Above: A look at virtual events featuring authors of popular YA or kids’ books and series. (images edited from library flyers and promos on library website)
Given the wet and dreary weather, some parents may be looking for something different to engage kids this week. So, I’m highlighting a live Author Talk tomorrow with the author of a best selling children’s fantasy book series.
Along with those details, I’m noting other relevant save-the-dates, and a list of previously recorded children’s and YA author talks that are still available to watch.
The talks are part of the virtual author talk series available through the Southborough Library’s subscription. (Most are for adults, and you can read about the full slate of this summer’s talks here.) Any Southborough resident with a Southborough Library card can register to join the live talks.
When you register to join one of the live zooms, you can also pre-submit questions for the Q&A.
Tomorrow’s talk is:
Children’s author — Dragons, Castles, and an Irresistible Princess Bent on Revenge with Katherine Rundell
The recommended age for readers of the book series is 8-12 years old or Grades 5+
Thursday, July 30th at 2:00 – 2:45 pm
Rundell is the 2024 Author of the Year, and a bestselling and award-winning author of children’s fantasy books including Impossible Creatures. She’ll discuss the sequel, The Poisoned King! “Register now to go behind-the-scenes of the making of the Impossible Creatures books–just in time for The Neverfear’s (Book #3)’s release on September 1, 2026!”
The event page promotes:
Join us LIVE for a chance to win a copy of Impossible Creatures! The giveaway link will be in the Resources area under the broadcast screen during the live event. Please ensure you are watching on your library’s webpage for the chance to participate.
To learn more and register, click here.
Another talk coming up this summer is:
Children’s author — My Bicentennial Summer: A True-Life Adventure Across America with G. Neri
The recommended age for readers is 7-10 years old or Grades 2-5
Thursday, August 20th at 7:00 – 7:45 pm
Neri is the multi-award winning and bestselling author of several books for “young people” including Ghetto Cowboy (made into the 2020 Netflix movie Concrete Cowboy). In this talk, he’ll focus on “his funny and heartfelt book, My Bicentennial Summer.” It recounts the summer of 1976 when his family went on an 8,000 mile road trip “from California to Washington, DC, with only the aid of paper maps and transistor radios rather than smartphones and GPS.”
To learn more and register, click here.
And save the date for a bilingual opportunity in September:
Picture Book Author — Where the Paletero Man Goes: A Journey of Neighborhood, Music, and Art with Lucky Diaz
The recommended age for readers is PK-2nd Grade
Thursday, September 24th at 7:00 – 7:45 pm (plus a Spanish version at 8:00 pm)
The talks feature Latin GRAMMY-winning musician Lucky Diaz, author of “the sensational bilingual picture book, Paletero Man.”
The book is described as “Inspired by the vibrant rhythms of Los Angeles and Diaz’s own hit song, this beautiful story invites readers into a sun-drenched neighborhood where the ring of a bell means the best treat of the day is just around the corner.”
To learn more and register, click the links for the English session and Spanish session.
If you can’t make the above events live, the library’s subscription also allows patrons to view the recording later. Each talk is added to the existing library of streaming videos available through the library’s website.
Below are talks with authors of children’s and YA books that were recorded earlier this year and in 2025:
Picture Book author — Wonderfully Weird: Celebrating the Joys of Feeling Different with Zaila Avant-garde
The recommended age for readers is 3-7 years old
(This talk expires September 14th)
This author talk for children features the Scripps National Spelling Bee Champ and bestselling children’s book author focused on her new picture book, Weird and Wonderful You, “in which she encourages young readers to embrace what makes them different.”
(Avant-garde has also written early readers and a collection of stories from her life.)
To learn more and register to view the recording, click here.
Young Adult author — Dangerous Magic, Enchanting Romance, and Painting the Future with Elizabeth Lim
The recommended age for readers is Grades 7+
This author talk features the bestselling YA Romantasy novelist. The talk focuses on her latest book, the A Forgery of Fate, described as a “spellbinding”, “romantic tale of Beauty and the Beast”, featuring “a cursed dragon lord and a plot to bring down the gods”.
To learn more and register to view the recording, click here.
Children’s Author — Explore Secret Worlds in the Earth, Sea, and Sky with Kate Messner
The recommended age for readers is Grades K-3
This talk focuses on the author’s non-fiction picture book series Over and Under. The books explore “precious ecosystems, landscapes, and the animals that call these places ‘home’ all over the world.”
(Messner has also written fictional picture books, novels, chapter books, and, the graphic non-fiction series History Smashers.)
To learn more and to view the recording, click here.
YA Author — 10 Years of Daring Heists and Lovable Outcasts in YA Fantasy with Leigh Bardugo
The recommended age for readers is ages 12-18
The bestselling author of the young adult fantasy fiction novels (inspiring the Shadow & Bone series on Netflix) planned to talk about her book Six of Crows, set in the “Grisha” universe.
To learn more and to view the recording, click here.
Children’s Author — Illuminating Hope and Grace in the Face of Hardship with Rex Ogle
The recommended age for readers is Grades 5-8
The event featured the winner of the YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award. He planned to talk about “his struggles to navigate sixth grade as written about in his book” Free Lunch. The book is “a story of hardship threaded with hope and moments of grace”.
To learn more and to view the recording, click here.
YA Author — Discerning the Truth with Marie Lu
The recommended age for readers is Grades 9-12
The event featured the #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of the YA trilogies “Legend” and “The Young Elites”.
The talk focused on Legend, “a dystopian novel where two unlikely characters, June and Day, cross paths in search for the Truth.” The book is promoted as exploring “the depths of deceit, battle for power, and the lengths characters will go to unmask the Truth.”
To learn more and to view the recording, click here.
Picture Book Author — Drawing Your World with Raúl The Third
The recommended age for readers is PK-2nd Grade
The talks (in English and Spanish) featured the New York Times Bestselling and Three-Time Pura Belpre Award-Winning Illustrator, Author, and Artist whose works include the ¡Vamos! picture book series.
Focusing on ¡Vamos!: Let’s Go Read, he encouraged kids “to explore their world through a creative lens”. Be prepared with drawing supplies and paper to “draw along”.
To learn more and to view the recording, click the links for the English session and Spanish session.
Children’s Author — Living the Otter Life with Katherine Applegate
The recommended age for readers is Grades 3-6
The event featuring the award winning author focused on Odder, a “heartwarming novel in verse”. Her “poignant and humorous tale . . . examines bravery and healing through the eyes of one of nature’s most beloved and charming animals.”
To learn more and to view the recording, click here.
Looking even further back, the following programs are from 2024 and 2023:
- Graphic Novels are Life! Telling Your Own Story in a Graphic Novel with Dan Santat (5th-8th Grade) — Caldecott Medal Winner, National Book Award Winner, and New York Times Bestselling Author and Illustrator of Over 100 Books
- Learning the Power of Poetry with Bestselling Author Elizabeth Acevedo (9th-12th) — National Book Award Winner and New York Times Bestselling Author of The Poet X and Clap When you Land
- Surviving the Summer with The Last Kids on Earth and Max Brallier (3rd-6th Grade) — New York Times Bestselling Author of More Than 50 Books for Children Under Both This Name and the Pen Name Jack Chabert
- A Visit to Deckawoo Drive with Mercy Watson and Kate DiCamillo (PreK-2nd Grade) — Newbery Medal Winner for The Tale of Despereaux and New York Times bestselling author of over 30 books for children
- 20 Years of Dragon-Riding in YA Fantasy with International Bestselling Author Christopher Paolini — International Bestselling Author of Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance
- Let’s Talk World Building with YA Fantasy Fiction Superstar Author Victoria Aveyard — #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of the Red Queen Series and the Realm Breaker Series
- Author Talk with Cassandra Clare: Bestselling Author of The Mortal Instruments Series — #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Mortal Instruments Series, The Infernal Devices Series, and The Last Hours Series
- Author Talk with Courtney Summers: New York Times Bestselling YA Author — Edgar and Odyssey Award Winning Author and NYT Bestselling author of Sadie
- The Gilded Ones Series: Author Talk with Namina Forna — New York Times Bestselling Author of The Gilded Ones and The Merciless Ones
For more information on the series or to register for other past and future author talks, visit bit.ly/sbliblsc.
