When author Kate Quinn comes to Turlock on Saturday as part of the Library Presents series, it will be under a new moniker for the organization and one that honors a longtime volunteer.
The Friends of the Turlock Library board, which oversees the series, has renamed it: Remembrance of Pat Portwood The Library Presents! Saturday’s event will be the first event under the new name.
“Pat was the driving force behind starting The Library Presents! Program,” said Mary Ward, the president of the Friends of the Turlock Library board. “She contacted agents, checked out possible venues and organized the logistics of our events. She was energetic and excited about what the program could bring to our community.”
Portwood was a longtime advocate for local libraries, joining the board of the Stanislaus Library Foundation in 2010. She coordinated the Measure T campaign for funding of the library system and served as county co-chair for the Measure S campaign, which extended library funding for the system through 2029. She served on the board and as president of the Friends of the Turlock Library and chaired the capital campaign which made possible the renovation of the Turlock Library, and its grand reopening in 2021.
Portwood died unexpectedly on Nov. 2, 2023.
The Library Presents was formed with an eye towards securing programs that appeal to children, teens and/or adults and connect the community. The program is overseen by the Friends of the Turlock Library. A large donation launched the program and has previously brought best-selling authors Jamie Ford, Tara Westover, Lisa Wingate and Chris Bohjalian to town.
Quinn, a well-known author of historical fiction, will be at the Carnegie Arts Center to discuss her novels, research and creative process as part of the ongoing Library Presents series.
Quinn’s presentation will be at the Carnegie Arts Center at 2 p.m. Nov. 2. Tickets for the event are $15.
Her first novel, “The Mistress of Rome,” was published in 2010 and launched her “Empress of Rome” series, which included the novels “Daughters of Rome” (2011), “Empress of the Seven Hills” (2012), “The Three Fates” (2015), and “Lady of the Eternal City” (2015).
Quinn’s other historical series is “The Borgia Chronicles” which includes “The Serpent and the Pearl” (2013) and “The Lion and the Rose” (2014).
She turned her attention to the 20th century with “The Alice Network,” “The Huntress,” “The Rose Code,” “The Diamond Eye,” and “The Briar Club.” She is also a co-author in several collaborative novels including “The Phoenix Crown” with Janie Chang and “Ribbons of Scarlet” with Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, Eliza Knight, Sophie Perinot, and Heather Webb.
Quinn’s reputation as a gifted storyteller shot into the stratosphere when her novel “The Alice Network” was named as a book month club for the popular Reese Witherspoon Book Club. It became a New York Times and a USA Today bestseller and was named NPR’s best book of 2017. The story is based on the real-life Alic Network, which was a spy ring in German-occupied France and Belgium during World War I. The story centers around a female spy in World War I France and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947.
Quinn’s novels will be available for purchase at the event.
For tickets to the event visit: https://bit.ly/3YfggS1
