04

Apr

Come celebrate poetry with the City of Madison Poet Laureate, Angela Trudell Vasquez and guests!

• Wisconsin Poet Laureate Margaret Rozga
• Milwaukee Poet Laureate Dasha Kelly
• Former Madison Poets Laureate Fabu, Andrea Musher, and Sarah Sadie Busse
• Former Milwaukee Poet Laureate Brenda Cárdenas
• Former Wisconsin Poet Laureate Bruce Dethelefsen

The reading will be hosted online. All are welcome to attend. You can join the event on Crowdcast at https://www.crowdcast.io/e/celebrate-poetry

This event is a partnership between Madison Public Library, the Wisconsin Book Festival, and City of Madison Planning.

08

Apr

Presented in partnership with A Room of One's Own Bookstore, Veronica Roth will appear live on her twitch channel to talk about her latest novel, Chosen Ones. Join her at twitch.tv/vrothbooks! Veronica will be live in conversation with Charlie Jane Anders talking about reinventing and subverting the "chosen one" narrative in her new book.

Purchase your book directly from A Room of One's Own and Veronica will send you a signed bookplate. Simply fill out the form to provide your address and personalization request.

16

Jun

Coming Out, Moving Forward: Wisconsin's Recent Gay History, the second volume in R. Richard Wagner’s groundbreaking work on gay history in Wisconsin, outlines the challenges that LGBT Wisconsinites faced in their efforts to right past oppressions and secure equality in the post-Stonewall period between 1969 and 2000. During this era, Wisconsin made history as the first state to enact a gay rights law prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation. It also became the first state to elect three openly gay/lesbian persons to Congress.

In this volume, R. Richard Wagner draws on historical research and materials from his extensive personal archive to not only chronicle an important movement, but also to tell the stories of the state’s LGBT pioneers—from legislators and elected officials to activists, businesspeople, and everyday citizens. Coming Out, Moving Forward documents the rich history of Wisconsin’s LGBT individuals and communities as they pushed back against injustice and found ways to live openly and proudly as themselves.

17

Oct

"I make things up and write them down" is the way Neil Gaiman describes his varied art. Today, as one of the most celebrated, best-selling writers of our time, his popular and critically acclaimed works bend genres while reaching audiences of all ages. In his live event, “An Evening with Neil Gaiman” he will tell stories and read stories, answer questions, and in his own words “amaze, befuddle and generally delight. It will be fun and odd and not like any other evening with Neil Gaiman.”

** This is a ticketed event presented in partnership with FPC Live. ** Advance tickets to this event can be purchased online beginning on Friday, February 21st. A limited number of general admission tickets will be made available on a first come, first serve basis at the Wisconsin Book Festival's four-day celebration beginning at 5:00 PM on Thursday, October 15th. There will not be a book signing associated with this event.

20

Oct

Presented in partnership with the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, an evening of poetry with United States Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo. The event will begin with readings by Wisconsin poets, followed by a reading by Harjo and a conversation between her and Kimberly A. Blaeser, the 2015-2016 Wisconsin Poet Laureate. The two will discuss the forthcoming release of When the Light of the World Was Subdued, Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry and the state of Native poetry, as well as Harjo’s goals as the U.S. Poet Laureate in a time marked by deep partisan divides.

Advance online registration is required for this event on a pay-what-you-can basis to encourage broad participation. Online registration opens on February 28 through the Wisconsin Academy’s website at wisconsinacademy.org/JoyToWI.