The Albemarle Friends of the Library Spring Sale will be Thursday through Saturday at 133 E. Main St., Albemarle.
The preview sale for Friends members will be Thursday, 5-8 p.m. Non-members can buy a membership on site to attend this preview sale and join the organization.
Memberships are $5 for students; $15 for individuals; $25, family; $50, businesses and others.
The book sale will be open to the public Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Titles include romance, children’s, paperbacks, bestsellers, reference, thrillers, biography, how-to, mysteries, videos and a large selection of audio books.
For more information, call 704-986-3755.
Book signing at Bible Book Store
Mary Jones will sign copies of her book, “A to Z Society: A Humorous but Serious Look at Today’s Church,” Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m.-noon, at the Bible Book Store, 314 S. Main St., Salisbury.
She says “The A to Z Society is a group of ladies that profess to be Christians but show very ungodly characteristics. All of the stories are true, but the names have been changed to protect the GUILTY.”
Jones is an inspirational speaker, author and Christian comedienne who lives in Faith.
N.C. Writers’ Network conference
CHARLOTTE ó Registration is now open for the 2008 North Carolina Writers’ Network Spring Conference, which takes place Saturday, April 26, from 8 a.m. until 5:45 p.m. in the Elliott University Center at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
The annual event draws hundreds of writers for intensive workshops in fiction, memoir, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, poetry and publishing led by writing faculty from across the nation. Participants also attend panel discussions, faculty readings, and benefit from networking opportunities with publishers, editors and other writers.
“Bringing together North Carolina’s writers is the most important thing we do,” says Ed Southern, the network’s executive director. “The state as a whole has a stronger literary tradition than any one of its towns or cities. Writers from every corner of the state benefit from being a part of that tradition.”
Southern adds that while the Internet has forever changed the literary marketplace, writers’ essential challenges remain the same. “Writers work alone,” he says. “But we’ll always need opportunities to improve our craft, to find an audience, and to share ideas and inspiration with other writers. The network’s conferences provide that sense of community.”
Critically acclaimed poet Linda Gregg ó author of six books and recipient of such honors as a Guggenheim Fellowship, Whiting Award, National Endowment for the Arts grant, and the PEN/Voelcker Award ó will provide the keynote address. Gregg’s one-hour talk, which begins at 3:30 p.m., is free and open to the public, as are the faculty readings, which begin at 4:30 p.m.
Conference participants may select from half- and full-day workshops covering such craft issues as plot, characterization and dialogue in fiction and creative nonfiction, and using sensory imagery in poetry and developing creative momentum from one poem to the next. Additional workshop selections feature instruction for screenwriters and playwrights.
Registration for the conference ó made possible with support from the Center for Creative Writing in the Arts, UNC-Greensboro and the North Carolina Arts Council ó is $110 for network members, $145 for non-members.
To register, visit www.ncwriters.org, or call 704-246-6314 for more information.