Stephanie Laurens among the featured authors at ALTAFF’s "Isn’t it Romantic?" event at ALA Annual Conference

PHILADELPHIA - The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), will host “Isn’t it Romantic?” from 8 to 10 a.m. CDT on Monday, June 27 at the 2011 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans.

Featured memoirists include Stephanie Laurens, Robyn Carr, Julie James, Brenda Jackson and Adrienne McDonnell. The program will be moderated by Barbara Hoffert, editor, Prepub Alert, Library Journal. An author book signing will follow. Some books will be given away, and others will be sold at a generous discount.

Stephanie Laurens (“The Reckless Bride,” Avon/HarperCollins, Nov. 2011) began writing as an escape from the dry world of professional science, a hobby that quickly became a career. Her novels, set in Regency England, have made her one of the romance world’s most popular authors.

Robyn Carr (“Harvest Moon,” MIRA/Harlequin, March 2011) is the New York Times best-selling and RITA Award winning author of more than 40 novels, including the critically acclaimed Virgin River Series. She and her husband live in Las Vegas. 

Julie James (“A Lot Like Love,” Berkeley Sensations/Penguin, March 2011) clerked for the United States Court of Appeals in Jacksonville, Fla., after graduating from the University of Illinois College of Law. She practiced law with one of the nation's largest law firms and now writes full-time and lives in Chicago with her family.

Brenda Jackson (“A Silken Thread,” Kimani Press/Harlequin, March 2011) has been a trailblazer in African-American romance as the first African-American romance writer to make the USA Today and New York Times best-seller lists for the series romance genre. The author of more than 80 books, she is a recipient of several awards, including numerous Romance in Color Reviewers’ Choice Awards, Emma Awards and eHarlequin Reader’s Choice Awards. She has lived her entire life in Jacksonville, Fla., and has been married to her childhood sweetheart, Gerald, for 39 years.

Adrienne McDonnell (“The Doctor and the Diva,” Viking/Penguin, Oct. 2011 [paperback]) has taught literature and fiction writing at the University of California, Berkeley. She has also led writing workshops for adults through UC Berkeley Extension and the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in Cambridge, Mass. She was once a children’s librarian at the Boston Public Library. “The Doctor and the Diva” is her first novel. She lives near San Francisco.  

 “Isn’t it Romantic?” will be held at the Morial Convention Center, Room 339. The event is free for conference attendees; for more information about registration options, visit http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/altaff/events_conferences/annual/annualregistration.cfm.  Those purchasing the Exhibits Plus package ($35) will have access to hundreds of vendors on the exhibits floor, plus programming on the PopTop Stage, the Opening General Session and all non-ticketed programs of ALTAFF, including “First Author, First Book.” For more information about “First Author, First Book” and other ALTAFF events at the ALA Annual Conference, visit www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/altaff/events_conferences/annual.

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ALTAFF is a division of the American Library Association that supports citizens who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries. ALTAFF brings together library Trustees, advocates, Friends, and Foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/altaff, or contact Jillian Kalonick at (312) 280-2161 or jkalonick@ala.org