The Allen County Public Library (ACPL) has released its second season of the podcast, “ACPL Presents: Pages & Voices” following a successful Season One earlier in 2024. The podcast features local authors and is produced at the Main Library’s Access Fort Wayne studios with host Senior Librarian Meg Bell and producer Librarian Production Coordinator Kay Gregg.
“When we launched season one, we were not sure exactly what to expect,” says Director of Community Partnerships and Programs Beth Boatright. “We knew there were lots of talented authors in the region, and we were pleased to see so many community members embrace the opportunity to support them by tuning in. We’ve received so much positive feedback and nearly one hundred local authors have reached to be featured already. It was clear the community wanted more, so we decided to do another season!”
“ACPL Presents: Pages & Voices” centers the stories and creative writing experiences of local and regional authors from various genres. The project was developed in response to increasing demand for avenues to connect the local author community to library resources and audiences.
Host Bell reports that circulation for authors featured on Season One have seen higher circulation than usual and many of the authors have shared benefits such as increased book sales and book reviews.
According to Jaclyn Youhana Garver, one of Season One’s featured authors, the best part of participating in the podcast is “it feels really great to know my local library has my back and has the backs of other area writers…I love knowing that the library is helping lead the way in something to help this area shine.”
The second session dropped May 13 with episode one featuring horror author and Bram Stoker Award Nominee Paula D. Ashe. Subsequent episodes will drop every other week. The second season’s featured authors are:
Paula D. Ashe, Fort Wayne
Local author, Paula D. Ashe, shares about her journey to becoming an award-winning horror writer. She discusses her book of short stories, We are Here to Hurt Each Other, which was a 2022 Bram Stoker Award Nominee. She also gives tips and advice on learning and growing as a writer.
Traci Douglass, Fort Wayne
USA Today Bestselling author, Traci Douglass, shares her journey to becoming a Harlequin Romance Novelist. She gives advice on quarrying agents and offers suggestions on what books all budding romance authors should read.
Helen Frost, Fort Wayne
Award winning poet and author, Helen Frost, gives listeners insight into her writing process. She talks about her love of the English language and how teaching and writing have been tightly interwoven throughout her whole life.
George Kalamaras, Fort Wayne
Join us as we talk to former Indiana Poet Laureate (2014-2016) George Kalamaras. We discuss his latest book of poetry, What My Hound Dog Is Scenting Through the Sloughgrass Is a Way of Scenting Me: Poems and how this charming book combines two great loves of his life, hound dogs and poetry.
Joshua Schipper, Fort Wayne
Self-made author Joshua Schipper is a local historian making a big splash with two nationally bestselling books about Fort Wayne, Indiana. Join us as we discuss his process for successfully writing and marketing his books.
Sharon Tubbs, Fort Wayne
Author, inspirational speaker, and non-profit leader, Sharon Tubbs, talks about her newest non-fiction memoir, They Got Daddy: One Family’s Reckoning with Racism and Faith which was released in January 2023. She also shares helpful advice on publishing and the different ways an author can release their books.
The podcast can be streamed and downloaded at acpl.info/podcast or on most major podcast players including: Apple Podcast, Podbean, Spotify, Amazon, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Samsung, and Podchaser.
Local authors who would like to be considered for the podcast, can submit an inquiry at acpl.info/local-authors.