New Canaan Library’s biennial community read moves in an exciting new direction this year, with a shift in focus from one book or author to a broader perspective, highlighting the craft of storytelling with author talks, book discussions, programming, and featured books reflecting many genres.
The Library is honored to welcome David Grann, a distinguished New York Times bestselling author renowned for his captivating narratives. Grann’s latest work, The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, is a New York Times bestseller soon to be adapted into a feature film directed by Martin Scorsese. Celebrated for his previous bestselling nonfiction works such as Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession, Grann will speak in the Library’s Jim and Dede Bartlett Auditorium on Thursday, March 14, at 7 p.m. Please register to attend at newcanaanlibrary.org
Grann’s expertise promises an engaging and thought-provoking evening for the community as he shares insights into his research and storytelling. Throughout March, the Library will feature related programming, with book discussions, art lectures and speakers on maritime topics.
In The Wager, Grann vividly illustrates the true-life challenges faced during a harrowing journey around Cape Horn in 1742, with a riveting narrative drawn directly from onboard diaries and letters of the crew and captain. Grann’s compelling writing lets the reader explore the gripping accounts of shipwrecked sailors battling for survival in the unforgiving terrain at the end of the world.
School-aged children and their families are invited to celebrate the art of storytelling and the many voices that bring stories to life in New Canaan and beyond with a monthlong Winter Reading Challenge, running January 28 through March 2. This challenge, along with an array of creative writing, crafting, and STEM programs, will inspire participants to discover and share their own creative voices. MANY STORIES, ONE NEW CANAAN will culminate in a special author panel on Saturday, March 2, at 3 p.m. Newbery Medal winner Jerry Craft, Newbery Honor winner Veera Hiranandani, and acclaimed authors Debbi Michiko Florence and Ryan Maloney (a New Canaan resident!) will answer questions from children, tweens, and teens in the audience and share the ways that their voices are
reflected in their works. Families will then have time to meet the authors for a book signing. Elm Street Books will be onsite to facilitate book sales. Register here.
One Book New Canaan is a biennial, communal reading experience established by the Library in 2014. The Library strives to bring the community together through shared stories, events, and experiences by exploring a specific book, theme, or body of an author’s work. Copies of The Wager and books related to the Family Services panel are available in print at the Library and in digital format through the Library’s digital collection.
This year’s community read is made possible by a generous grant from the Horizon Foundation
