Oak Lawn Library's Popular Showcase Features 32 Local Authors

OAK LAWN, IL – The Oak Lawn Public Library’s popular Local Author Showcase returns Wednesday, June 12, from 6 to 8 p.m. The free event kicks off the library’s adult and teen summer reading season, where the One Book, One Oak Lawn selection is “Nature’s Best Hope” by Douglas Tallamy.

The showcase features 32 local authors and a pop up book fair hosted by Bookie’s Bookstore. A third of the participating authors are from Oak Lawn, and the remainder hail from other south suburbs and Chicago.

“This is our second year doing the Local Author Showcase, and we were blown away to find 20 authors last year,” fiction librarian Emily Bettcher said. “A book fair with 30 authors is a dream come true for our library.”

The lineup of authors have written mysteries, thrillers, historical fiction, young adult, fantasy and memoir. There are a few nonfiction authors writing about finance and health, plus several authors focusing on wellness and self-help.

“We’ve even got poets and a coloring book author who dresses as a mermaid,” Bettcher added.

The Local Author Showcase has been a hit with authors as well as patrons. Young adult science fiction and fantasy author Zachary Jeffries, of Evergreen Park, said the 2023 showcase was, “amazing, one of my favorites of the year.”

Last year’s showcase drew over 200 patrons. Oak Lawn author Jennifer Worrell said it was,
“[It was] such fun, and clearly put together by and for book lovers."

A high point of last year’s Showcase was conversation cards that got discussion flowing between authors and readers.

“We loved hearing the authors and readers talking last year,” Bettcher said. “Even though we’re at a library, it’s great for the Local Author Showcase to be a loud, fun event.”

Author David Kennerson, a former college football player, has incorporated experiences from his attempts to get signed by a professional football team into his book “Fail Forward.”

“The Local Author Showcase gives me, as an author, the opportunity to interact with the readers of my book and be able to tell my inspirational stories to them directly,” Kennerson said.

Oak Lawn Community High School graduate Victoria Witkewitz, who writes thrillers, called the library her headquarters for study time and working on research projects.

“It's exciting to come full circle to give back to the community I came from,” she said.

Bookie’s Bookstore from West Beverly, is partnering with the library by hosting a pop-up bookstore.

“This event in particular is near and dear to our hearts as Bookie’s has relationships with many of the participating authors,” said Bookie’s operations manager Rich Wojcikowski.

Registration is not required. Visit the OLPL Events Calendar to sign up showcase updates and secure a sweet treat on event day. The Oak Lawn Public Library is located at 9427 S. Raymond Ave. (95th Street and Raymond Avenue). For more info call the library at 708-422-2990.

Here's the complete list of authors coming to the showcase:

Emily Hornburg
Alanna Turner
Ciara Ward
David Kennerson
Emily VanderBent
Frank Accettura
Frank Victoria
George Tackes
Gerry Parran
James P. Kraiss
Jennifer Worrell
John Crivellone
Joseph L. Weisz
Juanita Santillan
Ken Jackson
Lisa Peters
Lucille Freeman
Mim Eichmann
Nubia Shambee
Pat Camalliere
Rebecca Garner
Richard Groth
Sheila Maloney
Stephanie E Wilson-Coleman
Terry Foote
Tiffaney "Fenyx Blue" Washington
Victoria A. Witkewitz
Zachary Jeffries
Melanie Holmes
Farrell McNulty
Matt McCrea
Brian Lorz