Wellesley is fortunate enough to draw multiple authors to town each month who write across a wide range of genres, and who visit to connect with readers and promote their work. Attending an author’s talk—whether you’ve read the book, or just want to learn more about the topic at hand—is a great way to meet the current stars of the literary scene. Here are just a few local author events happening this month.
Harlan Cohen, on “almost stress-free” college planning
DATE: Oct. 19
TIME: 7pm
LOCATION: Wellesley High School, 50 Rice St.
Want to make college planning a more positive, healthier, and less-stressful experience?
Wellesley Education Foundation presents New York Times bestselling author, Harlan Cohen, on Thursday, Oct. 19, 7pm, at Wellesley High School, for a live, in-person event for high school students and their families. Harlan will help you rethink college search and selection using strategies that have helped countless other students and families. Free event. RSVP here.
Harlan uses personal anecdotes, humor, and an interactive style to engage audiences while sharing essential information.
Gig Babson & Pippi—Pippi Rocks
DATE: Oct. 21
TIME: 2pm
LOCATION: Wellesley Books, 82 Central St., Wellesley
Join local author Gig Babson and her dog Pippi for a meet-and-greet at Wellesley Books and pick up a signed (by hand and by paw!) copy of their latest book, Pippi Rocks.No need to RSVP, just come anytime, 2pm–3pm, to say hi.
Pippi Rocks, More Stores from the Dog Blog is a charming tale of a curious, exceedingly clever Young Dog’s exploits. The antics of Pippi, a black Labrador Retriever, are non-stop in these tales of her mischievous adventures by Katherine (Gig) Babson.
The book is a warm and inspiring affirmation of how a dog’s and its owner’s reciprocal love brings deep and unique meaning to their lives.
Katherine Macdonald’s illustrations playfully capture Pippi’s capers with her bright and animated watercolors.
Enjoyed by those from ages 4 to 94
Local author Sami Greenfield—Bury Me In My Bathing Suit
DATE: Tuesday, Oct. 24
TIME: 7pm- 8pm
LOCATION: Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St.
REGISTER here
Writing since she was an adolescent, Greenfield aims to make readers and her audience laugh through their tears. Her stories about grief, love, infertility, fear, and gratitude speak to readers in a funny, deeply personal, and relatable manner, inspiring conversations about difficult subjects. Sharing lessons learned from her parents’ experiences with cancer to rescuing an owlet, and from meeting her future husband in middle school to helping her dad surprise her mom with a stripper for her fortieth birthday, Greenfield’s stories will have readers intermittently laughing and crying. Peppered in between each essay is one of her grandmother’s pie recipes.
Reading and conversation with YA author Aiden Thomas
DATE: Oct. 25
TIME: 5pm-6:30pm
LOCATION: Wellesley College, Tishman Commons, located in the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center, on the lowest level (below street level)
Aiden Thomas is a trans, Latinx, New York Times bestselling author of young adult novels, including Cemetery Boys (2019), Lost in the Never Woods (2020), and The Sunbearer Trials (2022). Their debut novel, Cemetery Boys, garnerned numerous accolades, including nominations for the National Book Award (2020), the Bram Stocker Award for Best Young Adult Novel (2020), and two Goodreads Choice Awards.
![Wellesley College, Lulu Wang Campus Center](https://media.theswellesleyreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/09181836/IMG_7494.jpeg)
Thomas’s visit to Wellesley College is the first in the Suzy Newhouse Center’s year-long “Radical Possibilities in YA Lit”’ series, which celebrates the representation of difference in young adult literature. As one of the fastest growing categories of literature, Young Adult literature books offer readers the opportunity to view the world through a multitude of perspectives and offers the inspiration to imagine a more just future. The series brings together some of today’s most important voices working to expand the parameters of the genre and inspire new narratives of community, love, resilience and resistance.