In just a few days we’ll be facilitating what is looking to be our biggest author talk yet. On February 20th, Shelby Van Pelt will be in Medford discussing her debut novel Remarkably Bright Creatures. It is currently full at a whopping 700 RSVPs, but there is a waitlist, so it’s not too late to sign up!
This isn’t our first author talk, of course. Jacqueline Woodson, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Julia Alvarez have visited us virtually, Ross Gay maxed out our large meeting room capacity at our Medford branch in February of 2025. Oregon Poet Laureate Ellen Waterston visited several of our branches last summer, and just this past fall, Jess Walter not only provided an author talk but also visited our Medford Writers Workshop to give some advice.
Jackson County is also a hub for local authors, and we try our best to highlight those voices as well. And while I’m not in a place to announce the author we’re getting for spring, I’ll say that if you’ve read the books on the 9-12th grade OBOB list – you should get excited.
As Programs Coordinator, I find value, purpose, and joy in all the programs we provide, but there is something very special about getting authors to visit.
I recently received an email from a patron about the upcoming Shelby Van Pelt talk; I’ll spare you the all caps of it – but they said:
“…Remarkably Bright Creatures changed my life. I am soooooo looking forward to seeing/hearing her!”
I feel touched by that comment.
While this book did not change my life (though I did enjoy it a lot, and suggest you check it out if you haven’t already), I do know what it is like to have a book give you those feelings – and to then have those feelings amplified by meeting the author.
I think I’ve mentioned before that my favorite book is House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski. This book did change my life (maybe I’ll talk about it in more depth another time). I’ve also had the privilege of meeting him a small handful of times. But nothing has had more impact than the first time.
It was at Powells Books in Portland. He was promoting his newest novel Only Revolutions but was willing to sign other books as well. I brought my tattered copy of House of Leaves and waited in line after his talk.
I finally got to the table, and we didn’t have a ton of time to chat – the line was long – but he signed my House of Leaves book with his classic large letter Z. But he also drew an additional downward arrow with a tiny door on it (this makes sense to those who have read the book) – and decided to use a blue marker for the arrow and a brown marker for the door – because of “the tiny brown spot I had in one of my eyes”.
I have blue eyes. But I do have a brown spot in one of them. It’s very small – I don’t even think my parents noticed it until I was well into my teens.
But my favorite author did – in the brief moment we interacted.
And it meant a lot.
And still means a lot. Here is a photo:
There’s a popular phrase that I’m sure many of you know: “Never meet your heroes.”
This phrase, often attributed to Marcel Proust, suggests that meeting people you admire can lead to disappointment because they often fail to live up to the idealized image we have of them in our minds.
I understand the sentiment, and maybe we should think more about who we do or do not consider to be a “hero” (an argument I’m not going to get into here), but I also disagree.
As both a writer and a reader, getting to hear from and meet authors is tremendously meaningful to me. It reminds me that there are humans behind the art that I consume. It inspires me to read outside of my comfort zone. It reminds me that writing is hard work and takes time, patience, and practice to do it well.
I want to experience that as often as possible.
And I want our community to experience that as much as possible, too.