Legacy Sponsorship Grants 2010: Author Series
Jackson County Library sponsored a six week series of author visits held in the library meeting room.
Jean Tennant spoke about her thirty years of writing, editing and publishing books. Her most recent endeavor of collecting short stories of growing up in the Midwest, editing and publishing them has been successful. She included some writing techniques and ideas in her program and also invited program participants to write a story to possibly be included in her next book to be published.
Nathan Jorgenson, a local author, currently lives in Fairmont, MN but grew up in Jackson. He talked about how he got started writing, his process for writing and how he has marketed and sold his books. Several people attending knew Nathan growing up and shared stories. Nathan answered many questions, including some from a woman trying to get her writing published.
Paul Zoch and Blaise Jacobsen write and illustrate children's books. They both reside in Jackson and had a unique story to tell. Paul spoke about his struggles with reading and writing as a child. His hope is to create books for children to encourage them to enjoy reading books. Blaise shared his love for art and how he illustrated the book that Paul wrote. The enthusiasm of these two men and their energy made for a wonderful program.
Chad Lewis likes the adventures of ghost hunting and has traveled all over the world in search of the paranormal! There have been several requests to get more speakers on this subject. He presented his findings from his research in Minnesota and suggested to those in attendance to check out these locations for themselves. He also was curious to hear of any other local haunted location stories.
John Miller has researched and written several books about Laura Ingalls Wilder. He shared some stories about her and how he got interested in writing books about her. He had a handout that included a map of DeSmet, SD and the layout of the town to better explain his findings. He invited anyone to attend the Laurapalooza conference in Mankato for those seeking more information about Laura Ingalls Wilder's life as a pioneer.
Carole Achterhof was hilarious and very entertaining. Many people requested that we have her back again and several inquired about having her speak at other local gatherings. Her program focused on funny situations from her five humor books. In hearing about her tough times in life and how she can find humor in everyday living amazed everyone. She truly had everyone relating to her pantyhose story and other situations that made us smile and even shed a tear.
Partner Organization: Jackson County Friends of the Library
The Jackson County Friends of the library covered expenses over $1000.
Program Date: March 10-April 14, 2010
Number of Performances: 6
Number of Attendees: 125
Measurable Outcomes may be collected by survey, anecdotal responses, pre-test/post-test, observations; End user change in Behavior, Attitude, Skills, Knowledge, Condition and/or Status
The six authors provided a wide variety of knowledge and skills in their presentations. The presentations were entertaining, provided inspiration for aspiring writers, and each provided a unique experience. The content of each of the authors books was a little different each week. Some were more historical in nature and some filled with humor. The audience was truly entertained. The comments on the program evaluation forms were positive with many requesting to have the authors come back and speak again. After the program many of the people attending were asking to purchase or check out the books presented.