Best-selling author Anita Diamant will join one of the leaders of the new local literary group, Ode to Toad, to discuss her writing and her life, including what inspires her about Cape Ann, where many of her books are set. Local author and marketing agency founder Laura Bergheim of Wordsmithie will interview Anita. After their conversation, Anita will answer audience questions and sign books, which will also be for sale.

At the start of the event, we’ll hear from Kathleen McEvoy, Senior Policy Fellow for the EveryLibrary Institute (and a board member of the American Library Association’s United for Libraries Division). She’ll discuss the devastating impact of book bans and censorship on the work and culture of libraries across the country.

Anita Diamant is the author of thirteen books, most recently Period. End of Sentence., the New Chapter in the Fight for Menstrual Justice. Her first novel, New York Times bestseller, The Red Tent, has been published in more than 25 countries. Her other novels include The Boston Girl, Day after Night, The Last Days of Dogtown, and Good Harbor.

Diamant is the author of six non-fiction guides to contemporary Jewish life, including The Jewish Wedding Now, Living a Jewish Life, and Saying Kaddish, as well as a collection of essays, Pitching My Tent. An award-winning journalist, her work has appeared in the Boston Globe Magazine, Real Simple, Parenting, Boston Magazine and Cognoscenti, the online ideas and opinion page of WBUR-FM.

Anita is also the founding president of Mayyim Hayyim Living Waters Community Mikveh and Education Center: a 21st century reinvention of the ancient tradition of immersion for all Jews and those becoming Jewish. She lives in the Boston area.

Ode to Toad was founded this year by Susie Rich and Laura Bergheim to honor Toad Hall Books, a local store that delighted readers of all ages from 1972 to 2017. The organization, which hosts literary events in Rockport, was co-founded by children’s book author Susie Rich (owner of Susie’s Stories on Bearskin Neck) and non-fiction author Laura Bergheim (founder/CEO of Wordsmithie, Inc., at the corner of Beach and Main Streets).