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.
The Friends of the Weaverville Library (FOWL) are excited to announce the opening of their used bookstore in Weaverville on Thursday, July 8. Located in the lower level of the Weaverville Library at 41 N. Main St., the store will be open Thursdays 1-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with expanded hours beginning in September. The store is stocked with thousands of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and more. All adult books are priced at $1.50-$3.00, children and teen books at $1.00-$1.50, audio and video at $2.00.
There is also a bargain-priced area and a collection of special finds that are priced individually. Please feel free to contact us at 828-641-1812 or [email protected]. All proceeds from the store will benefit the Weaverville Library.
The Friends of the Weaverville Library (FOWL) are excited to announce the opening of their used bookstore in Weaverville on Thursday, July 8. Located in the lower level of the Weaverville Library at 41 N. Main St., the store will be open Thursdays 1-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with expanded hours beginning in September. The store is stocked with thousands of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and more. All adult books are priced at $1.50-$3.00, children and teen books at $1.00-$1.50, audio and video at $2.00.
There is also a bargain-priced area and a collection of special finds that are priced individually. Please feel free to contact us at 828-641-1812 or [email protected]. All proceeds from the store will benefit the Weaverville Library.
Come join us even if you don’t read/finish the novel!
The Friends of the Weaverville Library (FOWL) are excited to announce the opening of their used bookstore in Weaverville on Thursday, July 8. Located in the lower level of the Weaverville Library at 41 N. Main St., the store will be open Thursdays 1-5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays 11 a.m.-2 p.m., with expanded hours beginning in September. The store is stocked with thousands of books, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, and more. All adult books are priced at $1.50-$3.00, children and teen books at $1.00-$1.50, audio and video at $2.00.
There is also a bargain-priced area and a collection of special finds that are priced individually. Please feel free to contact us at 828-641-1812 or [email protected]. All proceeds from the store will benefit the Weaverville Library.
Looking for a good read? Buncombe County Public Libraries have virtual and in-person book clubs every month and all readers are welcome. Book clubs are free and open to everyone, but you do need to register to get the zoom password for an online meeting. Locate any of these book clubs on the library calendar to sign up and join the discussion.
Weaverville Library Evening Book Club – The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m.
Weaverville Library Afternoon Book Club – All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 3 p.m.
Swannanoa Book Club – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Thursday, Jan. 6 at 4 p.m.
East Asheville Book Club – The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
Thursday, Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Leicester Book Club – The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. (in person at the library)
Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. (online)
Pack Library Book Club – Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 10:30 a.m.
Black Experience Book Club – Quicksand by Nella Larsen
Thursday, Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Fairview Evening Book Club – Cousins: Connected Through Slavery, a Black Woman and a White Woman Discover Their Past by Betty Kilby
Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.
New year, new adventures! Buncombe County Public Libraries’ 2022 Winter Reading Challenge encourages young readers to explore diversity, empathy, and action through reading.
This year, we are exploring what animals do during the winter months with two distinct challenges for children and teens. Children will complete fun activities while learning fascinating facts about local Western North Carolina animals. Teens will navigate winter reading quests and take home a collectible postcard. Both challenges will encourage youth to enjoy the winter season together in a screen-free, socially distanced way. These free activity sheets are designed with kids and teens in mind, but everyone is invited to participate.
Beginning Jan. 4, pick up a Winter Reading Activity Sheet from any Buncombe County Public Library. Warm up your winter with our reading challenge, and we’ll see you at the library.
Chat with other book lovers about this month’s book selection.
Interested in reading ahead? Here’s what we have coming up in the next few months!
– November- “Once Upon A River” Diane Setterfield
– December- “Dutch House” Ann Patchett
– January- “Mexican Gothic” Silvia Moreno-Garcia
– February- “The Rose Code” Kate Quinn
To reserve your copy of the book, visit buncombe.nccardinal.org or swing by the library to pick one up from the book clubs holds shelf.
To join the book club email [email protected] or call us at 250-4758.
New year, new adventures! Buncombe County Public Libraries’ 2022 Winter Reading Challenge encourages young readers to explore diversity, empathy, and action through reading.
This year, we are exploring what animals do during the winter months with two distinct challenges for children and teens. Children will complete fun activities while learning fascinating facts about local Western North Carolina animals. Teens will navigate winter reading quests and take home a collectible postcard. Both challenges will encourage youth to enjoy the winter season together in a screen-free, socially distanced way. These free activity sheets are designed with kids and teens in mind, but everyone is invited to participate.
Beginning Jan. 4, pick up a Winter Reading Activity Sheet from any Buncombe County Public Library. Warm up your winter with our reading challenge, and we’ll see you at the library.
Looking for a good read? Buncombe County Public Libraries have virtual and in-person book clubs every month and all readers are welcome. Book clubs are free and open to everyone, but you do need to register to get the zoom password for an online meeting. Locate any of these book clubs on the library calendar to sign up and join the discussion.
Weaverville Library Evening Book Club – The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m.
Weaverville Library Afternoon Book Club – All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 3 p.m.
Swannanoa Book Club – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Thursday, Jan. 6 at 4 p.m.
East Asheville Book Club – The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
Thursday, Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Leicester Book Club – The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. (in person at the library)
Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. (online)
Pack Library Book Club – Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 10:30 a.m.
Black Experience Book Club – Quicksand by Nella Larsen
Thursday, Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Fairview Evening Book Club – Cousins: Connected Through Slavery, a Black Woman and a White Woman Discover Their Past by Betty Kilby
Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.
New year, new adventures! Buncombe County Public Libraries’ 2022 Winter Reading Challenge encourages young readers to explore diversity, empathy, and action through reading.
This year, we are exploring what animals do during the winter months with two distinct challenges for children and teens. Children will complete fun activities while learning fascinating facts about local Western North Carolina animals. Teens will navigate winter reading quests and take home a collectible postcard. Both challenges will encourage youth to enjoy the winter season together in a screen-free, socially distanced way. These free activity sheets are designed with kids and teens in mind, but everyone is invited to participate.
Beginning Jan. 4, pick up a Winter Reading Activity Sheet from any Buncombe County Public Library. Warm up your winter with our reading challenge, and we’ll see you at the library.
Join us as we discuss All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung.
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Join us as we discuss All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung. We will meet on Thursday, January 6th at 3 PM via ZOOM. Registration is necessary. Newcomers are welcome! |
Registration is necessary. Newcomers are welcome!
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Smart, warm, uplifting, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . . the only way to survive is to open your heart. –Good Reads review Join us for a ZOOM book club event. Snuggle up with a hot drink, warm cozy slippers and a lovely book…then we’ll talk about it. You will receive the Zoom link through an email after you register for the event. |
Join other literature lovers to discuss your favorite books over Zoom. This month’s pick is The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot, by Marianne Cronin.
New year, new adventures! Buncombe County Public Libraries’ 2022 Winter Reading Challenge encourages young readers to explore diversity, empathy, and action through reading.
This year, we are exploring what animals do during the winter months with two distinct challenges for children and teens. Children will complete fun activities while learning fascinating facts about local Western North Carolina animals. Teens will navigate winter reading quests and take home a collectible postcard. Both challenges will encourage youth to enjoy the winter season together in a screen-free, socially distanced way. These free activity sheets are designed with kids and teens in mind, but everyone is invited to participate.
Beginning Jan. 4, pick up a Winter Reading Activity Sheet from any Buncombe County Public Library. Warm up your winter with our reading challenge, and we’ll see you at the library.
Join PARI on Friday, January 7, 2022 as we celebrate the largest planet in our solar system! 412 years ago this week Galileo Galilei spotted the four brightest moons of Jupiter and in honor of that monumental discovery we are sharing our best telescopes and internationally certified dark sky park to observe this planet, the moon and other fantastic objects you can only see with a telescope! Grab your coats, hot coffee or hot chocolate, friends and family then come to PARI for an unforgettable winter night.
Preregistration Is Required!
Join PARI on Friday, January 7, 2022 as we celebrate the largest planet in our solar system! 412 years ago this week Galileo Galilei spotted the four brightest moons of Jupiter and in honor of that monumental discovery we are sharing our best telescopes and Internationally certified dark sky park to observe this planet, the moon and other fantastic objects you can only see with a telescope! Grab your coats, hot coffee or hot chocolate, friends and family then come to PARI for an unforgettable winter night.
PARI is typically cooler than surrounding areas so make sure you dress appropriately for outdoor viewing.
New year, new adventures! Buncombe County Public Libraries’ 2022 Winter Reading Challenge encourages young readers to explore diversity, empathy, and action through reading.
This year, we are exploring what animals do during the winter months with two distinct challenges for children and teens. Children will complete fun activities while learning fascinating facts about local Western North Carolina animals. Teens will navigate winter reading quests and take home a collectible postcard. Both challenges will encourage youth to enjoy the winter season together in a screen-free, socially distanced way. These free activity sheets are designed with kids and teens in mind, but everyone is invited to participate.
Beginning Jan. 4, pick up a Winter Reading Activity Sheet from any Buncombe County Public Library. Warm up your winter with our reading challenge, and we’ll see you at the library.
Join us for our monthly poetry event featuring three poets. This month, we welcome Paul Jones, Aruni Kashyap, Pat Riviere-Seel!
Click here to RSVP. Prior to the event, will send a reminder email with the link required to attend.
Like most of our events, this event is free. If you decide to attend and purchase the authors’ 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!
Pat Riviere-Seel is the author of three poetry collections, including Nothing Below but Air (2014), The Serial Killer’s Daughter (2009), which won the Roanoke-Chowan Award, and No Turning Back Now (2004). She taught poetry classes for UNC Asheville’s Great Smokies Writing Program for 15 years before moving to Yancey County in 2019. She served as the North Carolina Poetry Society’s Distinguished Poet in the Western Region from 2016-2018. In 2017 she received the “Charlie Award” from the Carolina Mountains Literary Festival. Before earning her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte, she worked as a newspaper journalist, editor, publicist, and lobbyist for nonprofit organizations in the Maryland State House. For more, visit https://patriviereseel.com
“I choose this earth that breaks / my heart again and again”, Pat Riviere-Seel writes. When There Were Horses addresses the ways in which we can do that, while acknowledging that, “it cannot last, of course”. Circling around “what to tell” and “the truth we didn’t dare” in quiet, beautifully-honed lines, Riviere-Seel brings readers with her through loss after loss to the knowledge that “further out is the only way back.” These poems come from a poet at the height of her powers, able to swim into deep pools of the senses and the deeper pools of understanding, subtle and complex as multiple ripples spreading and rebounding on the surface of a pond. These are poems to come for the pure pleasure in words and rhythms and play, then return again and again, for the intimate whisperings of a truer life under the surfaces of things.
Order When There Were Horses from Malaprop’s below.
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Aruni Kashyap is a writer and translator. He is the author of His Father’s Disease (Context/ Westland Books India, 2019; Flipped Eye Books, UK) and the novel The House with a Thousand Stories (Viking/ Penguin Random House, 2013). He has also translated from Assamese and introduced celebrated Indian writer Indira Goswami’s last work of fiction, The Bronze Sword of Thengphakhri Tehsildar (Zubaan Books, 2013). He won the Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarship for Creative Writing to the University of Edinburgh, and his poetry collection, There is No Good Time for Bad News (Future Cycle Press, 2021) was a finalist for the 2018 Marsh Hawk Press Poetry Prize and 2018 Four Way Books Levis Award in Poetry. His short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in Catapult, Bitch Media, The Boston Review, Electric Literature, The Oxford Anthology of Writings from Northeast, The Kenyon Review, The New York Times, The Guardian UK, and others. He is an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Georgia, Athens. He also writes in Assamese, and his first Assamese novel is Noikhon Etia Duroit (Panchajanya Books, 2019). For more, visit https://www.arunikashyap.com
There is No Good Time for Bad News opens in a country ravaged by prolonged political conflict. Told in the voices of survivors, it introduces the reader to a wide array of characters: the local police precinct summons a woman after three decades to identify the body of her insurgent son among recovered bodies; a soldier lives through nightmares about the war he fought forty years ago; a woman writes a letter to her insurgent lover; and an ordinary citizen, through an open letter, challenges the child-killing insurgents to kill her. At once vignettes and urgent pleas, these are stories as much as they are poems. Zooming through wars, protest marches, and conflicts, they show what it means to live under the duress of prolonged violence.
Order There is No Good Time for Bad News from Malaprop’s below.
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Paul Jones has published poetry in many journals including the Southern Poetry Review, Ohio Review, Georgia Review, Ironwood, River Heron Review, Broadkill Review, as well as in cookbooks, travel anthologies, collections about passion, love, and The Best American Erotic Poems: 1800 – Present (from Scribner). Recently, he was nominated for two Pushcart Prizes and two Best of the Web Awards. His chapbook is What the Welsh and Chinese Have in Common. A manuscript of his poems crashed on the moon’s surface in 2019. Jones is Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Writers Network, a Board Member of the North Carolina Poetry Society, and a member of the Carrboro Poets Council. In November 2021, he was inducted into the NC State Computer Science Hall of Fame. For more, visit http://smalljones.com
Something Wonderful embodies a vast, intimate terrain. These poems listen back through lenses of nature, variations of joy, sorrow, mischief, surrender, death, and a few constellations of mystery in between. Paul Jones perches the reader in limbs that were empty choir lofts. From this vantage point of his lyrical universe we experience the space between dreams, new worlds created by old words spoken, odes to tubers, donuts, and the magical everydayness of where poetry lives and is sustained. Something Wonderful offers poetics that are accessible, language that stirs memory, and imagery that overflows cups meant to constrain. This new collection by Paul Jones makes us swoon to a song about “a world where nothing that is cut bleeds.”
New year, new adventures! Buncombe County Public Libraries’ 2022 Winter Reading Challenge encourages young readers to explore diversity, empathy, and action through reading.
This year, we are exploring what animals do during the winter months with two distinct challenges for children and teens. Children will complete fun activities while learning fascinating facts about local Western North Carolina animals. Teens will navigate winter reading quests and take home a collectible postcard. Both challenges will encourage youth to enjoy the winter season together in a screen-free, socially distanced way. These free activity sheets are designed with kids and teens in mind, but everyone is invited to participate.
Beginning Jan. 4, pick up a Winter Reading Activity Sheet from any Buncombe County Public Library. Warm up your winter with our reading challenge, and we’ll see you at the library.
The club will meet virtually during the Covid-19 pandemic. If you are interested in attending, please email [email protected] for instructions about how to attend the club event.
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.
Looking for a good read? Buncombe County Public Libraries have virtual and in-person book clubs every month and all readers are welcome. Book clubs are free and open to everyone, but you do need to register to get the zoom password for an online meeting. Locate any of these book clubs on the library calendar to sign up and join the discussion.
Weaverville Library Evening Book Club – The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m.
Weaverville Library Afternoon Book Club – All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 3 p.m.
Swannanoa Book Club – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Thursday, Jan. 6 at 4 p.m.
East Asheville Book Club – The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
Thursday, Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Leicester Book Club – The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. (in person at the library)
Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. (online)
Pack Library Book Club – Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 10:30 a.m.
Black Experience Book Club – Quicksand by Nella Larsen
Thursday, Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Fairview Evening Book Club – Cousins: Connected Through Slavery, a Black Woman and a White Woman Discover Their Past by Betty Kilby
Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.
New year, new adventures! Buncombe County Public Libraries’ 2022 Winter Reading Challenge encourages young readers to explore diversity, empathy, and action through reading.
This year, we are exploring what animals do during the winter months with two distinct challenges for children and teens. Children will complete fun activities while learning fascinating facts about local Western North Carolina animals. Teens will navigate winter reading quests and take home a collectible postcard. Both challenges will encourage youth to enjoy the winter season together in a screen-free, socially distanced way. These free activity sheets are designed with kids and teens in mind, but everyone is invited to participate.
Beginning Jan. 4, pick up a Winter Reading Activity Sheet from any Buncombe County Public Library. Warm up your winter with our reading challenge, and we’ll see you at the library.
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This month we’re discussing The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi. The Leicester Library Book Discussion Group meets the second Tuesday of each month at 1 pm in the Community Room at the library. Masks and social distancing required. Newcomers welcome! |
This is a free virtual event, but registration is required. Please click here to register for the VIRTUAL event. The link required to attend will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.
Get signed and personalized copies of Dog Star from Malaprop’s below! For personalization, use the order comments field to tell us to whom the book should be insribed, e.g. “to Sarah.”
Like most of our events, this event is free. If you decide to attend and purchase the authors’ 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!
New York Times bestseller and Carnegie Medal-nominated author Megan Shepherd grew up in her family’s independent bookstore in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is the author of many acclaimed middle grade and young adult novels including The Madman’s Daughter series, The Cage series, The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, and the Grim Lovelies series. She now lives and writes on a haunted 125-year-old farm outside Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband and children, two cats, chickens, bees, and an especially scruffy dog.Laika is a Cold Dog, a stray pup fighting for her life on the streets of Moscow. Then, one winter night, she is plucked from her alley to become a starflyer, a dog trained to travel into space. Distrustful of people, Laika tries to do everything she can to escape. That is, until she meets Nina.
Nina is a Cold Girl, lonely and full of questions. Her best friend has moved to America in a rush, leaving Nina to face the school bullies all by herself. Plus, her father’s work as a scientist in the Soviet Space Program grows more secretive by the day.
When the two meet in her father’s laboratory, their growing bond slowly warms the chill that has settled in each other’s hearts. As the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union grows fierce, Laika and Nina uncover shocking secrets and hard truths that will test their friendship. How will they find the courage to chase their dreams all the way to the stars?
Based on an incredible true story, Carnegie Medal nominee and New York Times–bestselling author Megan Shepherd crafts a harrowing, propulsive girl-and-her-dog tale that will linger in your heart long after the last page.
Megan Shepherd is a New York Times-bestselling and Carnegie Medal-nominated author. She grew up in her family’s independent bookstore in the Blue Ridge Mountains and is the author of many acclaimed middle grade and young adult novels including The Madman’s Daughter series, The Cage series, The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, and the Grim Lovelies series. She now lives and writes on a haunted 125-year-old farm outside Asheville, North Carolina, with her husband and children, two cats, chickens, bees, and an especially scruffy dog.
Amy Cherrix works as the children’s book buyer at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina, and squeezes in writing time whenever she can. Her books include the nonfiction In the Shadow of the Moon, Backyard Bears, Eye of the Storm, and Animal Architects. She earned a master’s degree in children’s literature from Simmons University. If she isn’t writing or scouring the internet for late-breaking science news, you can find her on Instagram @AmyCherrix.
New year, new adventures! Buncombe County Public Libraries’ 2022 Winter Reading Challenge encourages young readers to explore diversity, empathy, and action through reading.
This year, we are exploring what animals do during the winter months with two distinct challenges for children and teens. Children will complete fun activities while learning fascinating facts about local Western North Carolina animals. Teens will navigate winter reading quests and take home a collectible postcard. Both challenges will encourage youth to enjoy the winter season together in a screen-free, socially distanced way. These free activity sheets are designed with kids and teens in mind, but everyone is invited to participate.
Beginning Jan. 4, pick up a Winter Reading Activity Sheet from any Buncombe County Public Library. Warm up your winter with our reading challenge, and we’ll see you at the library.
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This month we’re discussing Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee. The Pack Library Book is a fiction focused book discussion group that meets the second Wednesday of each month at 10:30AM in the Lord Auditorium at the library. Masks and social distancing required. Newcomers welcome! Registration is required and attendance will be limited to the first 10 registrants. |
Nineteen-year-old Cowney Sequoyah yearns to escape his hometown of Cherokee, NC, in the heart of the Smoky Mountains. When a summer job at Asheville’s luxurious Grove Park Inn & Resort brings him one step closer to escaping the hills that both cradle and suffocate him, he sees it as an opportunity. With World War II raging in Europe, the inn is the temporary home of Axis diplomats and their families, who are being held as prisoners of war. Soon, Cowney’s refuge becomes a cage when the daughter of one of the residents goes missing, and he finds himself accused of abduction and murder.
Even as We Breathe invokes the elements of bone, blood, and flesh as Cowney navigates difficult social, cultural, and ethnic divides. After leaving the seclusion of the Cherokee reservation, he is able to explore a future free from the consequences of his family’s choices and to construct a new worldview, for a time. However, prejudice and persecution in the white world of the resort eventually compel Cowney to free himself from larger forces that hold him back as he struggles to unearth evidence of his innocence and clear his name.
Moderated by Hilary Schroeder, assistant curator with special guest Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, author. Presented in conjunction with A Living Language: Cherokee Syllabary and Contemporary Art. Generous funding for exhibition programming is provided by Blue Ridge National Heritage Area and Cherokee Preservation Foundation.
DISCUSSION BOUND
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. Books are available at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café for a 10% discount. To add your name to our Discussion Bound mailing list, click here or call 828.253.3227 x133.
Join Jay Hardwig and Allan Wolf for the launch celebration of Hardwig’s new book, Just Maria. Both authors will sign and personalize books purchased from Malaprop’s.
This is a hybrid event, meaning there is an option to attend virtually and a limited number of seats 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.
Like most of our events, this event is free. If you decide to attend and purchase the authors’ 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!
Just Maria is the story of Maria Romero, a blind sixth-grader who is trying her hardest to be normal. Not amazing. Not inspiring. Not helpless. Not weird. Just normal. Normal is hard enough with her white cane, glass eyes, and bumpy books, but Maria’s task is complicated by her neighbor and classmate JJ Munson, an asthmatic overweight oddball known in the halls of Marble City Middle as a double-dork paste-eater. When JJ draws Maria into his latest hare-brained scheme–a series of public challenges to prove their worth as gumshoes for his Twinnoggin Detective Agency–she fears she’s lost her last chance to go unnoticed. When a young girl goes missing on the streets of Marble City, Maria’s new-found confidence is tested in ways she never anticipated. Use your cane and your brain, and figure it out . . . Aimed at middle-grade readers, Just Maria explores difference and disability without resorting to the saccharine and engages universal themes about the price of popularity and the meaning of independence.
Jay Hardwig is a certified teacher for the visually impaired who has worked with children with blindness and low vision for more than twenty years. He has taught at public schools throughout Texas and North Carolina, adding a Master’s degree in Special Education and certification as an Orientation & Mobility instructor in 2011. His writing credits include scores of essays, features, and short fiction published in periodicals ranging from The Austin Chronicle to Blue Ridge Outdoors to Bridal Guide. He currently works for Buncombe County Schools and IFB Solutions, where he directs summer camps for children with vision loss. When not taking blind kids ziplining, he reads, writes, and plays barrelhouse piano with his friends and family in Asheville, North Carolina.
Allan Wolf is an acclaimed poet and storyteller. Along with his two other historical verse novels, The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic and New Found Land: Lewis and Clark’s Voyage of Discovery, he is the author of The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems About Our Parts and the young adult novels Who Killed Christopher Goodman? and Zane’s Trace. Allan Wolf lives in Asheville, North Carolina
Looking for a good read? Buncombe County Public Libraries have virtual and in-person book clubs every month and all readers are welcome. Book clubs are free and open to everyone, but you do need to register to get the zoom password for an online meeting. Locate any of these book clubs on the library calendar to sign up and join the discussion.
Weaverville Library Evening Book Club – The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 6 p.m.
Weaverville Library Afternoon Book Club – All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir by Nicole Chung
Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 3 p.m.
Swannanoa Book Club – Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Thursday, Jan. 6 at 4 p.m.
East Asheville Book Club – The 100 Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
Thursday, Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m.
Leicester Book Club – The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
Tuesday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. (in person at the library)
Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 1 p.m. (online)
Pack Library Book Club – Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 10:30 a.m.
Black Experience Book Club – Quicksand by Nella Larsen
Thursday, Jan. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Fairview Evening Book Club – Cousins: Connected Through Slavery, a Black Woman and a White Woman Discover Their Past by Betty Kilby
Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.
New year, new adventures! Buncombe County Public Libraries’ 2022 Winter Reading Challenge encourages young readers to explore diversity, empathy, and action through reading.
This year, we are exploring what animals do during the winter months with two distinct challenges for children and teens. Children will complete fun activities while learning fascinating facts about local Western North Carolina animals. Teens will navigate winter reading quests and take home a collectible postcard. Both challenges will encourage youth to enjoy the winter season together in a screen-free, socially distanced way. These free activity sheets are designed with kids and teens in mind, but everyone is invited to participate.
Beginning Jan. 4, pick up a Winter Reading Activity Sheet from any Buncombe County Public Library. Warm up your winter with our reading challenge, and we’ll see you at the library.