Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

My editor amazes at PLA meet

- ELI CRANOR

I’m writing from Columbus, Ohio.

It’s still dark out. Still early. My flight boards in 47 minutes. An hour later, I’ll be in Chicago. If all goes to plan, I’ll make it home in time to pick up the kids from school.

It’s been a fun, fast trip, chockfull of good people, good food and good times.

Thousands of librarians descended on Ohio over the last week for the Public Library Associatio­n Conference, or PLA for short. This was my first time at the conference. I was amazed by the energy, the pure bookish love that filled the air.

There were panels with authors like Ta Nehisi Coates and Craig Johnson. My good buddy Ace Atkins was also in attendance and just so happened to be signing books at the booth across from mine.

The writing world is small and interconne­cted. Authors and librarians are oftentimes introverts, but cram all of us together for a few days, and literary sparks are bound to fly.

One bright spark at this year’s PLA was an author by the name of Juliet Grames. Juliet is the woman behind the bestsellin­g “Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna,” and the forthcomin­g “The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia.”

And, lucky for you, Juliet will soon be in Arkansas.

On April 23, Juliet will give a reading at Arkansas Tech University. The event begins at 6 p.m. and is being held in the Ross-Pendergraf­t Library.

To say I’m excited would be an understate­ment. Juliet’s work touches on womanhood and her Italian heritage. She is a wordsmith of the highest order, and she also happens to be my editor.

I don’t know how she does it, but, yes, Juliet Grames is a bestsellin­g author and a top-notch editor. In 2023, Juliet was awarded the Mystery Writers of America’s Ellery Queen Award, which is given to the best crime-fiction editor each year.

If you make it over to ATU to hear Juliet speak, you won’t be sorry. Last night, I watched her wow an entire conference room with talks of pasta, organized crime, and hilarious/heart-wrenching stories from her extended Italian family.

At breakfast this morning, I overheard a table of librarians still buzzing about “The Lost Boy of Santa Chionia.”

Juliet is on her way back home now, just like me and all the other lucky authors who attended PLA. I’m not sure whether she has any layovers, or if she’s flying into La Guardia or JFK. I know something better. I know where Juliet will be on April 23 at 6 p.m.

As for me, my 47 minutes are up. It’s already boarding time, but I’d like to conclude by offering a heartfelt thanks to all the librarians out there. Keep fighting the good fight, one book at a time. We need you now more than ever.

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