Program Type:
LectureProgram Description
Program Description:
Come down to the library for an engaging discussion about writing, mediated by librarian Stephanie Zimble, with some of our best local authors. Thinking about writing a book? Wondering how to get started? Join a diverse group of authors as we talk about issues like genre labels, self-publishing, AI, how to keep yourself motivated, and more! Time will be left for open discussion – bring your questions!
Participating Authors Include:
- Annette Dashofy - Mystery
- Annette Dashofy is the USA Today bestselling author of sixteen mystery novels, including seven Agatha Award finalists and a Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award winner. Her most recent releases are What Comes Around, the thirteenth in Zoe Chambers series, and Keep Your Family Close, the second in the Detective Honeywell series. She has two more Honeywell Mysteries coming later this year, The Devil Comes Calling and No Stone Left Unturned. Additionally, she has been a Derringer Award finalist for her short fiction. Annette is a board member of Pennwriters and is president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Annette and her husband live on ten acres of what was her grandfather’s dairy farm in Washington County, Pennsylvania with their very spoiled cat, Kensi.
- Annette Dashofy is the USA Today bestselling author of sixteen mystery novels, including seven Agatha Award finalists and a Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award winner. Her most recent releases are What Comes Around, the thirteenth in Zoe Chambers series, and Keep Your Family Close, the second in the Detective Honeywell series. She has two more Honeywell Mysteries coming later this year, The Devil Comes Calling and No Stone Left Unturned. Additionally, she has been a Derringer Award finalist for her short fiction. Annette is a board member of Pennwriters and is president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Annette and her husband live on ten acres of what was her grandfather’s dairy farm in Washington County, Pennsylvania with their very spoiled cat, Kensi.
- Richard Gazarik - Local History
- History appeals to Gazarik, who spent most days writing, visiting sites relevant to his book or poring over historical archives at the West Overton Distillery Museum and Pittsburgh universities, libraries and museums. “I try to read everything I can about the subject I'm going to write about,” he says. A retired reporter from the Tribune-Review, Gazarik has written several books about local history.
- History appeals to Gazarik, who spent most days writing, visiting sites relevant to his book or poring over historical archives at the West Overton Distillery Museum and Pittsburgh universities, libraries and museums. “I try to read everything I can about the subject I'm going to write about,” he says. A retired reporter from the Tribune-Review, Gazarik has written several books about local history.
- Beverly Harris-Schenz - Biography and Memoir
- After 38 years as a university professor and administrator, Beverly began to write creative non-fiction in retirement. Five stories have appeared in "Voices from the Attic" published by Carlow University. In 2023, her book "Living while Black: My Experience with Everyday Racism" appeared. This book, a collection of vignettes, recounts events in her both her personal and professional life spanning more than 60 years. Each vignette is accompanied by discussion questions that encourage readers to think more critically about the event. Her most recent book "Mary Martin: Black Government-Girl," published in January 2024, chronicles the early life of her mother. An African American girl born in southern Illinois, Mary aspired to a better life then could be realized in her small hometown. She joined 100,000 African Americans who traveled to the nation's wartime capital in the 1940s to pursue their dreams. Despite the discrimination and Jim Crow laws, she encountered there, she achieved her goal.
- After 38 years as a university professor and administrator, Beverly began to write creative non-fiction in retirement. Five stories have appeared in "Voices from the Attic" published by Carlow University. In 2023, her book "Living while Black: My Experience with Everyday Racism" appeared. This book, a collection of vignettes, recounts events in her both her personal and professional life spanning more than 60 years. Each vignette is accompanied by discussion questions that encourage readers to think more critically about the event. Her most recent book "Mary Martin: Black Government-Girl," published in January 2024, chronicles the early life of her mother. An African American girl born in southern Illinois, Mary aspired to a better life then could be realized in her small hometown. She joined 100,000 African Americans who traveled to the nation's wartime capital in the 1940s to pursue their dreams. Despite the discrimination and Jim Crow laws, she encountered there, she achieved her goal.
- Donald Marinelli - Fiction and Memoir
- A native of Brooklyn, New York who also grew up in Hialeah, Florida, Don Marinelli has served in higher education his entire adult life. He spent 31 years as a Professor of Drama and Arts Management at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, PA., and co-founder - then director - of its Entertainment Technology Center. Since retiring from CMU in 2012, Don has been serving as Professor of the Practice at Arizona State University, lecturer in technology management at Columbia University in the City of New York, adjunct professor at Florida Southern College, and Carlow University and Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA.
- A native of Brooklyn, New York who also grew up in Hialeah, Florida, Don Marinelli has served in higher education his entire adult life. He spent 31 years as a Professor of Drama and Arts Management at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, PA., and co-founder - then director - of its Entertainment Technology Center. Since retiring from CMU in 2012, Don has been serving as Professor of the Practice at Arizona State University, lecturer in technology management at Columbia University in the City of New York, adjunct professor at Florida Southern College, and Carlow University and Point Park University in Pittsburgh, PA.
- Linda Rettstatt - Fiction
- Linda Rettstatt began writing women’s fiction in 2002. Her critique partners, all romance authors, lured her to the dark side, and she began writing romance into her stories. She writes across genres including women’s fiction, romance (contemporary and seasoned), mystery/suspense, light paranormal, and general historical fiction. Linda transitioned from traditional publishing to self-publishing in 2014. She published her 50th novel, A Well-Imagined Life, in August of 2024.
- Linda Rettstatt began writing women’s fiction in 2002. Her critique partners, all romance authors, lured her to the dark side, and she began writing romance into her stories. She writes across genres including women’s fiction, romance (contemporary and seasoned), mystery/suspense, light paranormal, and general historical fiction. Linda transitioned from traditional publishing to self-publishing in 2014. She published her 50th novel, A Well-Imagined Life, in August of 2024.
- Mary Sutton (Liz Milliron) - Mystery
- Liz Milliron is the Shamus award-nominated author of The Homefront Mysteries, The Laurel Highlands Mysteries series, and The Jackson Davis Mysteries. Her short fiction has been published in multiple anthologies. Liz is a member of Pennwriters, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and The Historical Novel Society and is the current Secretary of the Pittsburgh chapter of Sisters in Crime and served as the Education Liaison for the National SinC board. Liz lives in the Laurel Highlands with her husband and the "dog of pharaohs," a pampered retired-racer greyhound named Koda.