Great Authors at the Library

Author Shelby Van Pelt on a stage talking to an audience

Shelby Van Pelt, bestselling author of the novel, Remarkably Bright Creatures, spoke to an excited audience during her visit to Champaign in October 2025 .

Since 2016, the Great Authors at the Library series has brought 24 award-winning, New York Times bestselling authors to Champaign, where they have been welcomed by more than 5,000 community members.

Each author presents a public talk about their writing, signs books, and meets local readers. We often set up book giveaways in advance, sharing ”Read and pass along” copies of the author’s books with community members. For authors of children’s books and teen titles, we set up school visits so that area schoolchildren can meet these literary giants. We also provide books to our partnering Champaign Unit 4 School District libraries. And for the community’s youngest readers, we give out books at storytimes to help families build home libraries.

Acclaimed speakers in the Great Authors at the Library series have included New York Times bestselling authors Doris Kearns Goodwin, Terry McMillan, Ken Liu, Lisa See, Colson Whitehead, Lisa Scottoline, Eric Litwin, Scott Turow, Jamie Ford, Nnedi Okorafor, Luis Alberto Urrea, Nikki Grimes, Elizabeth Berg, and David Sheff.

Great Authors at the Library visits are made possible with support from the Library Foundation and Library Friends.

Great Authors books in our collection »