ALTAFF to host 'Isn’t it Romantic?' 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 1:30-3:30 p.m. PDT on Saturday, June 23 at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

Love is in the air with this popular program that features best-selling romance writers, including Deborah Coonts, Tessa Dare, Jillian Hunter, Susan Mallery and Jill Shalvis, The program will be moderated by Barbara Hoffert, editor, of Library Journal’s Prepub Alert. An author book signing will follow. Some books will be given away, and others will be sold at a generous discount.

Deborah Coonts (“So Damn Lucky,” Forge Books/Macmillan, Feb. 2012) was raised in Texas on barbeque, Mexican food and beer. She currently resides in Las Vegas, where family and friends tell her she can’t get into too much trouble. Coonts has built her own business, practiced law, flown airplanes, written a humor column for a national magazine and survived a teenager.

Tessa Dare (“A Week to be Wicked,” Morrow Avon/HarperCollins, April 2012) is a part-time librarian, full-time mommy and swing-shift writer. She makes her home in Southern California, where she shares a cozy, cluttered bungalow with her husband, their two children and a dog.

Jillian Hunter (“The Duchess Diaries,” Signet/Penguin, Feb. 2012) is the New York Times best-selling author of 19 novels, among them the bestselling Boscastle series. She has received several awards, including the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. She lives in Southern California with her family.

Susan Mallery (“The Barefoot Season,” Mira/Harlequin, April 2012) is a New York Times best-selling author. Publisher’s Weekly calls her prose “luscious and provocative,” and Booklist says “Novels don’t get much better than Mallery’s expert blend of emotional nuance, humor and superb storytelling.” She lives in Seattle with her husband and her tiny but intrepid toy poodle.

Jill Shalvis (“At Last,” Forever/Hachette, June 2012) is a New York Times best-selling author who lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. She maintains a daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.

Members of Friends of the Library groups, Boards of Trustees and representatives from library Foundations can attend ALTAFF’s nonticketed programs for as little as $35. For more information about registering and ALTAFF events at the conference, visit www.ala.org/altaff/events_conferences/events.

Find out about the many other ALA Annual Conference & Exhibits highlights as they’re added — speakers, events, networking opportunities, and more. For general information about the meeting in Anaheim, Calif., June 21-26, 2012, visit www.alaannual.org. Save money with Early Bird Registration, open until midnight, Sunday, May 13, 2012.

ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition—Transforming Our Libraries, Ourselves

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.

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