The Guilded Leaf Book & Author Luncheon Celebrates 15 Remarkable Years

The Guild of the Carmel Clay Public Library Foundation is proud to welcome seven remarkable authors to Carmel, Indiana, next month for its 15th Annual Guilded Leaf Book & Author Luncheon and its annual Writers at the Pavilion, which is held the evening before the popular luncheon.

Both events are held at the beautiful Ritz Charles in Carmel. Writers at the Pavilion offers an opportunity for attendees to network and engage in conversation with the authors and other attendees in a more casual environment. The authors will be available for book signings at this evening event as well as at the luncheon the following day.

For those who have never attended, The Guilded Leaf Book and Author Luncheon is a popular and engaging event that features seven nationally known authors who share their stories about life, writing and books. Attending one or both of these events is a wonderful way to support the Carmel Clay Public Library Foundation, which in turn supports the Carmel Clay Public Library’s extensive menu of programs that are available for the entire Carmel community.

In addition to enjoying a delicious lunch and conversations with fascinating tablemates, attendees will enjoy listening to seven incredibly talented authors speak throughout the course of the luncheon that will be moderated once again by popular columnist, author and speaker Lori Borgman.

The Guilded Leaf Book & Author Luncheon proudly presents the following authors:

Margaret Peterson Haddix

Margaret Peterson Haddix has written more than 40 books for children and teens, and many of her books have been honored with New York Times bestseller status. Her newest title, “The Remarkables,” is an intriguing mystery with real-life issues that many children face. When a young girl moves to a new town, she is captivated by the people next door, a group of teens known as the Remarkables, who, as if by magic, are there one minute and gone the next.

What about the writing process is the most challenging or liberating for you? 

My writing process often feels like dumping a bunch of puzzle pieces out on a table and trying to figure out how they fit together. Plot, characters, setting, scenes, chapters—do they connect? The most challenging part is when I can’t figure out if I’m even looking at the right puzzle pieces, or if I need to throw some (or all) of them away and get new ones. And the most liberating (and exhilarating) part is when I get that moment of epiphany and just know how everything is supposed to work. 

Craig Johnson

In “Land of Wolves,” the latest installment of the Longmire mystery series, New York Times bestselling author Craig Johnson once again draws readers into the rugged and colorful world of Wyoming’s glorious landscape. Sheriff Walt Longmire is deep in the investigation of what could or could not be the suicidal hanging of a shepherd. His investigation becomes even more complicated with the appearance of a giant wolf in the Big Horn Mountains.

As this event is a fundraiser for our library, what do libraries mean to you as an author?

When I was young, we didn’t have a lot of money, so libraries meant the world to me, a gateway to everything in which I might be interested. I think you can judge the strength of a community by its libraries, and that’s something I continue to believe and support today. A novella I wrote, “Spirit of Steamboat,” was selected by the state as One Read Wyoming, and I made a point of visiting all 63 libraries (some of which were a single shelf behind the bar of the local saloon), but before you applaud my selflessness, you should know that my honoraria was a six-pack of Rainier beer, cans preferred, and I haven’t bought beer in about seven years.

William Kent Krueger

From Edgar and Anthony Award-winning author William Kent Krueger comes “This Tender Land,” the story of four orphans on a life-changing odyssey during the Great Depression. Over the course of one unforgettable summer, they will journey into the unknown and cross paths with others who are adrift, from struggling farmers and traveling faith healers to displaced families and lost souls of all kinds.

What would you like for readers and attendees of the luncheon to know about you—as a person—that they may not know?

I spent much of my adolescence on farms and in small towns in Ohio, just a hop, skip and jump from Indianapolis. I have Midwest in my blood. That may be the reason why my two stand-alone novels “Ordinary Grace” and “This Tender Land” feature the rural Midwest landscape so prominently and, in a very real way, lovingly.

Heather Webb and Sophie Perinot

“Ribbons of Scarlet” is a timely story of the power of women to start a revolution—and change the world. In late 18th-century France, women do not have a place in politics. But as the tide of revolution rises, women from gilded salons to the streets of Paris decide otherwise, upending a world order that has long oppressed them. Heather Webb and Sophie Perinot share the stories of women who must make impossible choices to survive.

What do libraries mean to you as a lifelong patron and not just as an author?

Sophie Perinot: Libraries meant something to me long before I was an author—as a child and then a young woman, I spent endless hours at my local public library. In fact, my very first job, at age 15, was at that same library branch, shelving books. Yes indeed, I used to have the Dewey decimal system memorized. Confession: I was really terrible at this job, because pretty much every time I picked a book off my cart to shelve it, I ended up reading the cover copy. Speedy and efficient I was not. But luckily for me, Mrs. K, the head librarian, overlooked my foibles.

As an author I love the idea of readers discovering my books at libraries and taking them home … perhaps strapped to the back of their bike as I used to carry mine. Libraries open the world—past, present and future—to those who pass through their doors, and they are important because they give access to literature and information on an equal basis. There is no “pay to play” at a library. 

What about the writing process is the most liberating for you?

Heather Webb: I adore the research portion of writing as well as the revisions stage where the “true writing” happens. Writing that first draft can be grueling sometimes, especially as I slog through the middle. Nothing could be more liberating for me than typing “The End” on a first draft. It means the foundation of a story is in place and I get to move on to the parts I love—really fleshing out the characters, the setting and the story arcs.

Karen White

Karen White presents her first Christmas novel, “The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street,” the newest installment in her beloved Charleston-set Tradd Street series. This blend of women’s fiction, romance, mystery and historical fiction finds quirky, doughnut-loving, schedule-obsessed Melanie Trenholm forced to confront the hidden secrets of her city and its former residents.

What would you like for readers and attendees of the luncheon to know about you—as a person—that they may not know?

I’d rather be reading—or doing anything else, really—than writing! Writing is the thing I have to force myself to do it or else I’ll procrastinate all day and get nothing done. Even after 25 books, writing a book never gets easier. Just like Dorothy Parker said, “I hate writing, I love having written.”

Bryan Reardon

In “The Perfect Plan,” the new thriller by bestselling author and Notre Dame graduate Bryan Reardon, two brothers—one a charismatic political candidate, the other troubled and violent—are locked in a tense and dangerous game. Is the glue that holds families together their shared blood, or is it the dark secrets beneath the surface?

Don’t miss these two amazing events. Tickets will sell quickly, so register soon! SPONSORSHIPS OR RESERVATIONS: (317) 814-3984 or carmel.lib.in.us/foundation/tickets.cfm.

Individual Tickets: $70 per event | Corporate Tables (10): $1,200 | Please respond by October 10, 2019.

Pull out boxes:the events official colors are plum and gold if we can use these

The 15th Annual Guilded Leaf Book & Author Luncheon

Thursday, October 17, 2019

9:30 a.m. Doors open

11:15 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Luncheon Program

Writers at The Pavilion

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

7:00–9:30 p.m.

A casual event of authors, wine and craft beers.

Both events take place at the RITZ CHARLES, 12156 N. Meridian St., Carmel

Writer:

Janelle Morrison

Photography:

Courtesy of CCPLF