Library Love Fest

Meet Dolen Perkins-Valdez

If you are a follower of Library Love Fest, you know I am a fan of a book entitled, Wench, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.  Wench is the story of three female slave mistresses and the friendship they built despite living in a period of oppression.   If you missed my article, read it right here.

Check out this video where author Dolen Perkins-Valdez goes into her motivation for writing Wench and why it was such an important story to tell:

If you haven't read Wench yet, please add this to your reading list.  You will NOT be disappointed!

Enjoy!

-Bobby

Sneak Peek: ALA Annual 2010!

We at HarperLibrary are so excited about attending the American Library Association's Annual Conference in June.  It gives us the opportunity to spend time with the people we love the most...LIBRARIANS!  Although it is a month and a half away, our author lineup and conference events are in full swing.  Please stop by our booth (# 2513) for all the action and some great giveaways! Check out some of the authors and events you will NOT want to miss: 

Saturday, June 26, 2010
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Auditorium Speakers Series
Nancy Pearl with Mary McDonagh Murphy, author of Scout Atticus and Boo

10:00 AM - 11:15 AM
HarperCollins Seasonal Title Presentation
To RSVP, send an email to: bobby dot brinson at harpercollins dot com
(Note: The HarperChildren's Books Seasonal Title Presentation will immediately follow starting at 11:30 AM)

10:30 AM - Noon
ALTAFF Program: Isn't It Romantic?
Featuring Sophia Nash, author of Secrets of a Scandalous Bride

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Mary McDonagh Murphy, booth signing
Scout, Atticus and Boo

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Sophia Nash, booth signing
Secrets of a Scandalous Bride

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Stacy Parker Aab, booth signing
Government Girl



Sunday, June 27, 2010
8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Literary Tastes Breakfast
Featuring Adriana Trigiani, author of Very Valentine

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Adriana Trigiani, booth signing
Brava, Valentine

1:30 PM - 3:30 PM
ALTAFF Program: Authors Come in All Colors
Featuring Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Wench

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Dolen Perkins-Valdez, booth signing
Wench

5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
ALTAFF Program: The Laugh's on Us
Featuring Roy Blount, Jr., author of Hail, Hail, Euphoria!



Monday, June 28, 2010
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Auditorium Speakers Series
Dennis Lehane, author of Moonlight Mile

9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Dennis Lehane, booth signing
Moonlight Mile

10:30 AM - Noon
ALTAFF Program: First Author, First Book
Featuring Daphne Kalotay, author of Russian Winter

11:00 AM - Noon
Marilyn Johnson, booth signing
This Book is Overdue!

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Daphne Kalotay, booth signing
Russian Winter

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
ALTAFF Gala Author Tea
Featuring Laura Lippman, author of I'd Know You Anywhere


HarperCollins is a proud sponsor of ALTAFF (www.ala.org/atlaff).  For tickets, please call 1-800-545-2433 ext 2161.

I am sure we will be adding to this already dymanic schedule, so please visit us for further updates.  We look forward to seeing you in DC!

Enjoy!

-Bobby

More Praise for Wench!

Last month, I blogged about a book entitled, Wench, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.  Wench is the story of three female slave mistresses and the friendship they built despite living in a period of oppression.   Check out my article.

We have gotten such a great response for this book...and the praise keeps coming!  USA Today just gave Wench an awesome review.  Read it right here!

If you haven't read Wench yet, please add this to your reading list.  You will NOT be disappointed!

Enjoy!

-Bobby 

Wench

Last month, I blogged about a book entitled, Wench, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez.  Wench is the story of three female slave mistresses and the friendship they built despite living in a period of oppression.   Check out my article.

We received a great review from Jennifer M. Winberry, Principal Librarian, Extension Services, Acquisitions and Programming for the Hunterdon County Library.  Here it is:

Set in the decade prior to the American Civil War, Wench tells the story of Lizzie and three other slave women who are brought to Tawawa Resort in Ohio each summer by their masters who have taken these women as their mistresses.  Lizzie, from all appearances, and in her own mind, is treated very well, is considered a favored slave on her plantation, and Drayle shows a considerable amount of affection toward her and toward the two children she bore for him.  Over the years, Lizzie, Reenie and Sweet have formed a strong summer friendship and are mostly accepting of their roles in life until the summer a fourth woman, Mawu comes into their midst and says the word aloud that until now the others only dared say to themselves:  freedom. Dangerous and determined to escape, Mawu sets off a chain of events that brings tragedy to each woman, but that also offers a chance for each woman to change the course of her own destiny, whatever may come. The women will slowly work their way into your mind and heart, especially Lizzie who grows so much over the course of the book, as each searches for her own freedom and the strength to live with her decisions.

-Jennifer M. Winberry
Hunterdon County Library

Many thanks to Jennifer and everyone at the Hunterdon County Library! I hope you add Wench to your reading list.

Enjoy!

-Bobby

Happy Friday!

When I was on vacation recently, I had the opportunity to read a fascinating and eye-opening book.  Wench, by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (on sale in January 2010) is the story of three female slave mistresses and the friendship they built despite living in a period of oppression.  Every summer, slaveholders would take their slave mistresses to a place called “Tawawa House”, a resort in Ohio that had a main building and several cottages where the slave master and slave mistress would co-exist as a couple.  It was very well known, yet a very well kept secret.

Wench focuses on three women, Lizzie, Reenie and Sweet, who each year along with their slave masters would reside in Tawawa House.  These women built a lasting bond and always looked forward to seeing each other.  They were content and enjoyed their time at Tawawa House…they were in short, “happy”…or so they thought.   Along comes a fourth slave mistress named Mawu, who rocks their standard way of living and thinking.  She also plants the idea of something very forbidden…escape to freedom.  When a tragedy strikes the resort, the lives of Lizzie, Reenie and Sweet are never quite the same.

What I appreciated about Wench is the way in which the author really captured the lives and thoughts of these women.  Dolen Perkins-Valdez removes their masks and taps into their very soul.  It made you see that (in their minds) they confused little liberties with being truly happy and free.  While they may have had the ability to read (a skill that slaves were not allowed to have) or didn’t have to do as many chores as the other slaves on the plantation, they were still dehumanized and degraded.  In addition, this book really made you feel like you were there in that period of our country’s history, experiencing the highs and many lows in their lives.  I could not put this book down. 

I am SO excited about this book that I would love to hear your comments.  I will send free copies of Wench to the 12 lucky people who send us a comment or an email at librarylovefest at harpercollins dot com.  If you would be so kind as to send a brief review of the book, I would greatly appreciate it!  I hope you find Wench as revealing and heartbreaking as I have.

Enjoy!

-Bobby

AAP Spring 2010 Book Buzz

It was great seeing old friends and making new ones at last week’s AAP Book Buzz here in NYC.  The AAP Library Committee is comprised of library marketers from various publishing houses. We get together several times a year to brainstorm about different ways we can connect our authors and books to libraries.  We decided to invite librarians from the tri-state area and barrage them with book talks and sandwiches!  It worked – we all had a lot of fun and it was a great opportunity to talk about some upcoming books that have us jazzed  (there’s just never enough time to talk about them all!)

Marilyn Johnson, author of the upcoming This Book Is Overdue! How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All kicked off the event with a brief talk about the increasing demands on librarians to keep up with the onslaught of new technology.  This book is an homage to librarians everywhere – and it is long overdue!

If anyone is interested in a galley of This Book Is Overdue, I have a few to spare.  Send an email to me at librarylovefest at harpercollins dot com and I’ll be happy to send one to you. 

Here is a list of the books I had presented.  Clicking on each title will bring you to its page in our online catalog.  Note: a few of these titles won't hit our catalogs until the beginning of November, so we've put them at the end of the list.  Happy reading!

-Virginia

Making Toast by Roger Rosenblatt

Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich

The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd

31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Brava, Valentine by Adriana Trigiani