Closed December 24 & 25

Author Talks

Local authors

Live Virtual Author Talks through the Library Speakers Consortium

Access 2-3 live virtual author events per month featuring a vibrant mix of best-selling authors and Pulitzer Prize winners on a wide range of interesting topics. Books and authors selected will cover a wide range of fiction and non-fiction genres including historical fiction, contemporary fiction, romance, OwnVoices, poetry, business, personal growth, social justice, history, art, culture and more. These author talks will be archived and made available for later viewing. Thank you to the West Linn Library Foundation for sponsoring these programs.

Author Talk archives are available here.

Upcoming Events

Online Author Talk: How to Know a Person with David Brooks

Tuesday, January 13th 2026 at 11:00 AM | This is a live virtual author talk that will be recorded and accessible for future use.

Join us for an online discussion with prominent cultural writer and bestselling author David Brooks on his book, How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply, in which he helps us pose essential questions: If you want to know a person, what kind of attention should you cast on them? What kind of conversations should you have? What parts of a person’s story should you pay attention to?

Online Author Talk: The Connection Cure with Julia Hotz

Tuesday, January 20th 2026 at 11:00 AM | This is a live virtual author talk that will be recorded and accessible for future use.

Be sure to jump start your new year with us as we chat virtually with journalist and author Julia Hotz about her book The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging.

Online Author Talk: The God of the Woods with Liz Moore

Wednesday, January 28th 2026 at 4:00 PM | This is a live virtual author talk that will be recorded and accessible for future use.

We are thrilled to welcome Liz Moore to discuss her latest work, The God of the Woods, an instant New York Times bestseller and one of NPR’s 2024 “Books We Love” highlights.

Online Author Talk: Fire Sword and Sea with Vanessa Riley

Thursday, February 5th 2026 at 4:00 PM | This is a live virtual author talk that will be recorded and accessible for future use.

Join us for an unforgettable experience as we chat online with Vanessa Riley about her newest book, Fire Sword and Sea, based on the folk story of the female pirate Jacquotte Delahaye.

Online Author Talk: 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic with Dr. Lindsey Stewart

Thursday, February 12th 2026 at 11:00 AM | This is a live virtual author talk that will be recorded and accessible for future use.

Feminist philosopher Dr. Lindsey Stewart’s book, The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic, tells the stories of Negro Mammies of slavery; the Voodoo Queens and Blues Women of Reconstruction; and the Granny Midwives and textile weavers of the Jim Crow era. These women, in secrecy and subterfuge, courageously and devotedly continued their practices and worship for centuries and passed down their traditions.

Online Author Talk: Reflective Rural Stories with Michael Perry

Wednesday, March 4th 2026 at 11:00 AM | This is a live virtual author talk that will be recorded and accessible for future use.

Join us in conversation with bestselling author and humorist Michael Perry, whose collection of genre-spanning works encapsulates the experiences–and the magic–of rural town communities and the everyday people who reside in them.

Online Author Talk: Astral Library with Kate Quinn

Thursday, March 12th 2026 at 4:00 PM | This is a live virtual author talk that will be recorded and accessible for future use.

You’re invited to join us for a virtual conversation with acclaimed author Kate Quinn about her latest fantastical work, The Astral Library, which poses the question: Have you ever wished you could live inside a book? Welcome to the Astral Library, where books are not just objects, but doors to new worlds, new lives, and new futures.

Online Author Talk: Rehab with Shoshana Walter and Special Guest Barbara Kingsolver

Tuesday, March 24th 2026 at 11:00 AM | This is a live virtual author talk that will be recorded and accessible for future use.

Join us for a special conversation between award-winning journalist Shoshana Walter and bestselling and award-winning author Barbara Kingsolver as they chat about Walter’s book Rehab: An American Scandal. In this work, Walter, a Pulitzer finalist, exposes the country’s failed response to the opioid crisis, and the malfeasance, corruption, and snake oil which blight the drug rehabilitation industry.

Online Author Talk (Youth): Over and Under Series Kate Messner

Thursday, March 26th 2026 at 4:00 | This is a live virtual author talk that will be recorded and accessible for future use.

Join us for an enchanting and educational discussion with bestselling author Kate Messner as we delve into her Over and Under series, best suited for a K-3rd grade audience.