Geraldine Brooks is the author of March, the recipient of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She is also the author of Year of Wonders and Nine Parts of Desire. In People of the Book, a young Australian book conservator has been called to handle the job of a lifetime: analysis of the famed Sarajevo Haggadah, a priceless six-hundred-year-old Jewish prayer book. Intricate, vivid, and utterly engrossing, People of the Book is at once a novel of sweeping historical grandeur, vividly realized characters, and electrifying intrigue...more »

TICKETS: $75 for one ticket; $130 for two tickets. Hardcover book included. For additional information, call Christa Southgate at (941) 329-2604.

In one of the most anticipated books of 2007, Lee Woodruff, along with her husband Bob Woodruff, shares the couple's never-before-told story of romance, resilience, and survival following the tragedy that transformed their lives and gripped a nation. IN AN INSTANT is the frank and compelling account of how Bob and Lee’s lives came together, were blown apart, and then were miraculously put together again—and how they persevered, with grit but also with humor through intense trauma and fear. ..more »

TICKETS: $75 for one ticket; $130 for two tickets. Lunch and hardcover book included. For additional information, call Christa Southgate at (941) 329-2604.

In Girl With a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier brings the paintings of Vermeer to magnificent life. Into a medieval tapestry she weaves new threads of intrigue with The Lady and the Unicorn. Now, in her latest novel, Burning Bright, the award-winning novelist finds inspiration in the works of the radical 18th- century poet-painter William Blake. Join us for an in-depth conversation at the Historic Asolo Theatre as we explore the mysteries of inspiration, the rigors of creation, and the intrigues of interpretation with one of the most brilliant novelists of our time. A booksigning reception follows the program in the delectable new Treviso Restaurant...more »

TICKETS: $40 for one ticket; $70 for two tickets. Hardcover book and author reception included. For more information, call Christa Southgate at (941) 329-2604.

The acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of Nineteen Minutes presents Change of Heart, a spellbinding tale of a mother's tragic loss and a criminal's last chance at gaining salvation. Once again, Jodi Picoult mesmerizes and enthralls readers with this story of redemption, justice, and love...more »

TICKETS: The luncheon is SOLD OUT! However, Jodi will sign books after the luncheon from 1:30 to 2:00pm at Michael's On East. For more information or to reserve a signed copy of CHANGE OF HEART, please call (941) 365-6332.

In this ambitious debut novel, fact and fiction blend together brilliantly. While scholars have largely relegated Mamah to a footnote in the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, author Nancy Horan gives full weight to their dramatic love story and illuminates Cheney’s profound influence on America's greatest architect. A booksigning reception follows the program in the delectable new Treviso Restaurant...more »

TICKETS: $40 for one ticket; $70 for two tickets. Hardcover book and author reception included. For more information, call Christa Southgate at (941) 329-2604.

THE STEEL WAVE is the second volume in New York Times-bestselling author Jeff Shaara's acclaimed World War II trilogy, about the most famous chapter in WWII--D Day. Jeff Shaara plunges his readers into the minds of the commanders who gave the orders, and the soldiers who carried them out with the rifle and bayonet. From GI to general, this centerpiece of Jeff Shaara's saga on the Second World War carries the reader through the events of the most crucial weeks of the Second World War-- events that altered the flow of the war, and ultimately, changed history. ..more »

TICKETS: $75 for one ticket; $130 for two tickets. Luncheon and hardcover book included. For additional information, call Christa Southgate at (941) 329-2604.