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.
Our ReadWNC series concludes Tuesday, October 4 with author Sharyn McCrumb discussing the true events behind her novel The Ballad of Frankie Silver. In this series, authors and historians explore the facts behind the fiction in books centered in WNC. We encourage you to read the books in advance and bring your own questions to the discussion. You can find all three books at Malaprop’s Bookstore here in Asheville. This event airs live via Zoom, and will be recorded for later viewing.
The Ballad of Frankie Silver is one of McCrumb’s Ballad novels – “set in the Southern mountains, weaving together the legends, natural wonders and contemporary issues of Appalachia. Each story is built around a theme, intended to express an overall idea” according to the author. This novel, set in Burke County, tells the story of the young Frankie Silver, hanged for a murder she may not have committed in 1833. McCrumb notes that this tale involves mountain justice, frontier families, and a contrast between the mountain and lowland South.
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 at the Battery Park Book Exchange. It will be held virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
Come check out for yourself the popular West Coast Swing dance style that can be done to a
wide variety of music, including pop, country, blues, and contemporary music, come at 7pm for a group classes: intermediate
classes with Pflumm and Alain Rogozhin and beginner classes with Rachel Harris and Tola Sun, Followed by a social dance at
8pm, Dress is casual and no partner is needed, BYO wine or beer,
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.
A Transformational Evening of Ecstatic Dance
World-renowned master of the African Kalimba, Kevin Spears teams with DJ Morphonic for an extraordinary evening of live musical artistry within a guided intentional experience. It’s a unique musical experience for listening and/or dancing.
Asheville’s own DJ Morphonic has become a highly sought-after Ecstatic Dance DJ due to his eclectic yet transformative mix of music from around the world. DJ Morphonic (Maurice Legendre) is known far and wide for his beautiful and incredible sacred art concert backdrops that must be seen to be believed. DJ Morphonic is truly a gifted soul in the field of transformative and regenerative art and music.
Kevin Spears the KalimbaMan is an internationally renowned kalimba player and one-man ensemble who designs and uses electronic musical gadgets to create a literal one-man ensemble right before your eyes and ears. He has performed extensively in the U.S and abroad and has done what was once thought impossible on the kalimba, the traditional African instrument he has studied and played since the age of 10.
There are two ways to download ebooks and audiobooks from Buncombe County Public Libraries.
All library card holders can download books from the North Carolina Digital Library with the Libby app. In addition, you can now download the Hoopla digital mobile app or visit Hoopla from our web page to begin enjoying thousands more items available to borrow 24/7. Your User ID is your library card number with no spaces, and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.
If you don’t have a library card, you can contact your library to get one free of charge. Use your library anytime, anywhere with our digital resources.
Pictured above is Rafael Jimenez, nephew of Julia de Burgos.
Buncombe County is excited to announce it is honoring Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos with a display at Pack Memorial Library. This is a great opportunity to learn more about this influential writer and her continued impact on Puerto Rico. Another exciting aspect of Julia de Burgos is her connection to Buncombe County. Her nephew, Rafael Jimenez works for our Sheriff’s Office and is excited about the opportunity for more people to learn about her legacy.
“This collaboration is very meaningful for my family. Julia is very important to Puerto Rican culture and continues to be celebrated as one of Puerto Rico’s greatest writers,” explains Rafael. “We are truly honored to see this local exhibit showcasing her work. Homages are very meaningful as they allow me to continue to learn more about her even after her passing. I hope this is an opportunity for our community to learn more about her writing and poetry and also more about Puerto Rican and Hispanic culture. My hope is that you can take the time to continue the legacy of honoring and recognizing her wonderful work.”
Stop by Pack Memorial Library through Oct. 15 to see books, poems, and additional resources about this important Hispanic poet.
Julia de Burgos biography
In 1953, a young woman of mixed Hispanic-African ancestry collapsed on a Harlem street. Without identification or a family to claim her, the woman was given a pauper’s burial. Weeks later, her friends traced her whereabouts and returned her remains to Puerto Rico, where Julia de Burgos was given a funeral befitting the national hero she was.
De Burgos (1914-53) lived life with passion. A poet, civil rights activist, and Puerto Rican nationalist, de Burgos defied convention before feminism was accepted in her culture. De Burgos was fiery and independent, yet the pain she suffered in three broken marriages is revealed in her verse.
Considered one of Latin America’s greatest poets, de Burgos’ works also reflect her love of Puerto Rico – and her mounting anguish as she battled depression and alcoholism. Among her most important works are Poema para mi Muerte (My Death Poem) and Yo Misma Fui Mi Ruta (I Was My Own Path). De Burgos published two books during her lifetime, which she promoted and distributed herself. A third volume of her work was published after her death.
Respected for her literary accomplishments, de Burgos is also greatly admired by Hispanics and Latin Americans, who have named many schools, women’s shelters, landmarks, and cultural centers in her honor.
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.
There are two ways to download ebooks and audiobooks from Buncombe County Public Libraries.
All library card holders can download books from the North Carolina Digital Library with the Libby app. In addition, you can now download the Hoopla digital mobile app or visit Hoopla from our web page to begin enjoying thousands more items available to borrow 24/7. Your User ID is your library card number with no spaces, and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.
If you don’t have a library card, you can contact your library to get one free of charge. Use your library anytime, anywhere with our digital resources.
Pictured above is Rafael Jimenez, nephew of Julia de Burgos.
Buncombe County is excited to announce it is honoring Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos with a display at Pack Memorial Library. This is a great opportunity to learn more about this influential writer and her continued impact on Puerto Rico. Another exciting aspect of Julia de Burgos is her connection to Buncombe County. Her nephew, Rafael Jimenez works for our Sheriff’s Office and is excited about the opportunity for more people to learn about her legacy.
“This collaboration is very meaningful for my family. Julia is very important to Puerto Rican culture and continues to be celebrated as one of Puerto Rico’s greatest writers,” explains Rafael. “We are truly honored to see this local exhibit showcasing her work. Homages are very meaningful as they allow me to continue to learn more about her even after her passing. I hope this is an opportunity for our community to learn more about her writing and poetry and also more about Puerto Rican and Hispanic culture. My hope is that you can take the time to continue the legacy of honoring and recognizing her wonderful work.”
Stop by Pack Memorial Library through Oct. 15 to see books, poems, and additional resources about this important Hispanic poet.
Julia de Burgos biography
In 1953, a young woman of mixed Hispanic-African ancestry collapsed on a Harlem street. Without identification or a family to claim her, the woman was given a pauper’s burial. Weeks later, her friends traced her whereabouts and returned her remains to Puerto Rico, where Julia de Burgos was given a funeral befitting the national hero she was.
De Burgos (1914-53) lived life with passion. A poet, civil rights activist, and Puerto Rican nationalist, de Burgos defied convention before feminism was accepted in her culture. De Burgos was fiery and independent, yet the pain she suffered in three broken marriages is revealed in her verse.
Considered one of Latin America’s greatest poets, de Burgos’ works also reflect her love of Puerto Rico – and her mounting anguish as she battled depression and alcoholism. Among her most important works are Poema para mi Muerte (My Death Poem) and Yo Misma Fui Mi Ruta (I Was My Own Path). De Burgos published two books during her lifetime, which she promoted and distributed herself. A third volume of her work was published after her death.
Respected for her literary accomplishments, de Burgos is also greatly admired by Hispanics and Latin Americans, who have named many schools, women’s shelters, landmarks, and cultural centers in her honor.
There are two ways to download ebooks and audiobooks from Buncombe County Public Libraries.
All library card holders can download books from the North Carolina Digital Library with the Libby app. In addition, you can now download the Hoopla digital mobile app or visit Hoopla from our web page to begin enjoying thousands more items available to borrow 24/7. Your User ID is your library card number with no spaces, and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.
If you don’t have a library card, you can contact your library to get one free of charge. Use your library anytime, anywhere with our digital resources.
Pictured above is Rafael Jimenez, nephew of Julia de Burgos.
Buncombe County is excited to announce it is honoring Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos with a display at Pack Memorial Library. This is a great opportunity to learn more about this influential writer and her continued impact on Puerto Rico. Another exciting aspect of Julia de Burgos is her connection to Buncombe County. Her nephew, Rafael Jimenez works for our Sheriff’s Office and is excited about the opportunity for more people to learn about her legacy.
“This collaboration is very meaningful for my family. Julia is very important to Puerto Rican culture and continues to be celebrated as one of Puerto Rico’s greatest writers,” explains Rafael. “We are truly honored to see this local exhibit showcasing her work. Homages are very meaningful as they allow me to continue to learn more about her even after her passing. I hope this is an opportunity for our community to learn more about her writing and poetry and also more about Puerto Rican and Hispanic culture. My hope is that you can take the time to continue the legacy of honoring and recognizing her wonderful work.”
Stop by Pack Memorial Library through Oct. 15 to see books, poems, and additional resources about this important Hispanic poet.
Julia de Burgos biography
In 1953, a young woman of mixed Hispanic-African ancestry collapsed on a Harlem street. Without identification or a family to claim her, the woman was given a pauper’s burial. Weeks later, her friends traced her whereabouts and returned her remains to Puerto Rico, where Julia de Burgos was given a funeral befitting the national hero she was.
De Burgos (1914-53) lived life with passion. A poet, civil rights activist, and Puerto Rican nationalist, de Burgos defied convention before feminism was accepted in her culture. De Burgos was fiery and independent, yet the pain she suffered in three broken marriages is revealed in her verse.
Considered one of Latin America’s greatest poets, de Burgos’ works also reflect her love of Puerto Rico – and her mounting anguish as she battled depression and alcoholism. Among her most important works are Poema para mi Muerte (My Death Poem) and Yo Misma Fui Mi Ruta (I Was My Own Path). De Burgos published two books during her lifetime, which she promoted and distributed herself. A third volume of her work was published after her death.
Respected for her literary accomplishments, de Burgos is also greatly admired by Hispanics and Latin Americans, who have named many schools, women’s shelters, landmarks, and cultural centers in her honor.
Chloe lived in Asheville for 12 years and is now residing in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Much of her book takes place in Asheville. Chloe’s spiritual memoir reveals the Divine pathway to a more peaceful, happy, fulfilled, and healthy life. Come meet Chloe and find out why her book is changing lives.
GOLD WINNER Memoir by a female—2022 Living Now Book Awards — Books for Better Living
FINALIST New Age Nonfiction: 2022 International Book Awards
SOVEREIGN KAVA hosting Author Event: Wed, OCT. 12, @ 8:30 pm
268 Biltmore Ave.
🌻 Book Discussion 🌻 Reading Excerpts from the book 🌻 Q & A session 🌻 Autographed English & Spanish books available to purchase
For more information about Chloe and her WISDOM KEEPER spiritual memoir: www.ChloeKempWisdomKeeper.com
There are two ways to download ebooks and audiobooks from Buncombe County Public Libraries.
All library card holders can download books from the North Carolina Digital Library with the Libby app. In addition, you can now download the Hoopla digital mobile app or visit Hoopla from our web page to begin enjoying thousands more items available to borrow 24/7. Your User ID is your library card number with no spaces, and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.
If you don’t have a library card, you can contact your library to get one free of charge. Use your library anytime, anywhere with our digital resources.
Pictured above is Rafael Jimenez, nephew of Julia de Burgos.
Buncombe County is excited to announce it is honoring Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos with a display at Pack Memorial Library. This is a great opportunity to learn more about this influential writer and her continued impact on Puerto Rico. Another exciting aspect of Julia de Burgos is her connection to Buncombe County. Her nephew, Rafael Jimenez works for our Sheriff’s Office and is excited about the opportunity for more people to learn about her legacy.
“This collaboration is very meaningful for my family. Julia is very important to Puerto Rican culture and continues to be celebrated as one of Puerto Rico’s greatest writers,” explains Rafael. “We are truly honored to see this local exhibit showcasing her work. Homages are very meaningful as they allow me to continue to learn more about her even after her passing. I hope this is an opportunity for our community to learn more about her writing and poetry and also more about Puerto Rican and Hispanic culture. My hope is that you can take the time to continue the legacy of honoring and recognizing her wonderful work.”
Stop by Pack Memorial Library through Oct. 15 to see books, poems, and additional resources about this important Hispanic poet.
Julia de Burgos biography
In 1953, a young woman of mixed Hispanic-African ancestry collapsed on a Harlem street. Without identification or a family to claim her, the woman was given a pauper’s burial. Weeks later, her friends traced her whereabouts and returned her remains to Puerto Rico, where Julia de Burgos was given a funeral befitting the national hero she was.
De Burgos (1914-53) lived life with passion. A poet, civil rights activist, and Puerto Rican nationalist, de Burgos defied convention before feminism was accepted in her culture. De Burgos was fiery and independent, yet the pain she suffered in three broken marriages is revealed in her verse.
Considered one of Latin America’s greatest poets, de Burgos’ works also reflect her love of Puerto Rico – and her mounting anguish as she battled depression and alcoholism. Among her most important works are Poema para mi Muerte (My Death Poem) and Yo Misma Fui Mi Ruta (I Was My Own Path). De Burgos published two books during her lifetime, which she promoted and distributed herself. A third volume of her work was published after her death.
Respected for her literary accomplishments, de Burgos is also greatly admired by Hispanics and Latin Americans, who have named many schools, women’s shelters, landmarks, and cultural centers in her honor.
There are two ways to download ebooks and audiobooks from Buncombe County Public Libraries.
All library card holders can download books from the North Carolina Digital Library with the Libby app. In addition, you can now download the Hoopla digital mobile app or visit Hoopla from our web page to begin enjoying thousands more items available to borrow 24/7. Your User ID is your library card number with no spaces, and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.
If you don’t have a library card, you can contact your library to get one free of charge. Use your library anytime, anywhere with our digital resources.
Pictured above is Rafael Jimenez, nephew of Julia de Burgos.
Buncombe County is excited to announce it is honoring Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos with a display at Pack Memorial Library. This is a great opportunity to learn more about this influential writer and her continued impact on Puerto Rico. Another exciting aspect of Julia de Burgos is her connection to Buncombe County. Her nephew, Rafael Jimenez works for our Sheriff’s Office and is excited about the opportunity for more people to learn about her legacy.
“This collaboration is very meaningful for my family. Julia is very important to Puerto Rican culture and continues to be celebrated as one of Puerto Rico’s greatest writers,” explains Rafael. “We are truly honored to see this local exhibit showcasing her work. Homages are very meaningful as they allow me to continue to learn more about her even after her passing. I hope this is an opportunity for our community to learn more about her writing and poetry and also more about Puerto Rican and Hispanic culture. My hope is that you can take the time to continue the legacy of honoring and recognizing her wonderful work.”
Stop by Pack Memorial Library through Oct. 15 to see books, poems, and additional resources about this important Hispanic poet.
Julia de Burgos biography
In 1953, a young woman of mixed Hispanic-African ancestry collapsed on a Harlem street. Without identification or a family to claim her, the woman was given a pauper’s burial. Weeks later, her friends traced her whereabouts and returned her remains to Puerto Rico, where Julia de Burgos was given a funeral befitting the national hero she was.
De Burgos (1914-53) lived life with passion. A poet, civil rights activist, and Puerto Rican nationalist, de Burgos defied convention before feminism was accepted in her culture. De Burgos was fiery and independent, yet the pain she suffered in three broken marriages is revealed in her verse.
Considered one of Latin America’s greatest poets, de Burgos’ works also reflect her love of Puerto Rico – and her mounting anguish as she battled depression and alcoholism. Among her most important works are Poema para mi Muerte (My Death Poem) and Yo Misma Fui Mi Ruta (I Was My Own Path). De Burgos published two books during her lifetime, which she promoted and distributed herself. A third volume of her work was published after her death.
Respected for her literary accomplishments, de Burgos is also greatly admired by Hispanics and Latin Americans, who have named many schools, women’s shelters, landmarks, and cultural centers in her honor.
Chloe lived in Asheville for 12 years and is now residing in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Much of her book takes place in Asheville. Chloe’s spiritual memoir reveals the Divine pathway to a more peaceful, happy, fulfilled, and healthy life. Come meet Chloe and find out why her book is changing lives.
GOLD WINNER Memoir by a female—2022 Living Now Book Awards — Books for Better Living
FINALIST New Age Nonfiction: 2022 International Book Awards
ASHEVILLE YOGA CENTER hosting Author Event: Friday, OCT. 14, @ 6 pm
211 S. Liberty St — arrive early; space for 50 people
🌻 Book Discussion 🌻 Reading Excerpts from the book 🌻 Q & A session 🌻 Autographed English & Spanish books available to purchase
For more information about Chloe and her WISDOM KEEPER spiritual memoir: www.ChloeKempWisdomKeeper.com
Pictured above is Rafael Jimenez, nephew of Julia de Burgos.
Buncombe County is excited to announce it is honoring Puerto Rican poet Julia de Burgos with a display at Pack Memorial Library. This is a great opportunity to learn more about this influential writer and her continued impact on Puerto Rico. Another exciting aspect of Julia de Burgos is her connection to Buncombe County. Her nephew, Rafael Jimenez works for our Sheriff’s Office and is excited about the opportunity for more people to learn about her legacy.
“This collaboration is very meaningful for my family. Julia is very important to Puerto Rican culture and continues to be celebrated as one of Puerto Rico’s greatest writers,” explains Rafael. “We are truly honored to see this local exhibit showcasing her work. Homages are very meaningful as they allow me to continue to learn more about her even after her passing. I hope this is an opportunity for our community to learn more about her writing and poetry and also more about Puerto Rican and Hispanic culture. My hope is that you can take the time to continue the legacy of honoring and recognizing her wonderful work.”
Stop by Pack Memorial Library through Oct. 15 to see books, poems, and additional resources about this important Hispanic poet.
Julia de Burgos biography
In 1953, a young woman of mixed Hispanic-African ancestry collapsed on a Harlem street. Without identification or a family to claim her, the woman was given a pauper’s burial. Weeks later, her friends traced her whereabouts and returned her remains to Puerto Rico, where Julia de Burgos was given a funeral befitting the national hero she was.
De Burgos (1914-53) lived life with passion. A poet, civil rights activist, and Puerto Rican nationalist, de Burgos defied convention before feminism was accepted in her culture. De Burgos was fiery and independent, yet the pain she suffered in three broken marriages is revealed in her verse.
Considered one of Latin America’s greatest poets, de Burgos’ works also reflect her love of Puerto Rico – and her mounting anguish as she battled depression and alcoholism. Among her most important works are Poema para mi Muerte (My Death Poem) and Yo Misma Fui Mi Ruta (I Was My Own Path). De Burgos published two books during her lifetime, which she promoted and distributed herself. A third volume of her work was published after her death.
Respected for her literary accomplishments, de Burgos is also greatly admired by Hispanics and Latin Americans, who have named many schools, women’s shelters, landmarks, and cultural centers in her honor.
Chloe lived in Asheville for 12 years and is now residing in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Much of her book takes place in Asheville. Chloe’s spiritual memoir reveals the Divine pathway to a more peaceful, happy, fulfilled, and healthy life. Come meet Chloe and find out why her book is changing lives.
GOLD WINNER Memoir by a female—2022 Living Now Book Awards — Books for Better Living
FINALIST New Age Nonfiction: 2022 International Book Awards
WEST ASHEVILLE YOGA hosting Author Event: Saturday, Oct. 15, at 1 pm; 602 Haywood Rd.
🌻 Book Discussion 🌻 Reading Excerpts from the book 🌻 Q & A session 🌻 Autographed English & Spanish books available to purchase
For more information about Chloe and her WISDOM KEEPER spiritual memoir: www.ChloeKempWisdomKeeper.com
There are two ways to download ebooks and audiobooks from Buncombe County Public Libraries.
All library card holders can download books from the North Carolina Digital Library with the Libby app. In addition, you can now download the Hoopla digital mobile app or visit Hoopla from our web page to begin enjoying thousands more items available to borrow 24/7. Your User ID is your library card number with no spaces, and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.
If you don’t have a library card, you can contact your library to get one free of charge. Use your library anytime, anywhere with our digital resources.
There are two ways to download ebooks and audiobooks from Buncombe County Public Libraries.
All library card holders can download books from the North Carolina Digital Library with the Libby app. In addition, you can now download the Hoopla digital mobile app or visit Hoopla from our web page to begin enjoying thousands more items available to borrow 24/7. Your User ID is your library card number with no spaces, and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.
If you don’t have a library card, you can contact your library to get one free of charge. Use your library anytime, anywhere with our digital resources.
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.
Brooke will sign and personalize books at the event. 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!
Roxie Clark has seen more dead bodies than your average seventeen-year-old. As a member of the supposedly-cursed Clark family, most of her ancestors have met tragic ends, including her own mother. Instead of fearing the curse, however, Roxie has combined her flair for performance and her gruesome family history into a successful ghost tour. But her tour never covers the most recent body she’s seen-her sister Skylar’s boyfriend, Colin Riley, found murdered in a cornfield. A year after the murder, Roxie’s desperate to help Skylar find closure and start to heal. Instead, Skylar becomes fixated on finding the killer. As the sisters dig into what really happened, they discover that more than one person has been lying about that night. And the closer they get to the truth, the more Roxie starts to wonder if some scary stories might be better left untold. Brooke Lauren Davis offers another thought-provoking and eerily satisfying tale, perfect for fans of Kara Thomas and Cruel Summer.
Brooke Lauren Davis grew up in rural Southern Ohio. Now she lives in North Carolina, where she spends her time dreaming up more stories about small towns with big secrets. She is also the author of The Hollow Inside.
brookelaurendavis.com Instagram: @brookelaurendavis
There are two ways to download ebooks and audiobooks from Buncombe County Public Libraries.
All library card holders can download books from the North Carolina Digital Library with the Libby app. In addition, you can now download the Hoopla digital mobile app or visit Hoopla from our web page to begin enjoying thousands more items available to borrow 24/7. Your User ID is your library card number with no spaces, and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.
If you don’t have a library card, you can contact your library to get one free of charge. Use your library anytime, anywhere with our digital resources.
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!
Three Muses won the Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted Fiction and is a love story that enthralls; a tale of Holocaust survival venturing through memory, trauma, and identity, while raising the curtain on the unforgiving discipline of ballet. In post-WWII New York, John Curtin suffers lasting damage from having been forced to sing for the concentration camp kommandant who murdered his family. John trains to be a psychiatrist, struggling to wrest his life from his terror of music and his past. Katya Symanova climbs the arduous path to Prima Ballerina of the New York State Ballet, becoming enmeshed in an abusive relationship with her choreographer, who makes Katya a star but controls her life. When John receives a ticket to attend a ballet featuring Katya Symanova, a spell is cast. As John and Katya follow circuitous paths to one another, fear and promise rise in equal measure. Three muses—Song, Discipline, and Memory—weave their way through love and loss, heartbreak and triumph to leave readers of this prize-winning debut breathless.
Martha Anne Toll writes fiction, essays, and book reviews, and reads anything that’s not nailed down. Her debut novel, Three Muses, won the Petrichor Prize for Finely Crafted Fiction and is forthcoming from Regal House Publishing on September 20, 2022. Toll brings a long career in social justice to her work covering BIPOC and women writers. She is a book reviewer and author interviewer at NPR Books, the Washington Post, Pointe Magazine, The Millions, and elsewhere. She also publishes short fiction and essays in a wide variety of outlets. Toll has recently joined the Board of Directors of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation.
Gavin Larsen is a writer, teacher, and former professional ballet dancer. Born and raised in New York City, Gavin received her professional dance training at the School of American Ballet, the Pacific Northwest Ballet School and the New York School of Ballet. Over the course of her 18-year professional career, she was a member of Pacific Northwest Ballet, Alberta Ballet, the Suzanne Farrell Ballet, and Oregon Ballet Theatre, dancing prominent roles in ballets by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Anthony Tudor, James Kudelka, Christopher Wheeldon and Paul Taylor, as well as the major classical works and numerous original contemporary pieces.
Some of our greatest art has come in response to the pain of this world: war, accident, crime and punishment, physical and mental illness, racial and class-based inequities. As Asheville resident Nancy Sehested has written, “The deeply human questions of forgiveness, redemption, and mercy emerge from the ruins of broken lives…Pain is not the last word.”
On eight evenings from September to December, the Wilma Dykeman Legacy and the West Asheville Library will celebrate four memoirs of resilience and hope from the mountains of Western North Carolina. All events are free and will be at the West Asheville Library, except for the digital event on December 8.
About the Wilma Dykeman Legacy
The Wilma Dykeman Legacy is a tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 2012 to sustain and promote Wilma Dykeman’s values by sponsoring diverse workshops, events, and other programs. The core values of this extraordinary woman from Buncombe County included environmental integrity, social justice, and the power of the written and spoken word. For more information, visit www.wilmadykemanlegacy.org.
There are two ways to download ebooks and audiobooks from Buncombe County Public Libraries.
All library card holders can download books from the North Carolina Digital Library with the Libby app. In addition, you can now download the Hoopla digital mobile app or visit Hoopla from our web page to begin enjoying thousands more items available to borrow 24/7. Your User ID is your library card number with no spaces, and your PIN is the last four digits of your phone number.
If you don’t have a library card, you can contact your library to get one free of charge. Use your library anytime, anywhere with our digital resources.
The Book for October is: ‘The Love Songs of W.E.B DuBois by Fanonne Jeffers
The 2020 National Book Award–nominated poet makes her fiction debut with this magisterial epic—an intimate yet sweeping novel with all the luminescence and force of Homegoing; Sing, Unburied, Sing; and The Water Dancer—that chronicles the journey of one American family, from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous era.
The great scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois, once wrote about the Problem of race in America, and what he called “Double Consciousness,” a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois’s words all too well. Bearing the names of two formidable Black Americans—the revered choreographer Alvin Ailey and her great grandmother Pearl, the descendant of enslaved Georgians and tenant farmers—Ailey carries Du Bois’s Problem on her shoulders.
Ailey is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women—her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries—that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead.
To come to terms with her own identity, Ailey embarks on a journey through her family’s past, uncovering the shocking tales of generations of ancestors—Indigenous, Black, and white—in the deep South. In doing so Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of oppression and resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the story—and the song—of America itself.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/books/review/the-love-songs-of-web-du-bois-honoree-fanonne-jeffers.html
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 can’t attend in person you may request a signed copy using the order comments field. For personalization, include the name of the person to whom the book should be signed, e.g. “to Matt.”
If you decide to attend and to purchase books, we ask that you purchase from Malaprop’s. When you do 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!
For fans of unexpected-yet-badass female sleuths, meet former FBI agent-turned-boardinghouse landlady Ethel Fiona Crestwater. Her age affords her precious invisibility. She can outthink and outshoot most men–and women–half her age.
When someone murders one of her boarders, Ethel springs into action–much to the surprise of her double-first-cousin-twice-removed, Jesse, who has recently come to stay with her while he attends university. As he watches her photograph the crime scene, conceal evidence, and speed-dial the Secret Service Director, Jesse realizes that there’s much more to Ethel than appearances suggest.
When Jesse is assaulted and the gym bag full of cash Ethel had hidden is stolen from the basement, the pair decides it’s time to launch their own unofficial investigation. With no one to trust but each other, this unlikely duo learns that the only thing truly worth risking your life for is family.
Mark de Castrique grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina where many of his novels are set. He’s a veteran of the television and film production industry, has served as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte teaching The American Mystery, and he’s a frequent speaker and workshop leader. He and his wife, Linda, live in Charlotte, North Carolina. www.markdecastrique.com
Terry Roberts’ debut novel, A Short Time to Stay Here, won the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction, and his second novel, That Bright Land, won the Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award as well as the James Still Award for Writing about the Appalachian South. Both novels won the annual Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction, given to the author of the best novel written by a North Carolinian. His third novel, The Holy Ghost Speakeasy and Revival, was published by Turner in 2018. His newest book, My Mistress’ Eyes Are Raven Black, a literary thriller set on Ellis Island, was published by Turner in 2021. Born and raised near Weaverville, North Carolina, Roberts is the Director of the National Paideia Center and lives in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife, Lynn.