National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.  Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand-new novel. If you are doing NaNoWriMo this year, the Buncombe County Public Library wants to support you in your endeavors. Join us for the following events to keep you invigorated and motivated.

All events are free, but you do need to register. To sign up, visit the Library’s event calendar and click on the event on the calendar.

You Wrote a Novel, So Now What?
Thursday November 5 at 5pm
What will you do on December 1 when you finish NaNoWriMo and have a book that’s ready to get out into the world? In this webinar BiblioLabs Community Engagement Manager, Emily Gooding, will show you how to format your novel by using the PressBooks resource available to you for FREE from the library.  You will also learn how you can submit your novel to the Indie Author Project and have a digital version of your novel available to readers in the  Library!

Celebrate Indie Author Day
November 7
More info available on the Buncombe County events calendar soon.

Come Write In Virtually with BCPL Librarians Who are Also Writing Novels This Month!
Friday November 13 at 4 pm and Wednesday November 18 at 7 pm
We’ll have two virtual Write Ins and would love to write with you in a Zoom Room while our cats meow in the background.  We’ll have some prompts but mostly this will be a time to awkwardly write in front of your camera while strangers on the call do the same.  Just kidding – we’ll have a blast!

Join the library’s Creative Writing Group Online
Friday November 20 at 3 pm
This monthly group meets on Zoom where we do several rounds of writing and reading our writing to each other. Our focus is creating a supportive and fun environment through writing exercises and discussions.  You are welcome but not required to bring a 300-500 word piece of original writing.

Be Inspired by Local and National Authors
Tuesday, November 19 at 7pm
Join us via Zoom on November 19  to celebrate the release of The Right Kind of Fool by Sarah Loudin Thomas as she’s joined in conversation by New York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate. Sarah and Lisa will chat about inspiration, writing, and their latest stories. The event hosted by Sassafras on Sutton and the Black Mountain Library will include giveaways and time for Q&A. Join us for a great evening of historical fiction! Registration is Limited!

Join Our NaNoWriMo Message board
Anytime
Join our BCPL_Nanowrimo Message Board on the NaNoWriMo Forums. https://forums.nanowrimo.org/

Any questions? Contact your friendly neighborhood library or email [email protected]

Another Cuba Trip! We’re excited to announce we have scheduled a second trip to Cuba for June 22nd – July 1, 2021 In the case of trip cancellation, a full refund or roll over of funds paid to future trips will be offered to all registered participants. Flexible payment plans are available.

Staff Picks From Around the Web

PBS: American Masters
Michael Tilson Thomas
Learn more on the extraordinary life and career of the renowned conductor and pedagogue, Michael Tilson Thomas.

Planning for the Future 

If you missed National Estate Planning Awareness Week last week, now is still a good time to make sure you have a plan that protects what matters most and includes any updates from the past few years. Pisgah Legal Services has a free, online will-writing tool to help you finalize your estate plans. It only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can also be used to create a list of documented wishes to bring to a lawyer. Create your plans today!

Digital BMC

Selected past performances by BMC orchestras, faculty, and guest artists on YouTube, SoundCloud, and Open Air Brevard.

RACHMANINOFF How Fair this Spot!
Brevard First Mondays • Craig Nies, piano
Recorded live on November 5, 2012,
at the Scott Concert Hall at Brevard College.

The Southern Equality Studios special grant round is dedicated to resourcing and celebrating LGBTQ artists and creatives across the LGBTQ South who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or people of color). Grants of up to $500 will support BIPOC LGBTQ Southern artists working on a wide range of creative projects.

These new grant rounds are part of CSE’s Southern Equality Fund, which has been making grassroots grants across the LGBTQ South since 2015. Since its inception, the Southern Equality Fund has prioritized supporting work led by BIPOC, transgender, and rural organizers.

Have you seen an inspiring BIPOC LGBTQ artists in your community, or are you a creative who could use grant support? If so, we want to hear from you!

We are specifically seeking nominations for artists or creatives efforts who are:

• Based in the South.
• Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC).
• LGBTQ people.
• Funds can be used to support a wide range of artistic endeavors.
• Nominees are eligible to receive this grant even if they have received a previous Southern Equality Fund grant; however, priority will be given to nominees who have not yet received a grant.
• Anyone is welcome and encouraged to nominate an artist for a grant and artists may also nominate themselves.
• There are no grant reports, budgets or supplemental materials required in this process. However, if selected, applicants will have to fill out and return a W9 form to receive their funding.

Wooden Shoe Lasts

The last is the soul of a shoe. Apart from selecting the leather, there are few elements of the shoemaking process that are more impactful on the end result than the crafting of a last. Originally hand carved by cordwainers, i.e. bespoke shoemakers, using hardwoods like maple or beech, most lasts today are made up of a high-density plastic that is 100% recyclable and more suited for mass production.

For several hundred years – if not longer – the foot-shaped last has been an essential tool of the shoemaker’s trade. According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, the word ‘last’ is derived from the Old English ‘læste’, meaning ‘to follow’.

Today, we are used to seeing a pair of lasts, closely resembling a left and right foot. However, as late as the 1850s, most shoes were made on absolutely straight lasts, with no recognizable difference between the two shoes.

Read more about the life of a shoemaker named George Morris, who was enslaved by the Smith family, in our Deep Dive into Archives virtual exhibit.

George, Louisa, and William Morris

America’s national parks belong to all of us. They connect us to the natural world and root us to our nation’s rich and fascinating history.

National parks exist because people had the foresight to protect the wonder of these unique places for future generations. The parks are a legacy that has been handed down to us; it is up to us to prove that we are worthy of that legacy by continuing to protect and preserve these iconic locations for the generations that come after us.

That’s the idea behind our annual Preserve Our Parks Fund Drive. In order to provide the resources for the crucial work that’s needed in our parks in 2021, we must raise $1,332,000 before December 31.

As an added incentive, when you donate to the Preserve Our Parks Fund Drive, you are able to send a beautiful eCard featuring our national parks to whomever you want. Let your friends, colleagues, and loved ones know how important our national parks are to you.

SpartanPhotoCenter’s annual Trade in & Trade Up events will have @usedphotopro buying unwanted and old camera gear. Start looking in your drawers and closets now! Bring it all in for a quote. Get #Cash4Cameras. The more you find you more you can get. #TRADEINTRADEUP or #BUYUSED gear while you are here, there will be specials on new and used gear all weekend! Lots of sales on camera gear, lighting and studio, analog film and cameras and more. Camera technician will be on hand for sensor cleaning and micro adjustments, come early! All day Friday and Saturday.

If you are interested in volunteering, there is an ongoing need for volunteers at the Thrift Store! Positions range from one time to regularly occurring shifts, across a range of positions. No retail experience is required. To learn more about volunteering, visit https://www.blueridgehumane.org/get-involved/volunteer/ and fill out the Volunteer Application.

All proceeds from purchases at the Blue Ridge Humane Society Thrift Store go directly to helping animals at Blue Ridge Humane Society with housing, medical care, routine vet care and vaccinations, and more, as they are on their journey to a new, loving home.

Blue Ridge Humane Society thanks the community very much for continuing to remember us and for your ongoing support of the work of Blue Ridge Humane Society!

The Blue Ridge Humane Society Thrift Store is operated by the Blue Ridge Humane Society with proceeds directly helping animals in our care. Our store is almost entirely volunteer run. The Thrift Store is located at 1214 Greenville Highway, Hendersonville, NC, and is open 9:30am-4:30pm,Tuesday-Saturday. The store sells gently used donated items, including clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, furniture, linens, “boutique” items from upscale designer fashions,  antiques, crafting supplies, as well as a limited selection of electronics.

Wigmore Hall: Fall Series Continues
Don’t miss this fall’s series of concerts from Wigmore Hall in London! You can stream free concerts several times a week throughout November, including Apartment House, Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective, Tai Murray (violin), Elizabeth Llewellyn (soprano), Fatma Said (soprano), Roderick Williams (baritone), Arditti Quartet, Elena Urioste (violin), Kit Armstrong (piano), Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord), Claron McFadden (soprano) and Matthew Wadsworth (lute) and Chineke! Note: all performance times are in British Summer Time (BST).