BOOKED for the evening, The Westport Library’s signature fundraising event, will celebrate its 26th edition this fall by welcoming Emmy Award-winning actor, producer, publisher, and businesswoman Sarah Jessica Parker.
Parker will be honored in the Library’s Trefz Forum on Wednesday, September 10.
Tickets for the event will go on sale to the public on Tuesday, August 12, at 10 am. Sponsorship opportunities are available now on the BOOKED for the evening page or by contacting Development Director Robin Powell at [email protected].
“Sarah Jessica Parker is not only an esteemed actor and successful producer. She is also a powerful voice speaking about the importance of reading and of literature, and the important role that libraries play as American civic institutions,” said Bill Harmer, The Westport Library’s executive director. “We could not possibly be more delighted to have her coming to the Library, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to introduce her to all her fans and admirers in Westport.”
BOOKED for the evening annually honors an individual whose work reflects the purpose of the Library: to nurture a love of learning and to enhance our understanding of the world.
Previous award recipients include 2024 guest of honor Billie Jean King, as well as luminaries such as Tom Brokaw, E.L. Doctorow, Calvin Trillin, Wendy Wasserstein, Pete Hamill, Martin Scorsese, Arthur Mitchell, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David Halberstam, Oscar Hijuelos, Adam Gopnik, Will Shortz, Patti Smith, Barry Levinson, Jon Meacham, Nile Rodgers, Lynsey Addario, Ron Chernow, Alan Alda, Justin Paul, Frederic Chiu, Itzhak Perlman, Shonda Rhimes, and Laura Linney.
Parker, a notable advocate for literature and libraries, has built a distinguished career both as an entertainer and champion of the written word. In 2023, she launched SJP Lit, a literary imprint focused on underrepresented voices, and she previously served as editorial director for SJP for Hogarth. She currently serves as a judge for the Booker Prize and received the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award earlier this year.
Her commitment to literature extends beyond publishing. Parker has served as honorary chair of the American Library Association’s Central Book Club and as a board member of United for Libraries. She also executive produced The Librarians, a film about the fight against book bans which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
“Reading fiction is the gateway to other cultures, traditions, smells, sounds, personal triumphs, and disappointments,” Parker said. “It is the transport to empathy, compassion, and greater understanding of lives wonderfully different from my own.”
As an actor, Parker has won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards. She currently stars as Carrie Bradshaw in the HBO series And Just Like That, the acclaimed revival of Sex and the City. Her film credits include L.A. Story, The Family Stone, Honeymoon in Vegas, State and Main, Ed Wood, and Footloose. Through her production company, Pretty Matches Productions, she developed HBO’s Divorce, in which she starred for three seasons and received a Golden Globe nomination.
Parker has also maintained a strong presence in theater since 1976, when she debuted on Broadway in The Innocents. She most recently starred opposite Matthew Broderick in the revival of Neil Simon’s Plaza Suite, earning a nomination for Best Actress at the 2024 Olivier Awards.
Through her literary work, Parker has championed diverse voices and stories. SJP Lit’s recent titles include They Dream in Gold by Mai Sennaar, Women and Children First by Alina Grabowski, A Quitter’s Paradise by Elysha Chang, and Coleman Hill by Kim Coleman Foote. With SJP for Hogarth, Parker published A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza, Golden Child by Claire Adam, and Dawn by Selahattin Demirtas.
Throughout Parker’s work, her advocacy for intellectual freedom and library access has been unwavering.
“To censor a book is to limit imagination, curiosity, connection, empathy and inspiration,” she said during her PEN America Gala acceptance speech. “Libraries aren’t just buildings with shelves. They are a beacon. They are warm in the winter and cool in summer, and they are sanctuaries of possibility. They are a heartbeat of the neighborhood.”
In addition to her career, advocacy, and literary work, Parker served on the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities during the Obama administration and is currently vice chairman of the board of directors for the New York City Ballet.
A new fiscal year means new members for The Westport Library Board of Trustees, with Christy Charise, James Corgel, Darcy Travlos, and Ashley Zwick all joining the board for the 2025-26 term.
There is also a new face at the helm, with current Board of Trustees Senior Vice President Robert Boroujerdi succeeding Pat Wieser as the board’s president. Wieser will remain on the board as a member, and Krishna Patel will succeed Boroujerdi as senior vice president.
The other officers for the 2025-26 term are Treasurer Ben Chan, Secretary Sheri Gordon, Finance Committee Chair Scott Bennewitz, Governance and Nominations Committee Chair Martina Sze, and Development Committee Chair Mark Silverstein.
The Westport Library’s upcoming fiscal year runs July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.
Boroujerdi is a former Partner at Goldman Sachs and later joined Third Point LLC, an institutional asset manager, as the head of markets. He is an active investor and advisor across public and private markets. He and his family live in Westport.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to have such a remarkable library at the heart of our town,” Boroujerdi said. “Alongside my fellow board members, I’m honored to help steward this shared resource — a gift we all benefit from and help shape. The Library truly stands as a reflection of our community itself: curious, welcoming, and always learning.”
Those cycling off the board are longtime contributors Andrea Berkely, Randy Herbertson, Celeste La Croix, Jay Norris, and Andrew Wilk.
“We look forward to the new ideas and energy that we know this outstanding group of new board members will bring, but we’ll of course miss seeing our longtime board members at our regular meetings,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. “The great news is that they’ll stay on as patrons and volunteers, and we look forward to working with everyone — new and old — for this coming term and in the many years to come.”
Here’s a closer look at the board’s newest members:
Christy Charise started her career at Goldman Sachs, leaving to pursue her MBA at Cornell, where she was selected as one of 26 Park Leadership fellows in her business school class (a fellowship recognizing professional and academic excellence). After completing her MBA, Charise joined Bain & Co. as a strategy consultant in their New York office, spending time in both the general practice and their private equity group. She subsequently joined the Connecticut-based boutique consultancy Casey Quirk, focusing on strategy work for public and private asset managers and hedge funds. In 2009, Charise and her husband co-founded Saugatuck Financial, where she led the daily operations and growth initiatives for more than a decade. She continues to lead various aspects of the practice, including business development, marketing, and strategic initiatives.
Charise holds a BS from Cornell and an MBA from the Johnson School at Cornell. She loves living in Westport with her husband, Justin, and two children, Austin and Ashley. Aside from spending time with family and friends and their two mini-goldendoodles (Pineapple and Bailey), Charise loves traveling, cooking, and a good cup of coffee.
James Corgel is an experienced business executive who has been involved with several nonprofits in leadership and team roles since his retirement. His focus has largely been education, management excellence, and career development. Corgel retired in 2013 after an extensive career at the IBM Corporation, where he served in a number of key general manager roles with global responsibility. He was appointed a member of IBM's Integration and Values team in 1997, a senior management group responsible for strategy implementation.
Corgel graduated from Notre Dame in 1973 and earned his MBA from the university in 1975. He is a member of the University of Notre Dame Advisory Councils and a board member of the Graduate Studies and Research Advisory Council. He also was named chairman of the Undergraduate Experience Advisory Council and continues to serve on the board. In addition, Corgel is a board member of Earthplace, serving as board chairman from 2020 to 2022, and was a board member of the American Management Association from 2003 to 2013. Corgel and his wife, Chris, have lived in Westport for more than 35 years.
Darcy Travlos is a capital markets specialist, investor, and entrepreneur with deep experience across technology, media, industrial, and consumer sectors. A former investment banker and equity research analyst, she has advised more than 200 companies and led more than 70 technology and consumer-related transactions. She was one of the most-read contributors to Forbes.com and has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg, Fox Business, and national radio. Her forward-thinking work in digital media was featured in The Economist, and she is widely recognized for identifying early investment opportunities in transformational technologies.
Travlos holds an MBA in finance from The Wharton School at Penn and a BA in economics from Brown, where she received the Financial Executives Award for academic achievement and the Brown Bear Award, the university’s highest volunteer honor for outstanding personal service. She has served on Brown’s board of governors, the Brown Club of Fairfield County, the Fairfield Theater Company board, and the Greater Philadelphia Venture Group. Travlos moved to Westport in 2000 with her daughter and now lives with her black labrador, Robert. She is also a member of the Library’s Verso advisory board and enjoys travel, tennis, and long walks with Robert.
Ashley Zwick has more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit and education sectors. She currently serves as the executive director of the Tuck Initiative on Workplace Inclusion at Dartmouth and teaches courses on social impact at NYU. As a strategist and connector, Zwick is driven by a passion for solving big problems and creating opportunities that empower as many people as possible to lead lives of abundance. In every role she holds, her focus is on building inclusive teams and people-centered organizations to create a more just world.
When Zwick moved to Westport in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, she had one non-negotiable: to live within walking distance of The Westport Library. Fortunately, she and her family of passionate readers found a home on Evergreen Avenue — and to this day, the Library remains her favorite part of living in Westport.
L to R: Olufunke Grace Bankole, Nicole Cuffy, and Jennifer Haigh
The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole, O Sinners by Nicole Cuffy, and Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh are the finalists for the 2025 Westport Prize for Literature, awarded annually to honor an original work of literary fiction that is both relevant and timeless.
This year’s winner will be announced in late summer/early fall and honored at The Westport Library on Thursday, November 6. The conversation with the winning author will be moderated by The Yale Review editor Meghan O’Rourke.
This is the third year for the $10,000 prize, whose inaugural grant was awarded in 2023 to renowned novelist Zadie Smith for The Fraud, which was named as one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and The Independent. The 2024 recipient was Alejandro Puyana, honored for his acclaimed debut novel, Freedom is a Feast.
The Edge of Water is the first novel for Bankole, the Nigerian American writer and Harvard Law School graduate whose work has appeared in various literary journals, including Ploughshares, Glimmer Train Stories, AGNI, Michigan Quarterly Review, New Letters, The Antioch Review, and Stand magazine. She won the first-place prize in the Glimmer Train Short-Story Award for New Writers and was the Bread Loaf-Rona Jaffe Scholar in Fiction at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference.
Prior to O Sinners, Cuffy wrote Dances, which was longlisted for the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. Cuffy, who has an MFA from The New School and is a lecturer at the University of Maryland and Georgetown University, has also been published in the New England Review; The Masters Review, Volume VI (curated by StoryFest 2024 keynote speaker Roxane Gay); Chautauqua; and Blue Mesa Review.
Haigh is the author of seven best-selling works of fiction. Her first, Mrs. Kimble, won the PEN Hemingway Award for debut fiction, and her book prior to Rabbit Moon, Mercy Street, was named a Best Book of 2022 by The New Yorker and won the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award. Haigh is a Guggenheim fellow and graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.
“Once again this year the community response to this project has been fantastic!” said Candice Savin, chair of the Westport Prize for Literature steering committee. “I am so pleased with the quality of the submissions this year. The prize is attracting impressive literary talent. No doubt the winner in conversation with Meghan O’Rourke on November 6 will be a very special evening at The Westport Library.”
Submissions for the 2025 prize were read and vetted by a team of volunteer readers — numbering nearly 50 for this year — with the best-reviewed manuscripts advancing to the jury that will select this year’s winner.
The jurors for 2025 are playwright and author Tommy Greenwald, book blogger and aggregator Suzanne Leopold, publishing industry veteran Erica Melnichok, The Lifeboat author Charlotte Rogan, and nonfiction writer and former Book of the Month Club judge Nina Sankovitch.
The Edge of Water by Olufunke Grace Bankole
In Ibadan, Nigeria, a mother receives a divination that foretells danger for her daughter in America. In spite of this warning, she allows her to forge her own path, and Amina arrives in New Orleans filled with hope. But just as Amina begins to find her way, a hurricane threatens to destroy the city, upending everything she’d dreamed of and the lives of all she holds dear. Years later, her daughter is left with questions about the mother she barely knew, and the family she has yet to discover in Nigeria.
“An artfully constructed, beautifully told, and utterly moving book. A thrilling debut.” —Jami Attenberg, author of A Reason to See You Again
O Sinners by Nicole Cuffy
Faruq Zaidi, a young journalist processing the recent death of his father, a devout Muslim, takes the opportunity to embed himself in a cult known only as “the nameless,” because its members refused to label themselves. Based in the California redwoods and shepherded by an enigmatic Vietnam War veteran named Odo, “the nameless” adhere to the 18 Utterances, including teachings such as “all suffering is distortion” and “see only beauty.” Faruq, skeptical but committed to unraveling the mystery of “the nameless,” extends his stay over months, as he gets deeper into the cult’s inner workings and alluring teachings. But as he gets closer to Odo, Faruq himself begins to unravel, forced to come to terms with the memories he has been running from while trying to resist Odo’s spell.
“A gorgeously written literary excavation of belonging and belief.” —Emma Donoghue, The Boston Globe
Rabbit Moon by Jennifer Haigh
Four years after their bitter divorce, Claire and Aaron Litvak get a phone call no parent is prepared for: their 22-year-old daughter Lindsey, teaching English in China during a college gap year, has been critically injured in a hit and run accident. At a Shanghai hospital they wait at her bedside, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. The accident unearths a deeper fissure in the family: the shocking event that ended the Litvaks’ marriage and turned Lindsey against them. Estranged from her parents, she has confided only in her younger sister, Grace, adopted as an infant from China. As Claire and Aaron struggle to get their bearings in bustling, cosmopolitan Shanghai, the newly prosperous “miracle city,” they face troubling questions about Lindsey’s life there, in which nothing is quite as it seems.
“Capturing both the possibilities of reinvention and the scars carried from a traumatic past, Haigh's searing novel examines the interplay between choice and chance.” —Booklist
Formed in 2002, the (almost) all-physician rock band DNR has been a community favorite for two decades, playing rock and roll staples from the 1960s and 70s, including the music of Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, and the Beatles.
On Saturday, June 14, they’ll bring their vintage rock sensibilities to the Trefz Forum for a special fundraiser benefiting The Westport Library. The show kicks off at 7 pm.
Click here to buy your $40 ticket to this can’t-miss event — and support the Library in doing so!
In this special performance at the Library, DNR will talk about their history between songs and share some behind-the-scenes stories.
The band has previously performed at The Levitt Pavilion and has donated its time at many charitable events, including fundraisers for pancreatic and breast cancer, ALS, and the Norwalk Hospital.
“DNR is a Westport treasure,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. “They’re a great group and an great show. We can’t wait to have them rock the forum, and we very much appreciate their support in helping us raise the money we need to provide free and low-cost programming to our community year-round.”
The Westport Library annually hosts more than 1,000 free programs, bringing together a remarkable 85,000-plus individuals — three times Westport's population — and offering a multitude of offerings for patrons of all ages. Westport provides 77% of the Library’s funding. That leaves 23% that the Library must fund itself, through a mix of generous donations, individual contributions, and fundraisers like this one.
“As a Library, we strive each and every day to provide free and engaging programming for our patrons,” said Robin Powell, Westport Library development director, “and the vast majority of our offerings are hosted at no charge. We want to continue to provide those programs, but we need your support to do so. That’s what makes fundraisers like this one so wonderful — it will be a great show, and you support the Library by attending. It’s a win-win!”
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DNR Rocks the Forum: A Benefit for The Westport Library
Saturday, June 14
7 pm
BUY TICKETS
The Westport Library Medical Series returns on Tuesday, June 3, with Dr. Lisa Phuong and Dr. Jeanne Capasse visiting the Library’s Trefz Forum to discuss the exciting progress in the diagnostics and therapeutics of breast cancer.
Phuong is a board-certified medical oncologist at Nuvance Health; she will discuss the medical aspects of breast cancer care. Capasse, a board-certified breast surgeon specializing in breast cancer at Nuvance Health, will focus on surgical approaches and reconstructive surgery of patients with breast cancer.
The Westport Library Medical Series is presented by Andrew Wilk, the five-time Emmy Award winner and former producer of Live from Lincoln Center, and will be moderated by longtime Westport internist Dr. Robert Altbaum.
After the talk, there will be time provided for questions from the audience.
The event is free to attend. Click here to register.
The Westport Library Medical Series is an opportunity for the community to learn about important medical issues, aiming to provide both practical and thought-provoking information that can help individuals navigate the complex world of medicine.
The topic for this year's series is cancer, a word that strikes fear and anxiety in everyone. Fortunately, there have been remarkable advances in the field of oncology. We are witnessing a revolution in cancer care that is allowing patients to live longer, healthier, and even experience cures from previously fatal cancer.
The first event in this year’s series took place on Tuesday, April 22, and focused on advances in cancer research. The guest was Dr. Richard Frank, system chief for clinical and translational cancer research at Nuvance Health, who discussed how chemotherapy, targeted DNA treatment, and immunotherapy have transformed the cancer treatment landscape. (Click here to watch the full recording.)
The third and fourth sessions will both be held in the fall, focusing on prostate and urological cancer and advances in lymphoma and leukemia, respectively. More information on those two events will be coming soon.
About the Speakers
Lisa Phuong is a medical oncologist who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Connecticut, and her hematology/oncology fellowship at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y. Phuong incorporates evidence-based medicine, clinical research, and compassionate care into her daily practice at the Whittingham Cancer Center in Norwalk. She helps patients understand the biology of their disease, as well as treatment options based on the most recent research developments and clinical studies. She also believes it is important to address patient challenges, including treatment-related side effects, financial concerns, and the psychological and emotional impact of being diagnosed with cancer.
Phuong is the principal investigator of several clinical trials investigating new drugs, including targeted therapies and immunotherapies for breast cancer. She has had several peer-reviewed articles and abstracts published, as well as poster presentations at national cancer conferences. Phuong is an active member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Jeanne Capasse is a surgeon specializing in breast diseases and a medical director of the Smilow Family Breast Health Center in Norwalk. A native Westporter, Capasse received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Cornell University, followed by her medical degree at Weill Cornell in New York. She has been practicing in Norwalk for 30 years.
In addition to caring for and educating patients regarding breast health issues, her passions include skiing, crossword puzzles, travel, and spending time with family.
Robert Altbaum is a recently retired physician who practiced as an Internist in Westport for 40 years. He graduated from New York University, followed by Harvard Medical School, and completed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and Yale University. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics.
For the past 40 years, he has enjoyed caring for the people of Fairfield County in the group practice, Internal Medicine Associates of Westport. He was awarded Fairfield County and Connecticut’s Top Doctor award for 24 consecutive years.
Currently retired, he continues to teach medical residents at Norwalk Hospital and coordinates the Andrew Wilk Westport Library Medical Series. He also plays in the (nearly) all-physician rock band DNR, which will be performing a fundraising concert at the Library on Saturday, June 14; purchase your tickets here.
Event Information at a Glance
Andrew Wilk Presents The Westport Library Medical Series: Advances in Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
Tuesday, June 3
7 pm
Trefz Forum, The Westport Library
The Westport Library, the Westport Center for Senior Activities, and Meryl Moss Media Group are proud to announce that Tony Sanches, Steve Karp, Jim Alkon, William Field, Martin Erdheim, and Holly Goss Betts have been named the winners of the inaugural Jackie Robinson Essay Contest.
The essay contest, open to area residents age 60 and over and organized by the Library’s Common Ground Initiative, asked its submitters to answer the following question in 800 words or less: “Jackie Robinson stands as an icon of equality and civil rights. What does that say about the power of his legacy, of the place of sports in our culture, and about our modern-day society?”
Sanches took first place in the contest with his essay “Life Lessons,” earning a Jackie Robinson Baseball Hall of Fame 1962 Induction limited edition, full size 34-inch career stat bat.
Karp was this year’s runner-up with his essay, “42 and Me,” with Alkon taking third place for his submission, “His Courage Taught Baseball to be Color Blind.” Karp’s second-place prize was a Highland Mint Jackie Robinson Hall of Fame plaque, with Alkon receiving a Highland Mint silver photo coin.
The additional award-winning essays for 2025 were Field’s “The Meritocracy of the Locker Room: Jackie Robinson’s Halo Looms Large,” Erdheim’s “Jackie Was America’s Dream,” and Goss Betts’ “Jackie Robinson Moved Boulders.”
“The essays submitted for our inaugural contest were a joy to read,” said Bill Harmer, Westport Library executive director. “They were thoughtful, thought-provoking, and routinely excellent. It was a real challenge to narrow it down to just six recipients. Our congratulations to the winners and our sincere thanks to everyone who took part in the contest. We can’t wait for next year!”
Left: Second-place finisher Steve Karp, age 12 (center) and his brother meeting Jackie Robinson in Stamford; Right: Tony Sanches with his winning prize outside the Westport Center for Senior Activities.
In addition to Harmer, the judges for the inaugural essay contest were freelance journalist and author Jill Amadio, Westport-based journalist Robin Chung, Westport Library Marketing and Communications Director EJ Crawford, Common Ground Initiative committee member Ifeseyi Gayle, writer and former Westport poet laureate Diane Lowman, and author Michaela MacColl.
Playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947, becoming the first African American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. He went on to enjoy a Hall of Fame career that included more than 1,500 hits, 137 home runs, and 197 stolen bases.
Robinson later became the first African American to hold an officer-level position at a major corporation, served as an advisor to top politicians, actively promoted economic empowerment by co-founding a bank and a housing development company, and was a key figure in advancing equal justice and first-class citizenship from the 1950s until his death in 1972. (Information courtesy the Jackie Robinson Museum.)
Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo, the critically revered and publicly adored author of Nobody’s Fool, Empire Falls, Bridge of Sighs, and additional award-winning best-sellers, will be making a special appearance at The Westport Library on Monday, June 2, at 7 pm to discuss his newest book of essays, Life and Art.
Russo will be in conversation with Suzanne Leopold, the creator of SuzyApproved.com, a platform for Leopold’s book reviews, and SuzyApprovedBookTours.com, where she aggregates her community of bloggers across social media platforms to support authors with book launches.
Tickets for Russo’s appearance are $28 and include a copy of Life and Art. Click here to buy tickets; you can purchase either one or two seats plus a copy of Life and Art for the $28 cost.
Russo is the author of nine novels, most recently Somebody's Fool, Chances Are…, Everybody’s Fool, and That Old Cape Magic. He has also written two collections of short stories and a memoir, Elsewhere. He is perhaps best known for his trilogy of novels set in the fictional town of North Bath: Nobody’s Fool (1993), Everybody’s Fool (2016), and Somebody’s Fool (2023). Nobody’s Fool was made into a film starring Westport’s own Paul Newman along with Buce Willis, Jessica Tandy, and Melody Griffith.
“Nobody does small-town life better than Richard Russo,” said The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a review, with The New York Times Book Review noting that “Russo is one of the best novelists around.”
In 2002, Russo received the Pulitzer Prize for Empire Falls, which, like Nobody’s Fool, won multiple awards for its screen adaptation. And in 2023 his novel Straight Man was adapted into the television series Lucky Hank starring Bob Odenkirk. Russo also received France’s Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine in 2017.
Said the Pulitzer committee in recognizing the author: “Richard Russo … has demonstrated a peerless affinity for the human tragicomedy, and with this stunning new novel he extends even further his claims on the small-town, blue-collar heart of the country.”
Life and Art is a collection of 12 essays that reflect on life, art, how they inform each other, and how the stories we tell ourselves about both shape our understanding of the world around us. In “The Lives of Others,” he considers the fact that writers use people, insisting that what matters, in the end, is how and for what purpose. In “Stiff Neck,” he writes of the fault lines exposed within his own family as his wife’s sister and her husband develop COVID. In “Triage,” he details the terror of seeing his 7-year-old grandson in critical condition. And in “Ghosts,” he revisits Gloversville, the town that gave rise to the fictional North Bath of his novels, and confronts the specter of its richly populated past and its ghostly present.
“Russo’s fans will savor this,” said Publishers Weekly.
Leopold is an active book reviewer and promoter of authors. SuzyApproved.com has more than 10,000 followers on Twitter, and Leopold also posts regularly to Facebook and Instagram. A 20-year Westport resident, she served as a juror for the 2024 Westport Prize for Literature.
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Author Talk: Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Richard Russo on His New Essay Collection, Life and Art
Monday, June 2
7-8:30 pm
Trefz Forum, The Westport Library
Jerry Craft (left) and Kwame Alexander (at lectern) met with more than 250 students in The Westport Library's Trefz Forum.
The J vs. K Book Tour took The Westport Library by storm Wednesday morning, May 7, with #1 New York Times best-selling authors and Newbery Award winners Kwame Alexander (The Crossover) and Jerry Craft (New Kid) taking over the Library’s Trefz Forum to celebrate comics, creativity, and the magic of collaboration.
J vs. K is the latest book project from Alexander and Craft, a hilarious illustrated story that features two talented fifth graders — one a writer, the other a drawer — going head-to-head in a creative competition for the ages. As part of the book launch, the two superstar writers are traveling the country via a special J vs. K tour van, making stops in a variety of venues to talk to elementary- and middle school-age students.
Wednesday at the Library, they entertained a packed Trefz Forum full of young faces — nearly 300 in all — from Dunbar School in Bridgeport, ESL students from Central High School in Bridgeport, Marvin Elementary in Norwalk, and Wooster Middle School in Stratford.
Alexander and Craft talked about their journeys from learners to readers to writers, their time in grade school, overcoming adversity, the power of collaboration, and their favorite books, engaging the assembled students throughout with calls-and-responses, giveaways, selfies, and more. Both men emphasized that reading should be fun, noting that many of the books they had to read when they were younger were often too long and didn’t reflect their experiences.
“So, when I grew up, I decided I wanted to write the books I wanted read when I was a kid,” said Craft, recounting how he self-published his first graphic novel with the help of a how-to book he borrowed from the Norwalk Library.
Alexander told a similar story of how he had to self-publish his first book after a number of rejections. He encouraged students to do what they love, and above all else, to believe in themselves.
“You can’t allow your career to be determined by other people’s no’s,” said Alexander. “You have to say yes to yourself.”
Wednesday’s book tour event was organized in coordination with Bryan Ripley Crandall, director of the Connecticut Writing Project, which endeavors to serve teachers of writing at all grade levels, with the goal of improving student achievement by improving the teaching of writing and improving in Connecticut schools.”
About J vs. K
J and K are the most creative fifth graders at Dean Ashley Public School (DAPS). J loves to draw, and his wordless stories are J-ENIUS! K loves to write, and his stories are K-LASSIC!! Both J and K are determined to win the DAPS annual creative storytelling contest or at least get in the Top 5. And when they find out that they are both entering The Contest, it’s the beginning of one of the most intense rivalries the world has ever seen. It’s artist vs. writer, with plenty of shady double crosses as J and K plot their way to the top.
“I love this book so much,” Alexander said Wednesday morning to the assembled students, who received autographed copies of the book following the authors’ talk.
Added Craft, address the crowd: “Our book birthday was yesterday, so you’re some of the first people to read this book.”
About Kwame Alexander
Alexander is an Emmy Award-winning producer of The Crossover, his Newbery Medal-winning novel turned Disney+ TV series, the creator of the new animated PBS special Acoustic Rooster’s Barnyard Band, and the host of America’s Next Great Author, the first reality television show for writers (produced by Libby and Kanopy and premiering in 2026).
Alexander is the #1 New York Times best-selling author of 44 books, including Why Fathers Cry at Night, How Sweet The Sound, J vs. K, and the just-released motivational primer for graduates, creatives, and professionals entitled Say Yes.
A recipient of the 2025 NAACP Image Award, Alexander is also the Michael I. Rudell Artistic Director of Literary Arts for Chautauqua Literary Arts. He regularly shares his passion for literacy, books, and the craft of writing around the world, including in Ghana, West Africa, where he opened the Barbara E. Alexander Memorial Library and Health Clinic. His mission is to change the world — one word at a time.
About Jerry Craft
Craft is the New York Times best-selling author and illustrator of the graphic novels New Kid, Class Act, and School Trip. New Kid is the only book in history to win the John Newbery Medal for the most outstanding contribution to children’s literature (2020), the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature (2019), and the Coretta Scott King Author Award for the most outstanding work by an African American writer (2020).
In his latest book, Craft has teamed up with fellow Newbery winner Alexander to bring you J vs. K. Craft was born in Harlem, grew up in the Washington Heights section of New York City, lived in Norwalk, and now travels the world telling kids and their families about the importance of reading.
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Photos by KT Kaminski/The Westport Library
Mark your calendar for The Westport Library Big Spring Book Sale, to be held Friday, May 16, through Monday, May 19, on the Library’s main level.
Once again, the Westport Book Sale offers something for everyone, from toddlers to adults, with thousands of gently used books in more than 50 categories of nonfiction and fiction, including Noteworthy, antiquarian books and vintage children’s books. Plus a huge assortment of DVDs, CDs, vintage vinyl, ephemera, and a large selection of framed artworks, from small desktop pieces to large wall pictures.
Related: Biannual Westport Library Book Sale Creates Opportunity, Celebrates Community
The book sale hours, with free admission, are as follows:
* On Friday morning, May 16, from 8:45 am to 12 pm, the Book Sale will be open only to patrons who purchase an Early Access ticket in advance. Early Access tickets are available online, through eventbrite.com, at https://Spring2025BookSale.eventbrite.com.
For more information, visit the book sale website.
Of special interest for this sale:
A link to our Featured Specials list is available on the Book Sale’s website, at www.westportbooksaleventures.org/our-events; this list will be updated periodically during the weeks leading up to the sale. Featured Specials are first being offered only at the Spring Book Sale and have not previously been listed in the book sale's eBay store.
To volunteer at this sale, please send an email to Judi Lake at [email protected].
Can’t make the sale? Visit the nonprofit Westport Book Shop open year-round at 23 Jesup Road, right across Jesup Green from the Library, or shop any time 24/7 on the Book Sale’s eBay store at ebay.com/str/westportbooksalesct.
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Event Information
Westport Library Big Spring Book Sale
Friday, May 16 – Monday, May 19
The Westport Library
The Westport Library has officially launched a community survey to gauge public sentiment about the Library itself as well as its programs, events, and offerings. The anonymous survey is open to both Westport residents and non-residents as well as Library patrons and those who have never before visited our space.
The survey, open now and available through May 31, takes about 10 minutes to complete and is available at go.westportlibrary.org/survey or through a computer kiosk set up in the Hub on the Library’s main level.
“We’re very excited to hear back from Westporters and Library users to learn more about what they think about the Library,” said Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harmer. “We’re always diligent in listening to and responding to community feedback. This survey provides us with invaluable information to aid in that endeavor. It also enables us to make the kind of data-driven decisions that we believe will maintain The Westport Library’s place as a true asset to the town and as one of the very best libraries in the country.”
In addition, the results of the survey will inform the Library’s emerging strategic plan, which will guide the Library’s mission and work for years to come. The work on the strategic plan is ongoing, with the plan set to be unveiled to the public later this year.
“The 2025 community survey is a month-long opportunity to participate in shaping the future of The Westport Library,” said Westport Library Chief Impact Officer Tory Donahue. “As part of our strategic planning process, the Library is committed to engaging the entire community in gathering feedback and ideas that will inform our plan.”
Those who opt to participate in the survey will be eligible to win one of a handful of prizes offered to respondents. Available prizes include two sets of Apple AirPods; free drinks at the Library café; Amazon gift cards; and for teens, a delivery of 10 pizzas to the Library during AP exam study times.
For more information on the survey and prizes, please visit The Westport Library website or read our FAQs below.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
Where can I go to take the survey?
It is available at go.westportlibrary.org/survey. You can also fill out the survey on the computer kiosk set up in the Hub on the Library’s main level.
How long does it take?
The survey takes less than 10 minutes.
Is it anonymous?
Yes. The survey can be completed entirely anonymously. You have the option to add your email both to enter the sweepstakes for prizes or to be contacted for follow-up focus groups, but this information will not be associated with your responses.
What is the survey asking about?
The survey is looking for information about how to focus the Library’s efforts on what is most needed, most wanted, and most likely to engage our community in a way that is welcoming, innovative, and responsive.
To find this information, the survey asks questions about how you are using the Library (or not), what features are a priority for you, and what topics interest you most. Because of our commitment to lifelong learning, the survey also asks your opinions about our role in the community relative to schools. Finally, it asks questions about you and your relationship with and to the Library.
Who will see my answers?
All of the data will be examined collectively and not on the basis of individual responses. Westport Library Chief Impact Officer Tory Donohue will analyze the data and share the results with a strategic planning committee made up of staff and trustees. The strategic plan that emerges from this will be shared with the community.
How will the Library manage the data?
All of our work is done with respect to our Privacy Policy and our Data Collection and Usage statement.
How can I win one of the prizes?
When you take the survey, enter your email when asked if you want to be eligible for a prize. This will be how you are contacted if your name is randomly chosen for a prize.
Peggy Bud and Tamara Jacobson have more than 60 years of combined experience in education. They have served as educators, administrators, and consultants. Together they wrote the books, Navigating Special Education, The Power of Building Positive Parent Educator Partnerships and Conversations Lead to Consensus, with the goal of connecting parents and educators to create positive learning scenarios.
Now, the pair is teaming with Verso Studios at The Westport Library for a new community contributed podcast, Ask the Educators.
Ask the Educators debuts Wednesday, April 16, with three 15-minute episodes. New episodes will drop bi-weekly (episode #4 will arrive April 30).
The podcast will be available on the Verso Studios podcast page, through regular podcast distributors such as Apple and Spotify, and also through the Ask the Educators Substack and on the Navigating Special Education website.
“We are proud to announce the release of the Ask the Educators podcast, which supports our mission of empowering parents and educators to build lasting partnerships,” Bud and Jacobson said. “Through the collaboration with Verso Studios, Ask the Educators provides parents, teachers, and administrators with insights on placing the child at the center of the conversation.”
The purpose of the Ask the Educators podcast is to build a common language between parents and educators, with each episode taking a deep dive into relevant 21st century topics, including effective communication and the IEP, building partnerships, empathy and grief, and the 5-C Model of Communication.
Through animated conversations, Bud and Jacobson provide listeners with tools to foster conversations, collaboration, cooperation, and compromise as the path to consensus.
Verso Studios is the media arm of The Westport Library. The Library created the Verso Studios Community Producer Partnership initiative in keeping with the studio’s mission to produce content with the community.
To learn more about Verso Studios’ mission and offerings, visit the Verso Studios page on The Westport Library website.
Green River, L to R: Tim Theobald, Harrison Balthaser, Rick Horvath, and Dave Figura
The Supper & Soul series, presented by The Westport Library and the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce, returns Saturday, May 3, with Green River, the #1 nationally touring Creedence Clearwater Revival/John Fogerty tribute show.
Dinner starts at 6 pm, with the concert kicking off at 8 pm. A single Supper & Soul $85 ticket buys you a three-course dinner at one of 11 downtown restaurants plus the concert. There are concert-only tickets available as well for $30. All tickets available here.
Participating restaurants are: Arezzo, Basso, Capuli, Casa Me, Don Memo, Emmy Squared, Il Pastaficio, Nomade, Spotted Horse, Gogi, and Walrus Alley.
Once you buy a dinner-and-concert ticket, you will be given a link to select your restaurant. Just fill in all the information and you and your friends will be set for the night. After the concert, show your ticket at any of the participating restaurants and receive special happy hour pricing on drinks.
The show is faithful to a live CCR performance. Listeners can expect a full 90-minute show of their favorite CCR classics ("Bad Moon Rising," "Proud Mary," and "Up Around the Bend," to name a few) and songs that CCR would turn into live jams such as "Born on the Bayou" and "Susie Q." Green River also mixes in John Fogerty classics, including "The Old Man Down the Road" and "Centerfield."
Green River is the brainchild of native New Yorker Rick Horvath, who started singing CCR songs in his very first band when he was 13 years old. In addition to singer/guitarist Horvath, the band features guitarist Tim Theobald, bassist Dave Figura, and drummer Harrison Balthaser.
