Local library to host author expo

CUMBERLAND – The Cumberland Public Library will host its first local author expo on Saturday, Feb. 13 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Nearly 40 authors are participating, all from Rhode Island except for two from Massachusetts and two from Connecticut.

The event will be held in the library's Community Room. Each author will have a table to showcase his or her books, and visitors can walk through and mingle with the writers, said Aaron Coutu, the library's assistant director.

The authors will be selling and signing books, along with talking about

what it's like to get published.

“We get a lot of requests from local authors to do author events,” Coutu said, “and we figured it's a little bit easier to have everybody come at once.”

He said if there's a large enough turnout, the library will do the event next year and try to add panel discussions.

The expo will feature authors who have written about everything from animals to horror to history to sports.

True crime author Paul Lonardo collaborated with a Station Fire survivor for “From the Ashes” and is now working on a book with Scott Hornoff, a former Warwick police detective who was falsely imprisoned. Jayne Conway wrote, “What if I Fly?” a romance novel set in Rhode Island. With her novel “Wait Until I'm Dead!” clinical social worker Elda M. Dawber hopes to raise awareness of childhood sexual abuse, her field of treatment. After losing her son, Jessica Collette wrote “Your Special Star” for children who have lost loved ones.

Other authors include Michael Hartigan, Kristen Calenda, Eric Sturtevant, Tabitha Lord and Errick Nunnally. For the list of all 38 authors, visit the events section on cumberlandlibrary.org.

Dave's Marketplace is providing desserts and drinks for the expo. No registration is required, and those interested in attending can stop by any time during the three-hour event.