University of Massachusetts Friends of Library Events and Reception Sunday

UMass Amherst Libraries Hosts Book Discussion and Reception October 4

"Behind the Book: Creativity and Compromise"

On Sunday, October 4, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., the Friends of the UMass Amherst Libraries host the 11th Annual Fall Reception in Memorial Hall at UMass Amherst. The keynote speaker, author Corinne Demas, will give a talk "Behind the Book: Creativity and Compromise." The program starts at 2:30 p.m.; the event is free and open to the public.

Corinne Demas, professor of English at Mount Holyoke College and fiction editor for The Massachusetts Review, is the author of two collections of short stories, two novels, a memoir and numerous books for children. Her Ph.D. in Literature is from Columbia University. Demas' books includeAlways in Trouble (2009), Valentine Surprise (2008), Yuck! Stuck in the Muck(2006), Two Christmas Mice (2005), Saying Goodbye to Lulu (2004), and a memoir, Eleven Stories High: Growing Up in Stuyvesant Town, 1948-1968 (2000), among others.

The event is also a reception for a related exhibit, "The Making of a Picture Book: The Marriage of Text and Art" on display on the Lower Level of Du Bois Library from September 14 to December 18, 2009. The exhibit will
feature a behind-the-scenes look at the making of picture books by local authors and illustrators Leonard Baskin, Kathy Brown, Corinne Demas, Patricia MacLachlan, Richard Michelson, Dennis Nolan, Katy Schneider, and Jane Yolen. For more information.

As part of the program, Lewis Mainzer, past president of the Friends of UMass Amherst Libraries, will be honored with the 2009 Siegfried Feller Award for Outstanding Service. This award, established in 1998, is given annually to individuals who have made outstanding volunteer contributions to create awareness and build support for the UMass Amherst Libraries.
For further information, contact Emily Silverman of the UMass Amherst Libraries at (413) 545-0995, or essilverman at library.umass.edu.

RSVPs are requested (but not required) by September 26, to Susan McBride at (413) 545-3974 or friends at library.umass.edu. UMass Catering will provide refreshments. Books by Corinne Demas and authors related to the exhibit (Jane Yolen, Richard Michelson, and Patricia MacLachlan) will be available for sale by Amherst Books.