On Saturday, February 17, the library will host seven contemporary authors from across the United States. First is keynote speaker Esmeralda Santiago, whose varied career includes work as a film producer, writer, essayist and NPR guest commentator. She is best known for her memoirs When I Was Puerto Rican and The Turkish Lover. Featured speakers also include Ace Atkins, a Pulitzer Prize- nominated journalist whose most recent book, White Shadow, centers around the assassination of a Tampa kingpin and Tony Dunbar, a New Orleans attorney and creator of seven Tubby Dubonnet novels, whose most recent work, Tubby Meets Katrina, takes place in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Critically-acclaimed novelists Joshilyn Jackson and Lisa Tucker also join the group. Ms. Jackson is a Deep South native whose stories include Gods in Alabama and Between, Georgia. Ms. Tucker, a jazz singer and novice drummer from Pennsylvannia, is author of The Song Reader, Shout Down the Moon and Once Upon A Day. Charles Shields, a former English teacher, will also speak about his book, Mockingbird, an insightful look at the life of famous Alabama author Harper Lee. Hoover native Will Pearson, creator of the popular mental_floss magazine, rounds out this exciting program. Tickets for this event are $35 and include lunch. Book signings will take place at the end of the day.