Join us for The Dr. Audrey Lavin Speaking of Books Author Series.
In keeping with our mission to foster community engagement, the Speaking of Books Author Series brings acclaimed writers to Stark County who inspire lively discussion and – at times – challenging conversation while exemplifying literary excellence. Each bestselling author will speak about their book, followed by a wide-ranging question and answer session.
Join the conversation—discover more and register for these free one-of-a-kind evenings before space runs out.
Mark Bittman
Speaking of Books Author Series
Thursday, September 23 | 6:30 pm | Online (Zoom)
Celebrate downtown Canton’s Restaurant Week virtually with author Mark Bittman.
Mark was a food journalist and columnist, opinion columnist, and the lead magazine food writer at the New York Times. He starred in four television series and has made hundreds of television, radio, and podcast appearances, including Jimmy Kimmel Live!, RealTime with Bill Maher, and CBS’s The Dish; plus NPR’s All Things Considered, Fresh Air, and Morning Edition.
His book, VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good teaches us we can live healthier, not just eat healthier, when you eat with eyes wide open. It also encourages us to discover a flexible, ethical way of eating better to improve your health and lose weight by using common sense in the kitchen.
Register for FREE Check out a Book
Marc Brown
Speaking of Books Author Series
Tuesday, November 16 | 6:30 pm | Canton Palace Theatre
Meet the creator of the most famous A-A-R-D-V-A-R-K in the world, right here in Canton! This bestselling author joins us to talk about his characters, work, behind the scenes fun facts, and more!
He is also the renowned illustrator of Judy Sierra’s Wild About Books and ZooZical but is best known worldwide as the creator of Arthur the Aardvark, the star of many picture books and the five-time Emmy Award-winning TV show, and his many friends. He has been writing about Arthur, D.W., and their friends since the '70s and is beloved around the world.
On his way to becoming a full-time author and illustrator, he worked as a truck driver, short-order cook, television art director, actor, college professor, and freelance illustrator. His big breakthrough came one night when his five-year-old son asked for a bedtime story about a weird animal. Brown came up with Arthur, an aardvark who hated his long nose. In 1976, this story became Arthur's Nose, the first book in the popular series.
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Previous Speakers
RL Stine
Goosebumps and Fear Street Series Author
Thursday, April 8 | 6:30 pm | from home
It’s a Scream Come True! Tune in from under your bed to meet the mastermind behind the bestselling Goosebumps and Fear Street series— RL Stine.
He’s been scaring readers with creepy creations like Slappy the Dummy, Monster Blood, and The Haunted Mask for nearly thirty years.
The Goosebumps series has sold more than 400 million copies in the United States and The Guinness Book of World Records cited Stine as the bestselling series author in history. In 2015, The Goosebumps Movie, starring Jack Black as Stine, was released. It featured forty monsters from the ghoulish books including the diabolical Slappy, and quickly became the #1 film in the United States.
Stine is a three-time winner of the RL Stine Creative Writing Award. The award is given annually to an author named RL Stine. No other writer has been honored with this prestigious award. He’s also a three-time recipient of both the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards and the Disney Adventures Kids’ Choice Award.
He also won the Thriller Writers of America Silver Bullet Award in 2007 and the Horror Writers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
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Kwame Alexander
Poet and NYT Bestselling Author
Monday, November 16 | 6:30 pm
LIVE Online
The poet and NYT bestselling author of 32 books writes for children of all ages. He’ll join us to discuss his work, including the highly celebrated The Crossover, The Undefeated, and Rebound.
Register for FREE Reserve the Book
Romona Robinson
Emmy Award-Winning Anchor and Author
Thursday, February 20 | 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Robinson shares her inspirational journey from a poverty-stricken town in Missouri to becoming one of the most respected and admired journalists in northeast Ohio in her memoir A Dirt Road To Somewhere.
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Elizabeth Vargas
Emmy Award-winning journalist and Author
Thursday, September 12 | 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
In her memoir, Between Breaths, Vargas bravely discusses how alcoholism and an anxiety disorder have affected her life and career, and why she chose to publicly share her struggle with the disease and her ongoing recovery.
Presented in partnership with Stark County Mental Health & Addiction Recovery with Support from Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health, Comm Quest, Coleman Professional Services, Phoenix Rising, and Kent State University Stark.
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David Sheff
Award-Winning Author
Wednesday, October 30 │ 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Take a raw look into the world of addiction, relapse and recovery— through the eyes of a parent watching their child spiral out of control in Beautiful Boy. It is also this year’s One Book, One Community Stark selection.
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Mike Massimino
American Astronaut and NYT Bestselling Author
Tuesday, April 2 | 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Massimino chronicles his journey from a six-foot-three Long Island kid afraid of heights to a two-time veteran of NASA space flights on the final two Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions. Massimino and his crews traveled faster (Mach 26) and higher (350 miles) than any other astronauts in the 21st century.
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Imbolo Mbue
Bestselling Author and 2017 PEN/Faulkner Award Winner
Thursday, February 7 | 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Imbolo Mbue is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Behold the Dreamers, which shares the different experiences of two families during the 2008 financial crisis. Her debut novel was the winner of multiple awards, chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection, and named Best Book of the Year by close to a dozen publications.
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Ruth Reichl
Author, Food Critic and Top Chef Master Judge
Thursday, October 25 | 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Ruth Reichl is one of the most recognizable voices in the culinary world. She’s an American chef, food writer, co-producer of PBS's Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie, culinary editor for the Modern Library, host of PBS's Gourmet's Adventures With Ruth, and was the last editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. She’s delighted readers with bestsellers like Tender at the Bone: Growing up at the Table and Comfort Me with Apples. She is also Stark County’s One Book, One Community selection for 2018.
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Bernie Kosar
Legendary quarterback and author of Learning to Scramble
Wednesday, September 19 | 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Bernie Kosar earned a Super Bowl ring with the Dallas Cowboys in 1993, after leading the Cleveland Browns to two AFC Championship games. His book is an unvarnished and completely authentic account of an extremely talented man’s ability to not only learn from his mistakes but to evolve and develop new ways of approaching life. It’s a distillation of what can be done with just a little more time and a little more opportunity – all you can accomplish when you learn to scramble.
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Sam Quinones
Award-Winning Journalist Explores the Opiate Epidemic
Monday, April 2 | 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Sam Quinones is a journalist, storyteller, former LA Times reporter, and author of three acclaimed narrative nonfiction books. His most recent book addresses America’s opiate epidemic. He was selected as a 2008 recipient of the Maria Moors Cabot prize and is a 1998 recipient of an Alicia Patterson Fellowship.
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Debbie Macomber
NYT Bestselling Inspirational Novelist Visits for Valentine’s Day
Wednesday, February 14 | 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
#1 NYT bestselling author Debbie Macomber’s novels have spent over 990 weeks on the bestseller list with twelve hitting the #1 spot. She was the inaugural winner of the Quill Award for romance in 2005 and has been awarded both a RITA and a lifetime achievement award by the Romance Writers of America.
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Jay Asher
Author of Netflix Original & NYT Bestseller Thirteen Reasons Why
Tuesday, November 14 | 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Asher’s debut novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, became a #1 New York Times bestselling young-adult fiction novel. It won several awards, received five stars from Teen Book Review and in 2017, was released as a successful Netflix original series. He also wrote What Light and co-authored The Future of Us.
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Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger
Inspiration for the 1993 Blockbuster Film RUDY
Tuesday, October 24 | 6:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger defied the odds with 27 seconds of greatness in his story of fierce determination. In 1993, his story was immortalized in the hit movie RUDY. He is now a renowned motivational speaker and focused on strengthening communities by offering scholarships in education, sports and the arts. He is also Stark County’s One Book, One Community selection for 2017.
Garth Stein
Tuesday, April 11 | 6:30–8:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Garth discusses his bestselling book The Art of Racing in the Rain, the writing process, and more. He’s the author of three other novels: including his latest, A Sudden Light. The Art of Racing in the Rain is the contemporary classic narrated by the beloved canine character, Enzo. It's sold 6 million copies, been translated into 35 languages, and spent more than three years on the New York Times bestseller list.
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Terry McMillan
Wednesday, February 15 | 6:30–8:00 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
#1 New York Times bestselling author Terry McMillan fell in love with books as a teenager while working at the local library. She studied journalism at UC Berkeley and screenwriting at Columbia before making her fiction debut with Mama, which won both the Doubleday New Voices in Fiction Award and the American Book Award. She lives in Pasadena, California.
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Forrest Pritchard
Tuesday, October 18, 2016 | 6:30–8:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
Forrest Pritchard is a seventh generation farmer and New York Times bestselling author. His book, Gaining Ground, A Story of Farmer's Markets, Local Food and Saving the Family Farm, was named a top read by Publishers Weekly, The Washington Post and NPR’s The Splendid Table. Forrest is also this Stark County’s One Book, One Community selection for 2016.
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Michael Hingson
Wednesday, September 14, 2016 | 6:30–8:30 pm
Canton Palace Theatre
On September 11, 2001, a blind man escaped the World Trade Center by walking down 78 flights of stairs with his guide dog. America fell in love with Michael and his dog Roselle and the special bond that helped them both survive one of the country’s darkest days.
Michael Hingson is now a world renowned speaker, social advocate, and New York Times bestselling author.
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Who is Dr. Audrey Lavin?
This series is named in honor of Dr. Audrey Lavin, our own local “celebrity” author, a globe-trotting academic, a champion of writers, and a tireless supporter of the Library.
She has shown unwavering support for the library mission as a Friends of the Library volunteer and by serving on the Library's foundation for many years. Her commitment to the Library, education, and the art of writing makes her the perfect inspiration for this collection of acclaimed authors.
His book, VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good
teaches us we can live healthier, not just eat healthier, when you eat with eyes wide open. It also encourages us to discover a flexible, ethical way of eating better to improve your health and lose weight by using common sense in the kitchen.