Opening Keynote:
Josh Hanagarne
Josh Hanagarne believes in curiosity, questions, and strength, and that things are never so bad that they can’t improve.
At first glance, Josh seems an improbable librarian. He stands 6’7″, competes in strongman contests, and was diagnosed in high school with Tourette Syndrome. But books were his first love: Josh’s earliest memories involve fantastic adventures between the pages of Gulliver’s Travels and a passionate infatuation with Fern from Charlotte’s Web. Everything in Josh’s life circles back to a close connection to books. His book, The World’s Strongest Librarian, illuminates the mysteries of Tourette Syndrome as well as the very different worlds of strongman training and modern libraries.
Josh Hanagarne believes in curiosity, questions, and strength, and that things are never so bad that they can’t improve.
At first glance, Josh seems an improbable librarian. He stands 6’7″, competes in strongman contests, and was diagnosed in high school with Tourette Syndrome. But books were his first love: Josh’s earliest memories involve fantastic adventures between the pages of Gulliver’s Travels and a passionate infatuation with Fern from Charlotte’s Web. Everything in Josh’s life circles back to a close connection to books. His book, The World’s Strongest Librarian, illuminates the mysteries of Tourette Syndrome as well as the very different worlds of strongman training and modern libraries.
Closing Keynote:
Officer Aaron Pearson and Amanda Pearson
In the early hours of January 26, 2015, Springfield Police Officer Aaron Pearson was one of three officers investigating a group of suspicious individuals when he was shot. Though the fleeing suspect was apprehended following an intensive manhunt, Officer Pearson was gravely injured, having been struck just below his left eye.
Nevertheless - over the course of a long rehabilitation, and buoyed by the support of family and friends, colleagues and community - Officer Pearson has made a miraculous recovery. Receiving a medical disability retirement from the Springfield Police Department on July 28, 2015, he was also awarded the SPD Purple Heart this past fall.
Please join us as Officer Pearson and his wife, Amanda - two incredibly strong people - share the inspirational story of their journey.
MACRL Lunch:
Ann Campion Riley Ann Campion Riley became the acting director of the MU Libraries in July 2015. Riley has served as the associate director for access, collections, and technical services for the MU Libraries since 2007. She has been active in local, state, and national library associations, and is currently serving as the past-president of the Association of College and Research Libraries. She is a past president of the Missouri Library Association and served as an Association of Research Libraries Leadership Fellow in 2010-11. She is a writer and speaker on assessment and organizational culture in higher education.
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Thusnelda Schmidt
Children's Luncheon: Debbie Ridpath Ohi Debbie Ridpath Ohi writes and illustrates books for young people in Toronto, Canada. Her first solo picture book, Where Are My Books?, debuted in 2015. Debbie's illustrations appear in picture books by Michael Ian Black (Naked! and NYTimes Notable Children's Book I'm Bored) and Judy Blume chapter book and middle grade reissues. In 2016, her illustrations will appear in Ruby Rose, Off to School She Goes, written by Rob Sanders, and Mitzi Tulane, Preschool Detective: What's That Smell?, written by Lauren McLaughlin. Debbie blogs about reading, writing and illustrating books for young people at Inkygirl.com. Twitter: @inkyelbows.
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MLA Awards Gala:
Gayle Harper During Gayle Harper’s 23-year career as a travel photographer and writer, she has seen wonderful places and met fascinating people around the world. Nothing, however, has captured her heart as much as our own Mississippi River and her people. When Gayle learned that a raindrop falling into the headwaters of the Mississippi in Minnesota would reach the Gulf of Mexico 90 days later, she knew immediately that she would be making an amazing journey. The resulting book, Roadtrip with a Raindrop: 90 Days Along the Mississippi River, is the nonfiction winner of MLA’s inaugural Missouri Author Award and has touched the hearts of thousands of readers. Visit her online at www.gayleharper.com and follow her on Twitter @riverroadwoman.
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Young Adult Author Breakfast:
Jay Asher Jay Asher‘s debut YA novel, Thirteen Reasons Why, has appeared regularly on the New York Times bestsellers list for the past nine years. It has sold over 2.5 million copies in the United States alone and is currently in production to be a thirteen-part series on Netflix. His second YA novel, The Future of Us, was coauthored with Printz Honor winner Carolyn Mackler. He is also the author of the forthcoming What Light. His novels have been translated into thirty-five languages. Visit his blog at jayasher.blogspot.com and follow him on Twitter @jayasherguy.
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Missouri Author Award:
Laura McHugh Laura McHugh grew up in the Ozarks and now lives in Columbia, Mo., with her husband and children. Her first novel, The Weight of Blood, won the International Thriller Writers Award and Silver Falchion Award for Best First Novel. It was named a Best Book of the Year by BookPage, the Kansas City Star, and the Sunday Times UK, and was also nominated for an Alex Award, Barry Award, and GoodReads Choice Award. McHugh’s second novel, Arrowood, was published in August 2016. The Weight of Blood is the fiction winner of MLA’s inaugural Missouri Author Award.
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Live Music:
Cindy Woolf and Mark Bilyeu Cindy Woolf and Mark Bilyeu have been playing together for thirteen years, and have been married for the last three of them. Their collaboration began when Bilyeu produced and played on Woolf’s 2005 debut CD, Simple and Few. He was also at the helm for Woolf’s third and most recent album, 2013’s May. Although they have been playing and recording together for more than a decade, Wolf Hunter marks their first recorded output as a musical duo, The Creek Rocks. It will also serve as Bilyeu’s first release since Big Smith’s final album, Kin, released in 2011. Bilyeu was a founding member of the popular Ozarks family band, which was active from 1996 to 2012.
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Live Music:
Andy Sun Andy Sun is a music director and piano teacher. He has performed with local acts, including Modern Epic, Truett and the Traitors, and Cailee Spaeny. He enjoys composing and writes articles on gaming. Currently, he’s building an original PC game “Legends of the Heroic Age.”
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Live Music:
Kevin Cott Singer/songwriter Kevin Cott, a Missouri transplant but life-long resident of the Midwest, explores providential relationships, grief, and the nature of the past and present with self-assured confidence.
Influenced by literature as much as folk and blues music, attentive listeners are likely to catch a generous portion of both in Kevin's music. A subtle Shakespearean turn, or folksy homage to the work of Mark Twain, is playfully interwoven within an acoustic sound that stretches as far back as the rhythmic finger picking of Mississippi John Hurt. Listeners fond of language and rumors of a world often mired in despair but hopeful for change will find plenty to feed their souls in Kevin's latest album, Every Highway. |