The Newport Beach Public Library Foundation presents

We are thrilled to welcome these four brilliant authors to our 2025-26 series. Library Live is for adventurous readers who enjoy hearing from established literary figures and emerging talent. Novelists, poets, historians, journalists, biographers, memoirists and more share their ideas firsthand with our community. Participate, engage, and be challenged by our presentations with today’s most gifted scribes.

Thursday, November 6, 2025, 7 p.m. 

The event will be held at the Civic Center Community Room

 Buy Tickets:  https://nbplf.foundation/programs/library-live-24-25/

 From National Book Award finalist Susan Straight comes a gripping novel about nurses during the Covid pandemic in San Bernardino due to be released in October 2025. In August 2020, Larette, Cherrise, and Marisol work tirelessly in the ICU, living in RVs to protect their families. As they face rising patient numbers and personal struggles, Cherrise's daughter goes missing, prompting a search led by Grief's friend, Johnny. The journey explores themes of love, loss, and the quiet heroism of first responders. Sacrament showcases Susan Straight's powerful voice in American literature.

A Southern California native, Straight has authored nine novels, including Mecca and Highwire Moon. She has received numerous accolades, such as the Lannan Prize, O. Henry Award, Edgar Award, and the Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement. Her work has been translated into ten languages.

**Programs starts at 7:00pm and check-in at 6:30pm

QUESTIONS

Contact programs@nbplf.foundation or 949-717-3892