EveryLibrary Live! Award Winning Author Conversations 2025
Libraries connect readers and authors in unique and powerful ways. Join EveryLibrary Live! for three evenings of conversations with acclaimed, 2025 award-winning authors whose work has earned some of the most distinguished honors in contemporary literature and storytelling. Watch live on our Facebook and YouTube channels or catch the recordings on-demand.
From the bold visual history of Ben Passmore’s Black Arms to Hold You Up, to the haunting landscapes of C.B. Bernard’s Ordinary Bear, the mythic lyricism of David Wroblewski’s Familiaris, the heartfelt faith and family themes of Rhonda McKnight’s Bitter and Sweet, and the poetic realism of Rudy Ruiz’s The Border Between Us, these conversations explore what it means to write about identity, courage, love, and hope.
Each event features a live discussion with the author, streamed on EveryLibrary’s Facebook and YouTube channels, where audiences can comment and celebrate the voices shaping today’s literary landscape. This event is only possible because of the generous connections and support of Blackstone Publishers, Pantheon, and Harper Christian. Whether you’re a reader, a librarian, or a lover of great storytelling, join us for this special week of conversations about creativity, culture, and connection.
Tuesday, November 11 — 9:00 p.m. EST
Ben Passmore — Black Arms to Hold You Up
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YNvJqhVpC8
Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1326878382569156
Join Ben Passmore, the Ignatz and Eisner Award–winning cartoonist behind Your Black Friend, Daygloayhole, and BTTM FDRS, for a dynamic look at his latest graphic work, Black Arms to Hold You Up, a bold, darkly funny, and deeply researched exploration of Black militant history and resistance. Set against the backdrop of 2020’s uprisings, Passmore traces a century of struggle—from Robert Charles’s 1900 shootout to the Black Power movement and today’s protests, examining cycles of state violence, defiance, and liberation. With sharp wit and vivid art, he challenges audiences to reconsider what resistance looks like today and how stories of the past can ignite action in the present.
Wednesday, November 12 — 7:00 p.m. EST
C.B. Bernard — Ordinary Bear (Barry Award: Best First Mystery Novel)
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJQYrFudNqw
Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1094865932538017
Join award-winning author C.B. Bernard for an evening of conversation about his acclaimed novel Ordinary Bear—winner of the 2025 Barry Award for Best First Mystery Novel. Set against the stark beauty of Alaska and the gritty streets of Portland, this darkly humorous and deeply human story follows Farley, a hapless oil company investigator whose life is upended by loss, guilt, and a desperate search for redemption. Bernard, author of Small Animals Caught in Traps and Chasing Alaska (a Publishers Weekly Top 10 Travel Pick and Oregon Book Award finalist), blends sharp wit with emotional depth in a story that explores the boundaries of grief, hope, and humanity.
Wednesday, November 12 — 9:00 p.m. EST
David Wroblewski — Familiaris (Oprah’s Book Club; Colorado Book Award for Best Fiction)
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=374YX6GS0dc
Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/25499376679653999
Join David Wroblewski, internationally bestselling author of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (an Oprah’s Book Club selection and winner of multiple literary awards), for a conversation about his acclaimed new novel Familiaris (fa-MEEL-yar-is), also chosen by Oprah’s Book Club and winner of the Colorado Book Award for Best Fiction, with an Honorable Mention from the Wisconsin Library Association’s 2025 Literary Awards. A powerful and enchanting prequel to Edgar Sawtelle, Familiaris follows newlyweds John and Mary Sawtelle into Wisconsin’s northwoods in 1919. With signature depth and lyricism, Wroblewski explores love, purpose, and the ancient bond between humans and animals.
Thursday, November 13 — 7:00 p.m. EST
Rhonda McKnight — 2025 Dove Award Finalist & Emma Award–Winning Author
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXTd70WNuYI
Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1136703045244487
Join Gigi Howard of Drinks in the Library for a conversation with bestselling author Rhonda McKnight, winner of the 2015 Emma Award for Inspirational Romance of the Year and a finalist for the 2025 Dove Award. McKnight crafts powerful, faith-filled stories that explore forgiveness, family, and hope. In her latest novel, Bitter and Sweet, two sisters return to South Carolina to save their grandmother’s struggling restaurant and uncover the century-old legacy of their ancestor, Tabitha Cooper. Through food, faith, and family, they learn that healing the past is the key to embracing the blessings of today. McKnight is also the acclaimed author of The Thing About Home, An Inconvenient Friend, and What Kind of Fool.
Thursday, November 13 — 9:00 p.m. EST
Rudy Ruiz — The Border Between Us (International Latino Book Awards: Gold Medal; Rudolfo Anaya Award)
Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA6-kQTqKJY
Watch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/832418169195842
Join Rudy Ruiz, Gold Medal Winner of the International Latino Book Awards and recipient of the Rudolfo Anaya Best Latino Focused Fiction Award, for a conversation about his acclaimed new novel The Border Between Us. A moving coming-of-age story, the book follows Ramón López, a young man torn between family duty and his dream of becoming an artist. Set along the U.S.–Mexico border, it explores identity, ambition, and the cost of chasing the American dream. Ruiz, author of The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez and Valley of Shadows, is celebrated for lyrical storytelling and deep insight into border life.
You can watch all sessions live on EveryLibrary’s Facebook and YouTube, or on-demand right away, anytime. Share this page with friends and colleagues who love books, libraries, and great conversations with authors.