Author Events Light Up WWPL Summer Calendar

Summer has arrived at Westfield Washington Public Library which means we have a very busy calendar. Not only are we showcasing live animals, music, and science demonstrations, but we are proud to announce a full schedule of amazing author events taking place in the upcoming days!

Our first author event is on Friday, June 19, at 10:30am, when we will be welcoming New York Times best-selling children’s author and illustrator Troy Cummings. Known for the popular Notebook of Doom and Binder of Doom series, as well as the Young Hoosier Book Award-winning picture book Can I Be Your Dog?, Troy will share stories from his creative journey, talk about his love of drawing and writing, and describe how monsters—and humor—find their way into his books. His presentation will offer young readers a behind-the-scenes look at how stories come to life, encouraging creativity, curiosity, and a love of reading. A book signing will follow the presentation. Attendees are welcome to bring their own books, or they may purchase books at the event from Kids Ink Children’s Bookstore.

Next up on our calendar is popular local children’s author and illustrator, Rob Harrell. Rob will be here on Wednesday, July 22, at 10:30am, and he will share how he went from a kid who loved to draw to having a career where he gets to do his favorite thing every day! A graduate of DePauw University, Rob Harrell is the author of the middle-grade novels Popcorn, Wink, and the Life of Zarf series. He also wrote the Batpig graphic novel series and Monster on the Hill, which was adapted into the animated film Rumble. Harrell created the comic strip Big Top and now writes and draws the daily strip Adam@Home. Harrell’s most recent book, Popcorn, won the Schneider Family Book Award. Harrell’s books will be available for purchase from 4 Kids Books & Toys, with a book signing to follow.

On Wednesday, August 12, at 1:00pm, we will be welcoming bestselling author of both historical and contemporary women’s fiction, Jacqueline Friedland. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and NYU Law School, Friedland began her career practicing law, working as a commercial litigator. She later returned to school to earn her Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Sarah Lawrence College, leaving her law practice behind and turning to writing instead. Friedland will be discussing her newest novel, Breathing Under Water, (scheduled to be published on August 4, 2026).  The novel’s main character, Berry, is a vice principal and the mother of a 16-year-old son with autism. The story explores themes of motherhood, sacrifice, and connection. Breathing Under Water is a powerful novel championing the belief that every person has value and needs to be understood. Her books have won numerous awards and critical praise, including the 2020 and 2021 gold medals in fiction from Readers’ Favorite. Her novels have also been named the 2021 Kirkus Reviews Best Indie Book of the Year, the SheReads Best Book Club Pick of 2021, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star finalist for 2022.

Finally on August 25 at 6:00pm, we will welcome back acclaimed author and historian Craig Fehrman. He will be presenting and discussing his new book, This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark. For the first time in a generation, it offers a fresh and more accurate account of one of the most important episodes in American history, humanizing forgotten figures and shattering long-held myths. The New York Times Book Review recently called it “a page-turner and a fantastic achievement.” Born and raised in Indiana, Fehrman will share stories about This Vast Enterprise and will discuss why it took him five years to research. He will also show behind-the-scenes images of the many new documents he found. Fehrman is also the author of Author in Chief: The Untold Story of Our Presidents and the Books They Wrote. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, among others, and has been interviewed on NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Hailing from Dillsboro, Indiana, Fehrman is a 2007 graduate from the University of Southern Indiana. Currently, Craig and his family live in Bloomington, IN. When Fehrman last visited us in 2024, he shared the process he was going through in the earlier stages of writing This Vast Enterprise. Now that it has been published (and become an instant New York Times Bestseller) we are honored to have Craig return to WWPL to share this groundbreaking new historical work with us.

We are very excited to have this all-star lineup of authors visiting us this summer! We are thankful for the support of Star Financial Bank and the Westfield Library Foundation, for making these programs possible. We look forward to meeting and learning from these talented and acclaimed authors, and we hope you will join us! Visit tinyurl.com/WWPLevents to learn more about each of them, and to register to attend their events. Registration is appreciated but not required.