Use this QR code to view 2023 featured videos with Great Reads authors discussing their books.
Great Reads from Great Places: 2022 Author Videos
Hear the Authors Discuss Their Work.
Central I (Young Readers)
Introduced by Suzanne Walker, Director of the Indiana Center for the Book, this video features Baptiste and Miranda Paul, authors of "Peace" (chosen by the Wisconsin Center for the Book); Clayton Anderson, author of "Letters from Space" (chosen by the Nebraska Center for the Book); Carol Boston Weatherford, author of "R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul" (chosen by the Michigan Center for the Book); Tracy Subisak, author and illustrator of "Jenny Mei is Sad" (Chosen by the Ohio Center for the Book); and David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka, author and illustrator, respectively, of "How to Apologize" (Chosen by the Minnesota Center for the Book) responding to a series of questions about their work and how it fits into the theme of the National Book Festival as well as sharing a book that was significant to them growing up and either their favorite thing about their state or sharing an item that relates to their personality. For transcript and more information, visit .https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-10479
Central I (Books for Teens)
Introduced by Suzanne Walker, Director of the Indiana Center for the Book, this video features Baptiste and Miranda Paul, authors of "Peace" (chosen by the Wisconsin Center for the Book); Clayton Anderson, author of "Letters from Space" (chosen by the Nebraska Center for the Book); Carol Boston Weatherford, author of "R-E-S-P-E-C-T: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul" (chosen by the Michigan Center for the Book); Tracy Subisak, author and illustrator of "Jenny Mei is Sad" (Chosen by the Ohio Center for the Book); and David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka, author and illustrator, respectively, of "How to Apologize" (Chosen by the Minnesota Center for the Book) responding to a series of questions about their work and how it fits into the theme of the National Book Festival as well as sharing a book that was significant to them growing up and either their favorite thing about their state or sharing an item that relates to their personality. For transcript and more information, visit .https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-10479
Central Region II (Books for Young Readers)
Introduction by Michael Pearce, director of the Alabama Center for the Book, and featuring Karen M. Greenwald, author of “A Vote for Susanna: The First Woman Mayor” (chosen by Kansas Center for the Book); Brittany J. Thurman, author of “Fly” (chosen by Kentucky Center for the Book); Gayle Webre, author of “When I Was an Alligator” (chosen by Louisiana Center for the Book); Dan & Connie Burkhardt. authors of “Growing Up with the River: Nine Generations on the Missouri” (chosen by Missouri Center for the Book); and Mariana Llanos author of “Run Little Chaski! An Inka Trail Adventure'' (chosen by Oklahoma Center for the Book). The featured authors discuss their books, the states that selected them, and how “Books Bring Us Together.” For transcript and more information, visit .https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-10484
Central II (Books for Teens)
Introduction by Michael Pearce, director of the Alabama Center for the Book, and featuring Charles Waters and Irene Latham, author of “African Town” (chosen by Alabama Center for the Book); Ayana Gray, author of “Beasts of Prey” (chosen by Arkansas Center for the Book); Andrea Davis Pinkney, author of “Loretta Little Looks Back: Three Voices Tell It” (chosen by Mississippi Center for the Book); and Julia Watts, author of “Needlework” (chosen by Tennessee Center for the Book). The featured authors discuss their books, the states that selected them, and how “Books Bring Us Together.” For transcript and more information, visit https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-10490
Western Region I
Great Reads from Great Places: Western Region I features Sara Peté, director of the Washington Center for the Book, in conversation with Cindy Lou Aillaud, author of "Recess at 20 Below" (chosen by the Alaska Center for the Book); Gayle Forman, author of "Frankie and Bug" (chosen by the California Center for the Book); Greg Bowman and Alan Suemori, authors of "Leilani: Blessed and Grateful" (chosen by the Hawaii Center for the Book); Danielle Higley, author of "The Stories Behind the Stories: The Remarkable True Tales Behind Your Favorite Children's Books" (chosen by the Idaho Center for the Book); Axie Oh, author of "The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea" (chosen by the Nevada Center for the Book); and Donna Barba Higuera, author of "The Last Cuentista" (chosen by the Washington Center for the Book). For transcript and more information, visit .https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-10483
Western II (Untold Stories)
Great Reads from Great Places: Western Region II features Jennifer Widman, director of the South Dakota Center for the Book, in conversation with Kali Fajardo-Anstine, author of "Woman of Light: A Novel" (chosen by the Colorado Center for the Book); Sarah Vogel, author of "The Farmer's Lawyer: The North Dakota Nine and the Fight to Save the Family Farm" (chosen by the North Dakota Center for the Book); Nick Estes, author of "Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance" (chosen by the South Dakota Center for the Book); and Jonathan T. Bailey, author of "When I Was Red Clay: A Journey of Identity, Healing, and Wonder" (chosen by the Utah Center for the Book). For transcript and more information, visit https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-10496
Western II (Author Stories)
Great Reads from Great Places: Western Region II features Lucas Fralick, coordinator of the Wyoming Center for the Book, in conversation with Dusti Bowling, author of “Across the Desert” (chosen by the Arizona Center for the Book); Gregory Barrington, author of “Cow Boy Is Not a Cowboy” (chosen by the Colorado Center for the Book); Anna Harber Freeman & Barbara Gonzales, authors of "Shaped by Her Hands: Potter Maria Martinez" (chosen by the New Mexico Center for the Book); Julia Lyon, author of “A Dinosaur Named Ruth: How Ruth Mason Discovered Fossils in Her Own Backyard" (chosen by the South Dakota Center for the Book); Meghan P. Browne, author of “Indelible Ann: The Larger-Than-Life Story of Governor Ann Richards” (chosen by the Texas Center for the Book); Christian McKay Heidicker, author of "The Cure for the Common Universe" (chosen by the Utah Center for the Book); and Tyler Rogers, author of “The Marvelous Invention of Orion McBride” (chosen by the Wyoming Center for the Book). For transcript and more information, visit https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-10495
Stories from Eastern States
Great Reads from Great Places: Stories from Eastern States features Rocco Staino, director of the Empire State Center for the Book, in conversation with Lisa Rose, author of The Singer & the Scientist (chosen by the New Jersey Center for the Book); Mary Wagley Copp, author and Munir D. Mohammed, illustrator of Wherever I Go (chosen by the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Centers for the Book); Rebecca E. Hirsch, author of Night Creatures: Animals that Swoop, Crawl, and Creep While You Sleep (chosen by the Pennsylvania Center for the Book); and Joseph Bruchac, author of Children of the Longhouse (chosen by the New York Center for the Book). For transcript and more information, visit https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-10487
Eastern Region I (Stories Bring Us Together)
“Great Reads from Great Places: Books Bring Us Together” [Eastern Region 1] features Lizz Sinclair, of Maine’s Center for the Book, in conversation with authors and illustrators of books selected by 4 states from the Eastern region, including: Lizzy Rockwell, author & illustrator of The All-Together Quilt (chosen by the Connecticut Center for the Book); Marek Bennett, cartoonist and co-editor of The Most Costly Journey (El Viaje Mas Caro): Stories of Migrant Farmworkers in Vermont Drawn by New England Cartoonists (chosen by the Vermont Center for the Book); Daniel Minter, Illustrator of BLUE: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky (chosen by Maine’s Center for the Book); and Marek Bennett, Cartoonist of The Civil War Diary of Freeman Colby: A New Hampshire Teacher Goes to War / A Graphic Novel Series (chosen by the New Hampshire Center for the Book). For transcript and more information, visit https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-10488
Eastern Region II
Roadmap To Reading: Great Reads from Great Places: Region II-East, which includes states and territories from the Allegheny Plateau, and the misty Blue Ridge Mountains, to the azure blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. Our speakers were invited by the Affiliate Centers for the Book from Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Virginia, the US Virgin Islands, and Virginia. Joe Davich, director of the Georgia Center for the Book, moderates the panel featuring Breanna J. McDaniel (Georgia), author of Impossible Moon; Carole Boston Weatherford (Maryland), author of I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer; Barbara O’Connor (North Carolina), author of How To Steal A Dog; Anika Aldamuy Denise (Puerto Rico), author of Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré; Mary Alice Monroe (South Carolina), author of The Islanders; Angela Golden Bryan (US Virgin Islands), author of James and the Fireburn; and Sylvia Liu (Virginia), author of Manatee’s Best Friend. For transcript and more information, visit https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-10493