
An Evening in the Walnut Creek Library
with Bay Area Literary Stars
and a special tribute to Maurice Sendak
Save the Evening! On March 23, 2013, guests will dine and mingle with Bay Area Literary Stars on the second floor of the Walnut Creek Library. The evening begins with a reception and silent auction followed by dinner served by Grace Street Catering and wine from Charles Creek Winery and Baldacci Family Vineards.
Our 2013 Literary Stars include:
Penny Warner: Danville mystery writer and Valley Times columnist Penny Warner is the author of 60 books including “How to Dine on Killer Wine,” “The Code Busters Club” and the “Official Nancy Drew Handbook.”
Romney Steele: Oakland author Ronmey Steele’s lavishly illustrated “My Nepenthe” tells the story of her personal relationship with this iconic Big Sur restaurant. Her subsequent cookbook “Plum Gorgeous” celebrates the romance of fruit.
Kevin Smokler is a San Francisco writer and lecturer whose most recent book is the 2013 essay collection “Practical Classics: 50 Reasons to Reread 50 Books you Haven’t Touched since High School.”
Sylvie Simmons: London-born, San Francisco-based, Sylvie Simmons is an award-winning journalist and author. Her latest book is the critically-acclaimed, N.Y Times bestseller ”I’m Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen.”
Matt Richtel is a novelist, cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who covers technology for the New York Times. His three critically acclaimed novels are thrillers set in Silicon Valley.
Jane Porter’s books include, the bestselling “Flirting With Forty” and ”Odd Mom Out”. Her new trilogy, which includes The Good Woman, revolves around the lives and loves of four sisters in the Bay Area.
Laurie King is the creator of two series of mystery novels, one featuring sleuth Mary Russell partnered with the legendary Sherlock Holmes, the other featuring police inspector Kate Martinelli in her native San Francisco.
John King: Contra Costa resident John King is the urban design writer for the San Francisco Chronicle and the author of the 2011 “Cityscapes: San Francisco and its Buildings.”
Adam Johnson: Stanford University creative writing professor Adam Johnson’s 2011 novel “The Orphan Master’s Son,” is both a touching and highly imaginative story and a searing indictment of government repression in North Korea.
Mary Ellen Hannibal documents the most ambitious wildlife conservation project ever undertaken in her critically acclaimed 2012 book “Spine of the Continent.”
C. W. Gortner: Half-Spanish by birth, bestselling author C.W. Gortner writes historical novels about powerful and maligned women of the Renaissance, including Elizabeth I, Catherine de Medici, Isabella of Castile, and her daughter, the “mad” queen Juana. He lives in San Francisco and is currently at work on a novel about Lucrezia Borgia.
Zoe Ferraris: San Francisco author Zoe Ferraris’s mystery novels “Finding Nouf,” “City of Veils” and “Kingdom of Strangers” were inspired by her experience living in Saudi Arabia.
Meg Waite Clayton is a Palo Alto resident and the best-selling author of “The Four Ms. Bradwells,” “The Wednesday Sisters,” and “The Language of Light,” and a book club favorite.
Max Byrd’s new thriller about a secret arms race at the eve of World War II follows his highly acclaimed historical novels recounting events in the lives of Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Ulysses S. Grant.
Gary Bogue wrote a popular East Bay newspaper column on pets, wildlife and the environment and is the author of four books, including “There’s an Opossum in my Backyard” and “The Racoon Next Door.”
Cara Black: San Francisco mystery writer Cara Black is the author of the bestselling Aimee Leduc murder mysteries, set in Paris and richly imbued with the romance and intrigue evoked by its ancient streets, alleyways and cafes. (MDGentleReader)… (més)