Panel Discussion - World Building: The Secret Ingredient for Creating Memorable Stories – with Nan Doyal, Linda Fairstein & Candice Shy Hooper

 How an author chooses to reveal the world in which their characters live, whether real or imagined, is one of the keys to their success as a storyteller. 

“World Building” involves not only the physical environment in which a story takes place, but also the cultural, historical, and societal climate in which the characters live and act. Whether in an unremarkable and familiar time and place, or a vast and foreign one, it makes fiction, memoir, non-fiction, and history come to life. 

But building a world is not easy. An author must research, imagine, and create or re-create a context for their characters that is both real and dynamic. Then they must decide how much to reveal implicitly or explicitly as the narrative unfolds. 

Join us in the courtyard for a discussion facilitated by Nan Doyal with authors Linda Fairstein and Candice Shy Hooper, as they share from their years of experience building worlds. 

CANDICE SHY HOOPER

NAN DOYAL

LINDA FAIRSTEIN

Nan Doyal is the author of Dig Where You Are –How One Person’s Effort Can Save a Life, Empower a Community, and Create Meaningful Change in the World (2017). 

She is the founder and Executive Editor of Casper Press, an independent publisher of fiction and nonfiction.

Doyal serves on the Library Foundation Board of Directors and has frequently interviewed authors and facilitated panel discussions for the Library Foundation’s Literary Series events.

Linda Fairstein was chief of the Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit of the district attorney’s office in Manhattan for more than two decades and is America’s foremost legal expert on sexual assault and domestic violence.

Her 20 Alexandra Cooper crime novels are international bestsellers.

Fairstein is an officer and board member of the Library Foundation. She and her husband enjoy spending time in their favorite places: Boca Grande, Manhattan, Montana, and Martha’s Vineyard.

Candice Shy Hooper is a historian and the author of Lincoln’s Generals’ Wives, which won three national awards, and Delivered Under Fire: Absalom Markland and Freedom’s Mail

She is currently working on her third Civil War history, a biography of Major Robert Anderson.

In addition to writing history, she also writes poetry. 

Hooper is a past-president and board member of the Library Foundation and serves as one of the Foundation’s Literary Advisors. 

Advance event registration will open to our donors via an email invitation in late October, six weeks before the event. 

Shortly thereafter, registration will be open to all. 

Open to the public at no charge – Registration is required.