MOUNT VERNON – The Public Library’s Ohio Writers Series will present its final installment on Tuesday, Oct. 11, featuring internationally acclaimed Ohio storyteller and author Lyn Ford.
To celebrate Ford’s work, the library will offer a book giveaway of her collection "Affrilachian Tales: Folktales from the African-American Tradition." The book giveaway began Sept. 26 and continues while supplies last.
Development and Writing Program Manager Jamie Lyn Smith-Fletcher encouraged audiences of all ages to attend this family-friendly event.
“Lyn is a wonderful storyteller, and her spooky tales will be fun for everyone,” Smith-Fletcher said.
In keeping with the library’s tradition of serving mocktails in the Outdoor Annex, this event will feature hot apple cider and pumpkin pie to celebrate the fruits of harvest season. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. at the library’s Outdoor Annex, 201 N. Mulberry St., Mount Vernon
Ford, a fourth-generation Affrilachian storyteller and Ohio teaching artist, has shared programs and workshops on telling and writing stories with students of all ages for more than 30 years.
Ford’s work is published in several storytelling-in-education resources, as well as in her award-winning books: "Affrilachian Tales: Folktales from the African-American Appalachian Tradition"; "Beyond the Briar Patch: Affrilachian Folktales, Food and Folklore"; "Hot Wind, Boiling Rain: Scary Stories for Strong Heart"; and (with storytelling friend Sherry Norfolk), "Boo-Tickle Tales: Not-So-Scary Stories for Kids."
Ford is a member of the Ohio Arts Council's Teaching Artist Roster, the National Association of Black Storytellers’ Circle of Elders and the National Writers Project National Writers Council. She has received two Oracle Awards from the National Storytelling Network. She has been a featured teller at the Sydney International Storytelling Conference in Australia and Ireland's Cape Clear International Storytelling Festival and has told stories many times at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn.
The book giveaways and the Ohio Writers author visits are funded by Humanities Grants for Libraries, an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The Library’s Ohio Writers Series is a collaboration with Mount Vernon Arts Consortium, the Kenyon Review, Kenyon College Office for Community Partnerships and Ariel-Foundation Park.
Reservations are encouraged, but not required, for this program. Visit www.knox.net, email knoxwrites1@gmail.com or call 740-392-2665, Ext. 259, for more information.
In the event of inclement weather, this event will be relocated to Ariel Foundation Park’s Urton Clockhouse, 110 Pittsburgh Ave., Mount Vernon. If the event is relocated, registered attendees will be notified by email, signs will be placed at the Main Library and a public announcement will be recorded at 740-392-2665, Ext. 259, no later than noon on the day of the event.
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