Things to Do: Out Loud! author series brings Fresh Air

Out Loud! The Metro Library Network Author Series - the collaborative program of the Cedar Rapids, Hiawatha and Marion public libraries - will present Maureen Corrigan, Rainbow Rowell and Piper Kerman in free events at The Hotel at Kirkwood Center in June.

Corrigan will open this year's series June 12 at 7 p.m. For more than 20 years, Corrigan has been the book critic for NPR's Fresh Air.

She also is a columnist for the Washington Post and the critic-in-residence at Georgetown University, as well as a critic for the Village Voice.

She is the author of two books - 'Leave me Alone I'm Reading” and 'So We Read On: How ‘The Great Gatsby' Came to Be and Why It Endures,” which was named one of the 10 best books of the year by Library Journal in 2014.

Aside from her writings for the Washington Post and the Village Voice, Corrigan has also written reviews for the New York Times, The Boston Globe and the Nation among others. She is an associate editor of and contributor to Mystery and Suspense Writers and the winner of the 1999 Edgar Award for Criticism.

In 2012 she served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Rowell will continue the series on June 19 at 7 p.m. Rowell is the New York Times best-selling author of 'Fangirl,” 'Eleanor & Park,” and 'Attachments.” Her latest book, 'Landline,” received the Good Choice Reads Award for best fiction in 2014.

Her work spans the young adult and adult genres, appealing to people of all ages. Formerly a columnist and ad copywriter at the Omaha World-Herald, Rowell's two young adult novels, 'Eleanor & Park” and 'Fangirl” were released in 2013 and both were named by the New York Times as among the best young adult fiction of the year.

Kerman will finish the series on June 26, at 7 p.m. Kerman is the author of the best-selling memoir 'Orange is the New Black,” which was adapted into a critically acclaimed series of the same name.

The memoir chronicles what the author calls her 'crucible experience,” the 13 months she spent in the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Conn. Since her release, Kerman has worked tirelessly to promote the cause of prison and criminal justice reform.

While no tickets are required, registration at metrolibrarynetwork.org/outloud is requested. Alternately, patrons may contact any of the metro libraries or send an email to events@crlibrary.org.

All Out Loud! authors will take questions from the audience and sign books following their presentations.

For more information, go to metrolibrarynetwork.org/outloud.