FOSEL wishes ALL a peaceful and safe Holiday Season

Friends of the South End Library are so very grateful for all the support from the South End community – our donors, our engaged neighbors, our city workers, and our elected officials.  We wish ALL a peaceful and safe holiday season and a happy new year that we hope will include the start of a new library building.

A large crowd was energized and delighted to hear from Ilyon Woo in our final author talk of the Fall 2025 series

In spite of a little rain, the crowd for our final author talk of the Fall 2025 series was energized and delighted to hear from Ilyon Woo about her Pulitzer prize winning book, Master Slave Husband Wife.  Thanks to all who came out and to the folks who attended virtually.

Through Sara DiVello’s masterful interviewing we learned so much about Woo’s impetus for writing the book, her research, and her feelings about the characters in this amazing and harrowing true story of escape from slavery.  We also learned she is writing a children’s version of this courageous couple from scratch to teach and engage that age group about an important part of our history.

To all who missed it, the video recording is available on our FOSEL Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FriendsoftheSouthEndLibrary

Or via Zoom link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/Ff-mHtW-ykH0i1XHhXuhsagYagvwYUNj_l8dNsgi0RPoiz21hS8pvQpWNq3pqB_w.BWV6Z3nbRAFwAT_H

Passcode: Z1^tgmEB

For future programs check this page as winter progresses and we make plans.

Union Church welcomed us for the spellbinding author interview with Alma Katsu & FOSEL’s Sara DiVello

Alma Katsu, author of Fiend and interviewer Sara DiVello kept us on the edge of our seats as they explored Alma’s career journey from CIA Analyst to novelist of multiple books in the spy and horror genres.  We learned that Alma’s drive to write ultimately required she leave the CIA to pursue her current passion.

Born in Alaska but raised here in Concord, MA, Alma began writing before her intelligence career, and returned to it, publishing her first novel, The Taker, in 2011.  Her novels often blend genres, such as historical fiction with the supernatural, evidenced in The Hunger, a story of the Donner Party, which received an NPR award for horror.

 Alma shared that The Fiend, a story about a wildly financially successful family with a terrifying evil demon was inspired in part by the acclaimed TV series Succession and has many parallels with some of today’s real situations like the Sacklers, the Murdochs, and others.

 Our next author talk will be on December 10th with local author, Ilyon Woo, sharing her experience writing Pulitzer Prize winning, Master Slave Husband Wife.  Join us at 6:30pm at Union Church, 485 Columbus Ave, Boston.