Free and virtual!

The Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library
showcases library webinars and online events each month
featuring bestselling, award-winning, and highly acclaimed authors from around the world.

Featured writers and thought leaders will cover a wide range of fiction and nonfiction genres.  The free, virtual events take place two to three times a month and include the opportunity to ask questions of the author. A complete list of events is available on the Library's Webinars and Online Events website. September's speakers include:

 


Wednesday, September 20th at 2 p.m.

How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most Author Talk with Adam Alter, New York Times Bestselling Author of Drunk Tank Pink and Irresistible

Join us as we chat with New York Times bestselling author Adam Alter about his new book Anatomy of a Breakthrough: How to Get Unstuck When It Matters Most. 

Almost everyone feels stuck in some way. Whether you’re muddling through a midlife crisis, wrestling with writer’s block, trapped in a thankless job, or trying to remedy a fraying friendship, the resulting emotion is usually a mix of anxiety, uncertainty, fear, anger, and numbness. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Anatomy of a Breakthrough is the roadmap we all need to escape our inertia and flourish in the face of friction.

The solution to becoming unstuck rests on a process that Alter calls a friction audit—a systematic procedure that uncovers why a person or organization is stuck and then suggests a path to progress. The friction audit states that people and organizations get unstuck when they overcome three sources of friction: HEART (unhelpful emotions); HEAD (unhelpful patterns of thought); and HABIT (unhelpful behaviors).

Artfully weaving together scientific studies, anecdotes, and interviews, Alter teaches us that getting stuck is a feature rather than a glitch on the road to thriving, but with the right tweaks and corrections, we can reach even our loftiest targets.

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Amor Towles
Wednesday, September 27th at 8:00 p.m.

On Writing Three International Bestsellers: An Author Talk with Amor Towles--New York Times Bestselling Author of The Rules of Civility, A Gentleman in Moscow, and The Lincoln Highway

Join us as we chat online with New York Times bestselling author Amor Towles about his incredible body of work. 

Rules of Civility, published in 2011, was a New York Times bestseller and was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the year's best books. The book has been translated into over 15 languages and was optioned by Lionsgate to be made into a feature film. Towles’s second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, published in 2016, was on the New York Times bestseller list for two years and was named one of the best books of 2016 by the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and NPR. The book has been translated into over 35 languages. The novel was optioned by Entertainment One via Tom Harper’s company Popcorn Storm Pictures to be made into a 6-8 hour miniseries for Paramount+ and Showtime starring Ewan McGregor and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, set to premiere in Spring 2024.  Most recently, in 2021, The Lincoln Highway debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was a Today Show, “Read with Jenna” book club pick as well as one of the New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2021, a Washington Post “Best Book of the Year,” one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2021, #1 on Amazon’s list of “Best Books of the Year,” and was one of Bill Gates’ “5 Great Books for the Summer.” His books have sold more than 6 million copies worldwide and have been heralded as "irresistible", "marvelous", and "gorgeously crafted books of beauty". 

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PAST EVENTS

Lidia Bastianich
Thursday, September 7th at 7 p.m.

Life, Love, Family, and Food – An Author Talk with Lidia Bastianich

You’re invited to an intimate evening with award-winning television host and bestselling author Lidia Bastianich as she talks about her memoir My American Dream: A Life of Love, Family, and Food

Born in Pula, on the Istrian peninsula, Lidia grew up surrounded by love and security, learning the art of Italian cooking from her beloved grandmother. But when a communist regime annexed Istria, Lidia’s family fled to Trieste, where they spent two years in a refugee camp waiting for visas to enter the United States. When she finally arrived in New York, Lidia soon began working in restaurants, the first step leading to her becoming one of the most revered chefs and businesswomen in the country. Heartwarming, deeply personal, and powerfully inspiring, My American Dream is the story of Lidia’s close-knit family and her dedication and endless passion for food.

 

 


For more information or to register for the online events, visit Upcoming Speakers.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Michael Schwartz Library and the Michael Schwartz Library Virginia McFrederick Discretionary Fund.