library impacts the pre-literacy skills and school readiness of children under the age of 5 in Buncombe County. The program mails a new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children each month until they turn five years old. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age. If you have any questions about the program, please send an email to [email protected].
A national panel of educators selects the Imagination Library titles, which include: The Little Engine that Could, Last Stop on Market Street, Violet the Pilot, As an Oak Tree Grows, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Look Out Kindergarten, here I come, and many more (take a look at all the titles).
Register your child now!

Influenced by the work of Booker T. Washington, in the 1900s, the Julius Rosenwald Fund helped create schools across the American South for African American students. Between 1929-1930, this funding helped construct one such school in Mars Hill, in Madison County, where dozens of Black students attended classes in a two-room building until integration in 1964. In 2009, a group of community and alumni members came together in hopes of restoring this historic schoolhouse, and have worked tirelessly to open it to the public once again. Today, it is the only Rosenwald school building still standing in WNC. Join us as we tour the school and learn more about those who attended and saved this building. Our hosts will include the chair of the planning committee, as well as various school alumni. We will also visit the nearby marker for Joseph Anderson, an enslaved man (and namesake of the Rosenwald school) who was used by a trustee of Mars Hill College as collateral on a loan for the college in 1859. Learn more here.
Meet: 11AM @ Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School, Long Ridge Rd, Mars Hill, NC 28754.
Second Stop: 12:30PM @ Mars Hill University (Joseph Anderson grave) – 3 miles away
Note: Afterwards, guests may wish to eat lunch in Mars Hill. There are several restaurants near the university, but guests are encouraged to check their hours/status in advance.
Tickets: This is a free event, though donations are accepted. Donations are shared with the Anderson Rosenwald School. Registration is required.
Rain Date: In the event of inclement weather, we will reschedule to Saturday, August 13. Participants will be notified no later than 8PM the evening before the event.
LINK for Aug. 20 tour: https://www.wnchistory.org/event/wncha-hidden-history-hikes-and-tours-mars-hill-anderson-rosenwald-school-second-tour/

oin the Western North Carolina Historical Association (WNCHA) Saturday, August 6 at 11AM. This event is free and open to the public.
Influenced by the work of Booker T. Washington, in the 1900s, the Julius Rosenwald Fund helped create schools across the American South for African American students. Between 1929-1930, this funding helped construct one such school in Mars Hill, in Madison County, where dozens of Black students attended classes in a two-room building until integration in 1964. In 2009, a group of community and alumni members came together in hopes of restoring this historic schoolhouse, and have worked tirelessly to open it to the public once again. Today, it is the only Rosenwald school building still standing in WNC. Join us as we tour the school and learn more about those who attended and saved this building. Our hosts will include the chair of the planning committee, as well as various school alumni. We will also visit the nearby marker for Joseph Anderson, an enslaved man (and namesake of the Rosenwald school) who was used by a trustee of Mars Hill College as collateral on a loan for the college in 1859. Learn more here.
Meet: 11AM @ Mars Hill Anderson Rosenwald School, Long Ridge Rd, Mars Hill, NC 28754.
Second Stop: 12:30PM @ Mars Hill University (Joseph Anderson grave) – 3 miles away
Note: Afterwards, guests may wish to eat lunch in Mars Hill. There are several restaurants near the university, but guests are encouraged to check their hours/status in advance.
Tickets: This is a free event, though donations are accepted. Donations are shared with the Anderson Rosenwald School. Registration is required.
Rain Date: In the event of inclement weather, we will reschedule to Saturday, August 13. Participants will be notified no later than 8PM the evening before the event.
Covid Safety: While inside the school building, and when congregating outside, we will require masks to be worn. We ask that anyone experiencing symptoms refrain from attending.

Join us for a virtual evening with Mohsin Hamid presenting The Last White Man: A Novel on Saturday, August 6, 2022 at 7 PM ET.
This event is hosted by Books & Books/Miami Book Fair + indie bookstore partners.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
There are TWO ticket options for this event. One is the price of the book and includes the book. The other is free.
1. Click to purchase EVENT & BOOK for $26.00 (plus applicable tax and shipping):
♦ includes a hardcover copy of The Last White Man
♦ includes the link to access the live event on Zoom
2. Click to register for EVENT ONLY:
♦ includes a link to access the live event on Zoom
Please make sure you submit the correct email address with your ticket purchase or registration and that your email filters will allow messages from addresses @malaprops.com. The link required to attend will be emailed to you prior to the event.
NOTE: Books bundled with event tickets may be shipped ONLY to United States addresses. Books will not be shipped before publication date, August 2, 2022. Postal delivery times vary.
The Last White Man: A Novel
From the New York Times-bestselling author of Exit West, a story of love, loss, and rediscovery in a time of unsettling change.
One morning, a man wakes up to find himself transformed. Overnight, Anders’s skin has turned dark, and the reflection in the mirror seems a stranger to him. At first he shares his secret only with Oona, an old friend turned new lover. Soon, reports of similar events begin to surface. Across the land, people are awakening in new incarnations, uncertain how their neighbors, friends, and family will greet them. Some see the transformations as the long-dreaded overturning of the established order that must be resisted to a bitter end. In many, like Anders’s father and Oona’s mother, a sense of profound loss and unease wars with profound love. As the bond between Anders and Oona deepens, change takes on a different shading: a chance at a kind of rebirth–an opportunity to see ourselves, face to face, anew.
Mohsin Hamid is the author of five novels, including the Booker Prize finalists and New York Times bestsellers Exit West and The Reluctant Fundamentalist. His essays, some collected as Discontent and Its Civilizations, have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and elsewhere.

Join us for a virtual evening with Mohsin Hamid discussing The Last White Man: A Novel with Danzy Senna, on Saturday, August 6, 2022 at 7 PM ET.
This event is hosted by Books & Books/Miami Book Fair + indie bookstore partners.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
There are TWO ticket options for this event. One is the price of the book and includes the book. The other is FREE.
1. Click to purchase EVENT & BOOK for $26.00 (plus applicable tax and shipping). Ticket includes:
♦ a hardcover copy of The Last White Man
♦ a bookplate signed by Mohsin Hamid
♦ the link to access the live event on Zoom
2. Click to register for EVENT ONLY for FREE:
♦ includes a link to access the live event on Zoom
Please make sure you submit the correct email address with your ticket purchase or registration and that your email filters will allow messages from addresses @malaprops.com. The link required to attend will be emailed to you prior to the event.
NOTE: Books bundled with event tickets may be shipped ONLY to United States addresses. Books will be available after we recieve the signed bookplates and will not be shipped before publication date, August 2, 2022. Postal delivery times vary.
The Last White Man: A Novel
From the New York Times-bestselling author of Exit West, a story of love, loss, and rediscovery in a time of unsettling change.
One morning, a man wakes up to find himself transformed. Overnight, Anders’s skin has turned dark, and the reflection in the mirror seems a stranger to him. At first he shares his secret only with Oona, an old friend turned new lover. Soon, reports of similar events begin to surface. Across the land, people are awakening in new incarnations, uncertain how their neighbors, friends, and family will greet them. Some see the transformations as the long-dreaded overturning of the established order that must be resisted to a bitter end. In many, like Anders’s father and Oona’s mother, a sense of profound loss and unease wars with profound love. As the bond between Anders and Oona deepens, change takes on a different shading: a chance at a kind of rebirth–an opportunity to see ourselves, face to face, anew.
Mohsin Hamid is the author of five novels, including the Booker Prize finalists and New York Times bestsellers Exit West and The Reluctant Fundamentalist. His essays, some collected as Discontent and Its Civilizations, have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and elsewhere.
Danzy Senna’s first novel, the bestselling Caucasia, won the Stephen Crane Award for Best New Fiction and the American Library Association’s Alex Award, was a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and has been translated into nearly a dozen languages. A recipient of the Whiting Writers Award, Senna is also the author of the memoir Where Did You Sleep Last Night?, the story collection You Are Free, and the novels Symptomatic and New People. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the novelist Percival Everett, and their sons.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library impacts the pre-literacy skills and school readiness of children under the age of 5 in Buncombe County. The program mails a new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children each month until they turn five years old. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age. If you have any questions about the program, please send an email to [email protected].
A national panel of educators selects the Imagination Library titles, which include: The Little Engine that Could, Last Stop on Market Street, Violet the Pilot, As an Oak Tree Grows, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Look Out Kindergarten, here I come, and many more (take a look at all the titles).
Register your child now!

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library impacts the pre-literacy skills and school readiness of children under the age of 5 in Buncombe County. The program mails a new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children each month until they turn five years old. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age. If you have any questions about the program, please send an email to [email protected].
A national panel of educators selects the Imagination Library titles, which include: The Little Engine that Could, Last Stop on Market Street, Violet the Pilot, As an Oak Tree Grows, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Look Out Kindergarten, here I come, and many more (take a look at all the titles).
Register your child now!

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.
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!
From athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick to musician Fela Kuti, explorer Matthew Henson and writer Chinua Achebe, there are so many inspirational men in Black history. This lyrical, rhythmic texts encourages boys to imagine everything they can be and the great things they can do, drawing on the strength of people throughout history that paved the way for Black boys.
It tells today’s boys: you have the courage, you are the light. It’s a new day! Be inspired and motivated by drawing on the history of the role models that came before you.
Dear boy, Black boy, I believe in you so.
Let’s start your story–ready, set, go.
Contributor Bios
ALI BIKO SULAIMAN KAMANDA is an award-winning filmmaker and social entrepreneur from Sierra Leone, West Africa. He runs BIKO Studios, a cross-cultural film production company and is the President of Salone Rising, a not-for-profit organization that provides micro-financing and mentoring resources to small business owners in rural Sierra Leone.
JORGE REDMOND currently works in the Buncombe County District Attorney’s office as an Assistant District Attorney, and as an adjunct professor in South College’s Legal Department. Ali and Jorge are college friends, and Black Boy, Black Boy is their debut book.
KEN DALEY is an award-winning artist from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. He believes that diverse stories are essential to creating a more just, and equitable world, and is known for his use of bold colors and authentic details to depict Black Life in all its iterations.
Join host Tena Frank for Malaprop’s Mystery Book Club! 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 Malaprop’s on the second Monday of every month at 7:00 pm.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library impacts the pre-literacy skills and school readiness of children under the age of 5 in Buncombe County. The program mails a new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children each month until they turn five years old. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age. If you have any questions about the program, please send an email to [email protected].
A national panel of educators selects the Imagination Library titles, which include: The Little Engine that Could, Last Stop on Market Street, Violet the Pilot, As an Oak Tree Grows, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Look Out Kindergarten, here I come, and many more (take a look at all the titles).
Register your child now!
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This month we’re discussing The Last Castle by Denise Kiernan. The Leicester Library Book Discussion Group meets the second Tuesday of each month at 1 pm in the Community Room at the library. Newcomers welcome! |

Tuesday, August 9, 2022 at 8 PM ET.
Join us for a virtual evening with Colson Whitehead celebrating the paperback release of Harlem Shuffle, in conversation with Adam Serwer.
This event is presented by Books & Books/Miami Book Fair + indie bookstore partners including Malaprop’s.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Tickets are $17.00 each (plus applicable tax and shipping) and include:
♦ A paperback copy of Harlem Shuffle: A Novel (unsigned)
♦ A link to access the live event on Zoom.
Purchase below.
Please make sure you submit the correct email address with your ticket purchase and that your email filters will allow messages from addresses @malaprops.com. The link required to attend will be emailed to you prior to the event.
NOTE: Books bundled with event tickets may be shipped ONLY to United States addresses. Books will not be shipped before publication date, August 9, 2022. Postal delivery times vary.
Please email [email protected] with questions.
We look forward to seeing you online on August 9th!
Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked… To his customers and neighbors on 125th street, Carney is an upstanding salesman of reasonably priced furniture, making a decent life for himself and his family. He and his wife Elizabeth are expecting their second child, and if her parents on Striver’s Row don’t approve of him or their cramped apartment across from the subway tracks, it’s still home. Few people know he descends from a line of uptown hoods and crooks, and that his façade of normalcy has more than a few cracks in it. Cracks that are getting bigger all the time. Cash is tight, especially with all those installment-plan sofas, so if his cousin Freddie occasionally drops off the odd ring or necklace, Ray doesn’t ask where it comes from. He knows a discreet jeweler downtown who doesn’t ask questions, either. Then Freddie falls in with a crew who plan to rob the Hotel Theresa–the Waldorf of Harlem–and volunteers Ray’s services as the fence. The heist doesn’t go as planned; they rarely do. Now Ray has a new clientele, one made up of shady cops, vicious local gangsters, two-bit pornographers, and other assorted Harlem lowlifes.
Thus begins the internal tussle between Ray the striver and Ray the crook. As Ray navigates this double life, he begins to see who actually pulls the strings in Harlem. Can Ray avoid getting killed, save his cousin, and grab his share of the big score, all while maintaining his reputation as the go-to source for all your quality home furniture needs?
Harlem Shuffle’s ingenious story plays out in a beautifully recreated New York City of the early 1960s. It’s a family saga masquerading as a crime novel, a hilarious morality play, a social novel about race and power, and ultimately a love letter to Harlem. But mostly, it’s a joy to read, another dazzling novel from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning Colson Whitehead.
COLSON WHITEHEAD is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ten works of fiction and nonfiction, and is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, which also won the National Book Award. A recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, he lives in New York City.
Adam Serwer is a staff writer for the Ideas section of The Atlantic and the author of the New York Times bestselling essay collection The Cruelty Is The Point. He was previously the national editor at BuzzFeed News, a national reporter for MSNBC, and a reporter for Mother Jones. He is the recipient of the 2019 Hillman Prize for commentary and analysis, the 2015 Sigma Delta Chi Award for online column writing, The 2020 Vernon Jarrett Medal, and the 2019 National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence Award for magazine commentary.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library impacts the pre-literacy skills and school readiness of children under the age of 5 in Buncombe County. The program mails a new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children each month until they turn five years old. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age. If you have any questions about the program, please send an email to [email protected].
A national panel of educators selects the Imagination Library titles, which include: The Little Engine that Could, Last Stop on Market Street, Violet the Pilot, As an Oak Tree Grows, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Look Out Kindergarten, here I come, and many more (take a look at all the titles).
Register your child now!


Hosted by the Asheville Art Museum, this monthly discussion is a place to exchange ideas about readings that relate to artworks and the art world and to learn from and about each other. Meetings will take place in person at the Art Museum on the second Wednesday of the month at noon. Please click here and scroll to the current month and year to see what the club is reading this month.

Join us for a conversation with Jo Ann Thomas Croom and Katey Schultz discussing the ways in which the Toe River Valley informs and inspires their writing. The conversation will be moderated by Jim Stokely.
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. 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.
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!
Step back in time to the early 1900s and enter the sparsely settled Toe River Valley in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, a region still only slowly healing from the deep ravages of the Civil War. Life is centered in small insulated communities made up of subsistence farm families, one of which is the A.H. and Maggie Silver Thomas family. Both the Thomas and Silver families can trace their ancestors in the Valley back for five generations, and both their histories are first recorded by their son, Monroe, a teacher who is home-bound by illness. From his cot in the living room, Monroe watches as the entry of the railroad changes life into a wage-earner economy. He keeps an account of farm and community life in his journals while continuing to further educate himself through avid reading and thinking. His younger brother Walter, also an educator, provides a retrospective view of the time and place through the age-old practice of telling stories to illustrate truth. Together, these two accounts have been pieced together by Walter’s daughter, Jo Ann Thomas Croom, into a mosaic quilt that gives us a fresh in-depth look into a turbulent period of change – change that upended personal lives as well as the socioeconomic culture of the Valley. While this is the story of one particular family, it represents a microcosm of the history of the region.
Jo Ann Thomas Croom was born in Mitchell County, North Carolina, where her parents were life-long educators in the public school system. After graduating from Harris High School in Spruce Pine, Jo Ann attended Mars Hill College for two years. She then earned BS and MS degrees in Chemistry and Microbiology from North Carolina State University. She worked as a chemist for Chemstrand Research in Triangle Park, then moved to Asheville with her husband Richard Croom and began a family. In the Asheville area, Jo Ann taught at Asheville Biltmore College, Warren Wilson College, Saint Genevieve’s Academy, and Homewood School at Highland Hospital. After the family moved to Mars Hill in Madison County, Jo Ann began a forty-year career at Mars Hill University. She earned a PhD in human genetics at the University of Tennessee Biomedical Program. In retirement, Jo Ann has been working with written materials inherited from her father Walter Thomas and her uncle Monroe Thomas.
Katey Schultz is the author of Flashes of War, which the Daily Beast praised as an “ambitious and fearless” collection, and Still Come Home, a novel, both published by Loyola University Maryland. Honors for her work include North Carolina’s Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction, the Linda Flowers Literary Award, Doris Betts Fiction Prize, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year award, gold and silver medals from the Military Writers Society of America, the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year award, five Pushcart nominations, a nomination to Best American Short Stories, National Indies Excellence recognition, and writing fellowships in eight states. She lives in Celo, North Carolina, and is the founder of Maximum Impact, a transformative mentoring service for creative writers that has been recognized by both CNBC and the What Works Network.
Jim Stokely grew up in Newport, Tennessee and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University with exceptional distinction in American Studies. He later received an MBA from Stanford University, and embarked upon a 25-year corporate career in Human Resources for The Hay Group, Brown-Forman Corporation, and Sylvania. In 2011 he and his wife Anne moved back to the southern mountains and now live in Weaverville, North Carolina. As President of the Wilma Dykeman Legacy, Jim produces local lecture series and other events in order to sustain the values of Wilma Dykeman. He is the author of Constant Defender: The Story of Fort Moultrie, co-author of Mountain Home: A Pictorial History of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, co-editor of An Encyclopedia of East Tennessee, and editor of An Appalachian Studies Teacher’s Manual as well as Family of Earth: A Southern Mountain Childhood.

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. 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.
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!
Step back in time to the early 1900s and enter the sparsely settled Toe River Valley in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, a region still only slowly healing from the deep ravages of the Civil War. Life is centered in small insulated communities made up of subsistence farm families, one of which is the A.H. and Maggie Silver Thomas family. Both the Thomas and Silver families can trace their ancestors in the Valley back for five generations, and both their histories are first recorded by their son, Monroe, a teacher who is home-bound by illness. From his cot in the living room, Monroe watches as the entry of the railroad changes life into a wage-earner economy. He keeps an account of farm and community life in his journals while continuing to further educate himself through avid reading and thinking. His younger brother Walter, also an educator, provides a retrospective view of the time and place through the age-old practice of telling stories to illustrate truth. Together, these two accounts have been pieced together by Walter’s daughter, Jo Ann Thomas Croom, into a mosaic quilt that gives us a fresh in-depth look into a turbulent period of change – change that upended personal lives as well as the socioeconomic culture of the Valley. While this is the story of one particular family, it represents a microcosm of the history of the region.
Jo Ann Thomas Croom was born in Mitchell County, North Carolina, where her parents were life-long educators in the public school system. After graduating from Harris High School in Spruce Pine, Jo Ann attended Mars Hill College for two years. She then earned BS and MS degrees in Chemistry and Microbiology from North Carolina State University. She worked as a chemist for Chemstrand Research in Triangle Park, then moved to Asheville with her husband Richard Croom and began a family. In the Asheville area, Jo Ann taught at Asheville Biltmore College, Warren Wilson College, Saint Genevieve’s Academy, and Homewood School at Highland Hospital. After the family moved to Mars Hill in Madison County, Jo Ann began a forty-year career at Mars Hill University. She earned a PhD in human genetics at the University of Tennessee Biomedical Program. In retirement, Jo Ann has been working with written materials inherited from her father Walter Thomas and her uncle Monroe Thomas.
Katey Schultz is the author of Flashes of War, which the Daily Beast praised as an “ambitious and fearless” collection, and Still Come Home, a novel, both published by Loyola University Maryland. Honors for her work include North Carolina’s Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction, the Linda Flowers Literary Award, Doris Betts Fiction Prize, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year award, gold and silver medals from the Military Writers Society of America, the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year award, five Pushcart nominations, a nomination to Best American Short Stories, National Indies Excellence recognition, and writing fellowships in eight states. She lives in Celo, North Carolina, and is the founder of Maximum Impact, a transformative mentoring service for creative writers that has been recognized by both CNBC and the What Works Network.
Jim Stokely grew up in Newport, Tennessee and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale University with exceptional distinction in American Studies. He later received an MBA from Stanford University, and embarked upon a 25-year corporate career in Human Resources for The Hay Group, Brown-Forman Corporation, and Sylvania. In 2011 he and his wife Anne moved back to the southern mountains and now live in Weaverville, North Carolina. As President of the Wilma Dykeman Legacy, Jim produces local lecture series and other events in order to sustain the values of Wilma Dykeman. He is the author of Constant Defender: The Story of Fort Moultrie, co-author of Mountain Home: A Pictorial History of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, co-editor of An Encyclopedia of East Tennessee, and editor of An Appalachian Studies Teacher’s Manual as well as Family of Earth: A Southern Mountain Childhood.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library impacts the pre-literacy skills and school readiness of children under the age of 5 in Buncombe County. The program mails a new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children each month until they turn five years old. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age. If you have any questions about the program, please send an email to [email protected].
A national panel of educators selects the Imagination Library titles, which include: The Little Engine that Could, Last Stop on Market Street, Violet the Pilot, As an Oak Tree Grows, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Llama Llama Red Pajama, Look Out Kindergarten, here I come, and many more (take a look at all the titles).
Register your child now!

We are shamelessly drumming up attention for our exciting new program at Lake Julian Park. Starting Thursday, March 31, Buncombe County Recreation Services is hosting a drum circle on the last Thursday of every month from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The only thing you need to bring is yourself and a drum, and then just let the rhythm and beautiful scenery do the work as you enjoy the beat and comradery of fellow percussionists.
All experience levels are welcome, and registration is not required. If you have any questions, please contact Park Ranger Zach Hickok at (828) 684-0376.
: Every Last Thursday until -Sept. 29 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Park shelter number 2, Lake Julian Park, 26 Lake Julian R

