The Marion Public Library is excited to announce the lineup of authors for the
2026 [ In the Author's Voice ] Series.
Patrick Ryan will be at Marion Public Library on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Doors Open - 6:00 pm
Program - 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Book Signing - 7:30 pm
No ticket is necessary for this Open House event.
In May, we’ll welcome Patrick Ryan, author of the noteworthy 2025 novel Buckeye. Patrick Ryan was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up on Merritt Island, Florida. He’s a graduate of Bowling Green State University’s Creative Writing Program. Ryan has written several collections of short stories and three novels for young adults. Buckeye was published in September 2025 and has been receiving raving reviews. This emotional historical fiction set in Ohio follows two families through four decades of life, loss, and love. “Filled with wit and emotion on every page, this is a stirring paean to the joys and sorrows of family” (Publisher’s Weekly). MPL has selected Buckeye as the fiction book discussion pick for February 3, 2026, so pick up a copy or get on the waiting list today!
Our BookMarks Friends group will have a selection of books available for purchase at the event.
Allegra Goodman will be at Marion Public Library on Thursday, June 18, 2026.
Doors Open - 6:00 pm
Program - 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Book Signing - 7:30 pm
No ticket is necessary for this Open House event.
Allegra Goodman’s new book This Is Not About Us will be published in February, 2026. Her novels include Isola (a Reese’s Book Club selection), Sam (a Read With Jenna Book Club selection), The Chalk Artist (winner of the Massachusetts Book Award), Intuition, The Cookbook Collector, Paradise Park, and Kaaterskill Falls (a National Book Award finalist). Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She has written two collections of stories, The Family Markowitz and Total Immersion and a novel for younger readers, The Other Side of the Island. Her essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The American Scholar. Raised in Honolulu, Goodman studied English and philosophy at Harvard and received a PhD in English literature from Stanford. She is the recipient of a Whiting Writer’s Award, the Salon Award for Fiction, and fellowships from MacDowell and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Our BookMarks Friends group will have a selection of books available for purchase at the event.
James Ponti will be at Marion Public Library on Thursday, July 23, 2026.
Doors Open - 6:00 pm
Program - 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Book Signing - 7:30 pm
No ticket is necessary for this Open House event.
James Ponti is the New York Times bestselling author of multiple series for young readers. Fans of mysteries in history, contemporary adventure, and humor will be drawn to his characters and their stories. The Sherlock Society is our featured title for this event, as an avenue to make history come alive for youth and show that history is all around us if we know how to look.
Ponti will present on how he became an author, his research for his historical treasure hunting and journalism plot lines, and how kids can grow to be writers. Book signing to follow.
Books will be given out to kids who attend this program,
while supplies last.
This event was made possible through Let's Read 20 and a grant from the Marion Community Foundation.
The Marion Public Library is hosting the 6th ReadLocal Author Fair on Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.. The purpose of the author fair is to showcase Ohio/local authors and their work to the community. Each selected author will be provided a table space for presentation and book signing. Authors will be responsible for selling their own print works at their table.
The fair will begin with a speaking engagement by our featured author, Wes Molebash, with the public author fair to follow immediately thereafter, and the fair will close at 2:00 p.m. If you are interested in participating, please fill out an application and return by July 1, 2026 to reserve your space*.
*Email a photo of yourself and images for your book covers to be used for publicity to stitkemeier@marionlibrary.org.
---> For more information about our featured author, and a list of local authors who will be in attendance visit our ReadLocal page.