Join us on Saturday, September 6, for Read Local Eat Local. Twenty-two local authors and three food trucks will be at the library from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.. Everyone is welcome to grab lunch and ice cream and visit with the authors. This event happens rain or shine at event tents in the library parking lot. See the food trucks and authors below!

Angie Candell    
Children Picture books, Nonfiction
I consider myself more of an artist than an author....but I've recently found that the best way to get my art out into the world is through books, so here we are! 🙂   My style is whimsical and silly at times, but I love creating beautiful, joy-filled work. I also like creating books that help with basic skills. So many of us didn't learn how to garden, bake, preserve food, or anything like that growing up...and these were skills that all of our ancestors had! That's just crazy to me, and I want to help more people learn these skills!

Benjamin Thomas Minett
Teens, Adults Chapter Books, Fiction, Literary
Benjamin Thomas Minett was born in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania just in time to witness the death throes of the steel industry. His fondest memories of childhood were listening to his relatives tell stories of how it used to be and catching crayfish in the creek behind his house. His love of stories & culture led him to Allegheny, Edinboro, and Carnegie Mellon. He’s stayed local to Western PA and now is a high school American Literature teacher. He splits his free time between his family and his creative pursuits, namely music, painting, and writing.   In and Out of the River is a semi-biographical work based on the culture & stories he knew as a boy. It is his first novel.

Bethany Barker
Adults Fiction, Mystery
Carol Silvis’s first novel, Murder and Mayhem, The Suzie Tuft Mystery Series (Harbor Lane LLC, May 2024), is available under the pen name Bethany Barker. The novel was No. 11 in cozy mystery bestsellers on Ingram for print. Carol authored six college textbooks and three business books (Cengage), an anthology story, a Writer’s Market article, a dozen creative nonfiction stories, and over fifty newsletter articles.  Carol is a National and Pittsburgh Sisters in Crime member. She is past-president and vice-president of Pennwriters and the current Area 3 Rep. She has an M.Ed. and has given workshops at conferences nationwide.

C. L. Holzapfel
Adults Fiction, Paranormal/Supernatural, Thriller
C. L. Holzapfel studied archaeological, cultural, and physical anthropology at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. His novels fuse thrilling stories into real and fascinating ancient history. When he’s not saving lives as a respiratory therapist at a city hospital, you can find him writing in his home office at night with a glass of merlot. He lives in South Park.

Cristina Rouvalis and Lydia Wayman
Middle Grade Fiction, Mystery
Cristina Rouvalis is an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in PARADE, Hemisphers, Esquire.com, Smithsonian.com,  Parents and other magazines. When she's not writing with a cat on her lap, she can be found biking on the Great Allegheny Passage. Lydia Wayman is an autistic advocate with a bachelor’s in elementary education and a master’s in English and nonfiction writing whose work has appeared in a wide range of online and printed publications. She also presents at events and conferences and works with organizations to develop courses and training programs.

Diane Nettles
Adults Nonfiction, Self-Help, Grief
Diane Nettles, Ph.D., is a retired department chair of Childhood Education at Penn West California, where she was a faculty member for 32 years. Diane has written four books on teacher professional development. Since her husband passed away seven years ago, she has devoted her energies to learning the value of humor and positivity to meet life’s biggest challenges. When not writing, she enjoys reading, gardening, walking, traveling, spending time with family (including three grandchildren), and playing pickleball. Through it all, she works diligently to live as skillfully as possible, and avoid the “w” word (“widow”). This book is her first outside the realm of her professional life.

Elizabeth Meitzler
Adults Humor, Romance
I’m Elizabeth Meitzler—rom-com writer, chaos coordinator, and believer in big love for midsize women. By day, I wrangle toddlers; by night, I craft happily-ever-afters with heart, humor, and a whole lot of cats.

Jamie Lackey
Teens, Adults Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, SciFi, Short Story
Jamie Lackey lives in Pittsburgh with her husband and their cats. She has had over 200 short stories published in places like Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, and Escape Pod. She has a novella and two short story collections available from Air and Nothingness Press, and she’s created seven successful crowdfunding campaigns to self-publish a novel, four novellas, a novelette, and three short story collections.  In addition to writing, she spends her time reading, playing tabletop RPGs, baking, mushroom hunting, and hiking.

Annie Guest
Adults Nonfiction, Self-Help, Design
Annie Guest had a varied career in book publishing, advertising, and law, before she took another jump to work as a mental health therapist and publish her first book. In Design for Your Mind, Annie combines her passion for people and their potential with her love for interior design and her appreciation for the design choices that support mental health. For more information, visit Design for Your Mind.

Jodene Weber 
Adults Mystery, Thriller
Jodene Weber is a retired FBI agent, a former television journalist, and the host of the popular true crime podcast Caught In My Web. The Bald-Faced Deception is her debut suspense novel. Set in the Finger Lakes region of New York, this twisty tale puts a modern spin on the suspense classic Wait Until Dark…a missing husband, a frantic wife, and a killer no one sees coming! Ms. Weber resides in Peters Township, and is the mother to college-age twins.

Justin D. Bello
Teens, Adults Fantasy
For as long as he can remember, Justin Bello has always been a lover of adventure stories. As a writer, he likes to create morally ambiguous worlds full of characters who struggle to fight for good even when faced with seemingly insurmountable evil. He enjoys reading, writing, drawing, tabletop role-playing games, and more hobbies than he realistically has time for. A full-time English teacher, he lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Dominique, and three children.

Kimberly M. Miller
Adults Romance
Kimberly M. Miller has been writing since childhood. Her first novel, Picking Daisy, was originally written as a screenplay, but Kimberly turned the story into a novel when she wanted to know the characters better- and the rest is history. Currently, Kimberly has published thirteen novels (both through traditional and independent publishing) and is excited about what stories and characters she will meet next. If you enjoy reading romance, you should check out her work on Amazon- and don’t forget to like and follow her Facebook page too!

Lexi Kingston
Teens, Adults Paranormal/Supernatural, Romance
Self-proclaimed romance junkie. Lover of music. Too invested in the lives of fictional characters. Bestselling author Lexi Kingston has been enamored by fictional worlds since she was a child. She became obsessed with the allure of crafting characters people could relate to.  Lexi writes sweet, no spice contemporary romance (Lexi Kingston) and paranormal romance (Lexi J. Kingston) books with characters who fight for and find home in each other. When she’s not plotting or writing, she’s likely submerged in a book. And when she’s not reading… well, she’s probably writing again because she’s a workaholic who loves her job.

Liz Milliron
Adults Mystery
Liz Milliron is the Shamus award-nominated author of The Homefront Mysteries, The Laurel Highlands Mysteries, and The Jackson Davis Mysteries. Liz is a member of Pennwriters, Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and The Historical Novel Society. She is the current Secretary of the Pittsburgh chapter of Sisters in Crime and the Education Liaison for the National SinC board. Liz lives in the Laurel Highlands with her husband and a very spoiled retired-racer greyhound.

Meghan C. Benedict
Adults Fiction, Historical
Born and raised in Allegheny county Meghan C. Benedict grew up listening to juicy family stories recounted between her baba and her sisters. She earned a master’s degree in Modern European History and East Asian Studies from Loyola University Chicago. Ms. Benedict doesn’t use her degree to earn a living but she enjoys baking and cooking historical recipes. She has a fabulous husband who encouraged her to write her first novel.

Michelle D'Amico
Children Picture books, Nonfiction, Fantasy
Michelle is a professionally trained chemical engineer who started with writing technical and marketing materials for work. When her son when he was reluctant to go to sleep, she began telling him stories. This evolved into her writing children’s books. She loves to write stories with whimsical characters who learn, grow, and build new skills. Michelle’s works to use language that is accessible to her readers, while building their vocabulary and knowledge. Her stories are full of color, humor, and fantasy. They transport her readers into new worlds, while teaching kids values, morals, and critical thinking skills to help young minds grow.

Rita Wilson
Adults Fiction, Nonfiction, Memoir, Contemporary Women's Fiction
Rita Wilson is an award-winning artist, writer, and educator. She has been published in Rune and Riverspeak Literary Magazines, wolfmatters.org, Voices from the Attic, the 100 Lives Anthology, and Wild Crone Wisdom. Her memoir, Greek Lessons, was published in 2016, followed by a novel, When the Only Light of the Moon, published by Sunbury Press in May 2024. Wilson earned her MFA in Creative Non-Fiction from Carlow University.  She has held writing workshops in creative and professional writing and taught adjunct at the university level.  Wilson serves as Non-Fiction Editor for the Northern Appalachia Review and is a Co-Director of the Writing Conference of Northern Appalachia

Sarah McDavis
Children, Middle Grade Chapter Books
Sarah McDavis likes to do a lot of things. Sometimes that causes problems, but usually it keeps her the right amount of busy. She’s a children’s author, illustrator, kids’ yoga instructor, improv comedian, digital presence educator, and founder of Wonder Creek Media in Pittsburgh, PA. Her mystery chapter book series for kids 7-10 blends fiction and fact with an octopus detective, Octo, P.I., who likes facts that stick. The series is set in a world where Inspector Flytrap meets Zootopia and Finding Dory. Sarah creates a mini-zine for each character in the series, too. All inspired by real animals! To keep the animal fun going, Sarah created a postcard pirate parrot story subscription.

Sarah McKnight
Teens, Adults Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Thriller
Sarah McKnight is an award-winning multi-genre author with an interest in contemporary young adult, coming-of-age, and horror fiction. After spending two years teaching English to middle schoolers in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, she came back to the US to pursue her next dream – to finish writing all of the books taking up valuable space on her hard drive.  Her most popular book by far, The Reaper’s Quota, has placed in several awards, including the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the Book Blogger’s Novel of the Year Award. While some of her books lean more toward the fantastical, she always incorporates elements of realism and mental health, hoping that everyone can find something they relate to.

Sean D Gregory
Adults Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Paranormal/Supernatural, Romance, SciFi, Thriller, Short Story
Born in Ft. Lauderdale, Sean spent his childhood fascinated by Star Trek, Star Wars, Buck Rodgers, and Battlestar Galactica (the original). Introduced to J.R.R. Tolkien at a young age, he lost himself in magical worlds and all things Dungeons & Dragons.  A graduate from The Ohio State University, where he studied Mechanical Engineering, he works as a specialist in space flight sensors for rocket propulsion, life support, and environmental controls.  But his passion has always the worlds he found in books. The God Killers trilogy is his first published series.  He currently lives with his wife, Jill, in Pittsburgh PA with their annoyingly cute Puggle, Sweaty Betty the Spaghetti Yeti.

Morgan Kumpfmiller
Children, Middle Grade Picture books
Local Mom and small business owner, Morgan Kumpfmiller, grew up dreaming of building things and using real tools. The adults in her life encouraged her to try something more traditional. She had a successful career in IT but was still dreaming of building things.  She left her career and started her own building and renovation company in 2010. It has become her passion to inspire kids when they're young to consider jobs in the building industry and to stay true to their dreams, thus "Morgan Wants to Build" was born.  It's a new children's book that tells of her journey.  The book encourages kids to be courageous as they determine their own unique skills and reminds them to dream big.

Stephanie Claypool
Adults Fiction
A native of metro New York, Stephanie Claypool weaves her diverse life experiences into heartfelt and captivating novels. From London to San Diego and Annapolis, her journey eventually led her to call Pittsburgh home, where she lives with her retired Navy husband, her father, and a menagerie of beloved pets. Beyond her writing desk, Stephanie is an enthusiast of cooking and wine, fountain pens and notebooks, and fabrics and threads, her greatest joys are the simple things in life. As Vice President of Finance for the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and former board member of Pennwriters, Stephanie is an active member of the writing community.