#illinois libraries present

Join critically acclaimed, bestselling author, Cristina Henríquez, for a compelling conversation about her work. Henríquez’s newest book, The Great Divide, is a moving exploration of the people who lived, loved, and labored during the construction of the Panama Canal. Named a New York Times’ Editors’ Choice selection and TIME Magazine “100 Must-Read Books of 2024,” The Great Divide explores history and adversity in a place very special to her – her father’s homeland of Panama. Henríquez has also authored The Book of Unknown Americans, The World in Half, and Come Together, Fall Apart, all to significant acclaim. Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Best American Short Stories 2018, and she is a recipient of the 21st Century Award given by The Chicago Public Library Foundation. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, and lives in the Chicago suburbs with her family. Carmen Álvarez will join Henríquez as moderator. Álvarez is an advocate for libraries and Latinx representation in the publishing industry. Her work has appeared in Glamour, Elle, and Vogue and she has a social media presence surpassing 180k followers across platforms.

Patrons of the Rantoul Public Library, and all ILP-member libraries, are invited to register for this online event featuring Cristina Henríquez! On Thursday April 16th at 7PM, the author will join us for a discussion over Zoom, including answering questions submitted by "attendees." If you can't make it live, register and you will be sent a link to the recording that will be accessible for 30 days after the 16th. Registration closes at 5PM (CT) on the 16th, so don't wait—register here, and check back for next month's ILP guest!

This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present (ILP), a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events. ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of the Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). 

ILP is committed to inclusion and accessibility. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Closed Captioning are provided for all events by default—no special request needed.

Industrious, irreverent, humble–though he may deny the accusation–Percival Everett, like his fiction, defies categorization. His most recent novel, James, earned both the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the National Book Award, and his 2001 novel Erasure inspired the film American Fiction, which received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2024. Everett’s other titles include Dr. No, The Trees (finalist for the Booker Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction), Telephone (finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), So Much Blue, and I Am Not Sidney Poitier. Despite these accomplishments, he remains devoted to reviewing his own work critically, and indeed his writing process involves intensive research and revision. Tune in for our conversation with Percival Everett to get a glimpse beyond the page.  Brandis Friedman will moderate the event. Friedman is a writer and anchor for WTTW’s "Chicago Tonight and Chicago Tonight: Black Voices," and also serves as a champion for libraries.

Patrons of the Rantoul Public Library, and all ILP-member libraries, are invited to register for this online event featuring Percival Everett! On Thursday March 19th at 7PM, the award-winning author will join us for a discussion over Zoom, including answering questions submitted by "attendees." If you can't make it live, register and you will be sent a link to the recording that will be accessible for 30 days after the 19th. Registration closes at 5PM (CT) on the 19th, so don't wait—register here, and check back for next month's ILP guest!

This event is made possible by Illinois Libraries Present (ILP), a statewide collaboration among public libraries offering premier events. ILP is funded in part by a grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, a department of the Office of the Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). 

ILP is committed to inclusion and accessibility. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and Closed Captioning are provided for all events by default—no special request needed.