BELFAST—Belfast Free Library’s summer series is bringing back its popular summer series “Maine Writers Talk About...” for the second year with authors who either live in Maine or write about it and give them a platform to discuss their process with an audience.

“We have a committee that chooses the authors and we usually look for authors that have something new or current and have some sort of Maine connection,” said Brenda Harrington, Adult Programming director.

On Tuesday July 8, the “Maine Writers Talk About...” series will feature authors Christina Baker Kline and Ayelet Waldman. Kline’s NY Times bestseller and #1 Book Club pick Orphan Train is a meticulously-researched novel about the orphan-train project that sent 250,000 homeless city children out west to find homes in the years 1853-1925.  Waldman's Love and Treasure is a spellbinding novel of contraband masterpieces, tragic love, and the unexpected legacies of forgotten crimearound the fascinating, true history of another train, the Hungarian Gold Train during the Second World War. 

“Both of these books bring history to life and go back and forth from the present to the past. None of these topics were discussed last year and I’m really intrigued about bringing history to life in the novel,” said Brenda Harrington, Adult Programming director.

The series usually just features one author, but Kline, who is originally from the Bangor area asked if she could do her talk as a conversation with her good friend, Waldman, who also has a Maine connection in her book. “I think it will be much richer and more interesting to have the both of them discuss their process as a duo,” said Harrington.

“Each author talk draws a different audience, a mix of people who have an interesting in writing or just the topic itself. If the person is a best-selling author like Monica Wood (When We Were The Kennedys) who spoke last year, people who like and follow their books will automatically come to the talk who really want to hear what they say about their writing.”

The dates (all Tuesdays), authors and topics for the remainder of the Maine Writers Talk About... series are: July 22, Jane Brox on “Personal History: The Challenge of Weaving Historical Materials into a Personal Narrative”; Aug. 12, Baron Wormser on “Writing a Poem, Writing a Novel"; Aug. 26, Susan Conley on "Storytelling: Lessons in Risk Taking and Stubbornness"; and Sept. 9, Paul Doiron on "North Woods Lawmen.”

Books will be available to purchase at each program. For more information please call the library at 338-3884 x 10.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com