Two nationally known authors will visit Gahanna and New Albany this fall as part of a dramatically expanded Columbus Metropolitan Library series that's bringing more than 30 writers to neighborhood branches across the system.
Kelly Anderson, a physician-turned-novelist whose debut "The Wild Beneath" earned praise from Jodi Picoult, will appear at the Gahanna Branch, 310 Granville St., at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16. Vanessa Miller, a USA Today bestselling author, will visit the New Albany Branch, 200 Market St., at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, to discuss her new historical novel "The Ladies Hall."
The events are free and open to the public. No library card is required. Registration is encouraged to reserve seating.
Anderson, who lives in Guelph, Ontario, spent 15 years in emergency and HIV medicine before turning to fiction. "The Wild Beneath," publishing Aug. 4 from HarperCollins, follows a woman raised on a sailboat in the Pacific Northwest after a tsunami strands her on shore. Christina Baker Kline called it "a haunting, heart-stopping debut."
Miller's "The Ladies Hall," releasing Aug. 11 from Thomas Nelson, is set in 1880s Ohio and based on the real lives of Mary Church Terrell, Anna Julia Cooper, and Ida Gibbs Hunt at Oberlin College. Her previous novel "The American Queen" won the 2024 American Fiction Award and was featured on Good Morning America.
A third local event rounds out the fall calendar: national bestselling author Katherine Reay will appear at the Gahanna Branch at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, around the release of her new novel "The Undercover Bookshop."
Upcoming Authors at the Library: local dates
- Sunday, Aug. 16, 2 p.m.: Kelly Anderson, "The Wild Beneath," Gahanna Branch, 310 Granville St.
- Saturday, Sept. 5, 10 a.m.: Vanessa Miller, "The Ladies Hall," New Albany Branch, 200 Market St.
- Saturday, Oct. 10, 3:30 p.m.: Katherine Reay, "The Undercover Bookshop," Gahanna Branch, 310 Granville St.
Registration and the full lineup are available at columbuslibrary.org/authors-at-the-library.
