The author is joined by Colby Cedar Smith to discuss her recently released novel, "Akmaral." Doors open at 10:45 a.m. for coffee and pastries; talk begins at 11 a.m. Book signing to follow.
From the publisher:
Before the Silk Road had a name, nomads roamed the Asian steppes and women fought side by side as equals with men.
Like all women of the Sauromatae, Akmaral is bound for battle from birth, training as a girl in horsemanship, archery, spear, and blade. Her prowess ignites the jealousy of Erzhan, a gifted warrior who hates her as much as he desires her. When Scythian renegades attack, the two must unite to defeat them. Among their captives is Timor, the rebels’ enigmatic leader who refuses to be broken, even as he is enslaved. He fascinates Akmaral. But as attraction grows to passion, she is blinded to the dangerous alliance forming between the men who bristle against the clan’s matriarchal rule. Faced with brutal betrayal, Akmaral must find the strength to defend her people and fulfill her destiny. Drawn from legends of Amazon women warriors from ancient Greece and recent archaeological discoveries in Central Asia, Akmaral is a sweeping tale about a powerful woman who must make peace with making war.
About the Author:
Judith Lindbergh’ s debut novel, "The Thrall’ s Tale," published by Viking, was an IndieBound Pick, a Borders Original Voices Selection, and praised by Pulitzer Prize winners Geraldine Brooks and Robert Olen Butler. In addition to numerous publications, she spoke at the Smithsonian and provided expert commentary on the History Channel's series "Mankind: The Story of All of Us." Judith received a 2024 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and is the Founder/Director of The Writers Circle, a creative writing center based in New Jersey.
About the Moderator:
Colby Cedar Smith is an award-winning poet, novelist, and educator. Colby has spent the last 20 years teaching creative writing and storytelling workshops in elementary and secondary schools, art museums, nature centers, community centers, and corporations. Her poetry has been been published in numerous review and magazines, and has been a finalist for over twenty poetry prizes including The Iowa Review Poetry Award, the New Letters Poetry Prize, the Colorado Prize for Poetry; and a semi-finalist for the 92Y “Discovery”/Boston Review Poetry Prize. In 2020, Colby received a New Jersey Council on the Arts Fellowship in Poetry. Colby's debut novel in verse, "Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit" was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection Standard Selection; an American Booksellers Association Kids’ Indie Next Pick; a Cybils Award Poetry Finalist; a 2021 Goodreads Choice Best Poetry Nominee, A Kid's Book Choice Finalist for Stellar Storytelling; a 2022 Independent Publisher Book Awards Silver medal for YA Fiction; a 2022 Silver Nautilus Award for Lyric Prose; a 2021 Michigan notable book; and the winner of the Midwest Book Award for YA Fiction. She holds a B.A. in creative writing from Colorado College, and an Ed.M in arts in education from Harvard University
