public events: chattanooga, tn and darien, ct

Quickly, two public events where we can meet one another and catch up:

I'm speaking tonight (Monday, March 28) at 6:30 at the downtown branch of the public library in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a town I adore. Details here.

I'll be talking about how personal narrative finds its way into fiction, using my books as a backdrop for so many stories that have defined my life and my work. This is a family program for all ages.  More here.

On Tuesday, I'll be working in Chattanooga schools. Yay!

Then, I'm speaking on March 31 -- this Thursday -- at the Darien Library in Darien, Connecticut, a town I'm about to meet and, I'm sure, adore. Details here. Countdown is Darien's "One Book, One Community" book for 2011!Exciting!  It's the first children's book to be selected for this honor, and I'm so looking forward to meeting the folks in Darien and sharing stories.

Darien has planned a month-long celebration of Countdown at the library, complete with a film screening of Thirteen Days and Dr. Strangelove, as well as Pete Seeger's The Power of Song, which is one of the many references I used in researching the Pete Seeger biography for Countdown. There will be listening parties, a poetry slam, and so much more -- check it out!

I'll be doing a writing workshop with young writers in Darien on March 31 at 4pm, and a family program about Countdown that evening at the library, at 7pm.

If you live near Chattanooga or Darien, I hope you'll come say hey. Heavens to Murgatroyd! as Franny Chapman says in Countdown. Two public events in one week! I'd love to see you.