When Fred Risser retired from the Wisconsin Senate in 2021, his sixty-four years in state government made him the longest serving legislator in US history. Now, in this candid and illuminating autobiography, Risser shares his singular perspective on events that transformed the state and the nation over the course of his remarkable career.
Please note this event will be held at Bascom Music Hall. It's free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Seating is by general admission and limited to theater capacity. Doors open at 6 p.m.
From award-winning, bestselling author David Levithan and beloved, acclaimed singer-songwriter Jens Lekman comes a charming, tender novel about an unlucky-in-love wedding singer trying to find the right words to save his relationship.
Striker isn’t entirely sure she should be on this luxury Antarctic cruise. A Black film scout, her mission is to photograph potential locations for a big-budget movie about Ernest Shackleton’s doomed expedition. Along the way, she finds private if cautious amusement in the behavior of both the native wildlife and the group of wealthy, mostly white tourists who have chosen to spend Christmas on the Weddell Sea.
Join memoir writing coach Sarah White and a community of people who read and write about life for this FREE read-and-share event. Sign up on arrival to read on a first-come, first-served basis, and receive group feedback on your nonfiction/memoir from like-minded people. Readings should be about 5-7 minutes long, true, and yours to tell. Listeners welcome as well as readers. Contact Sarah White if you have questions: sarah.white@firstpersonprod.com or 608-347-7329.
Meet this year’s Naturalist-in-Residence, Andrea Debbink, as she kicks off her six-week residency with the Madison Public Library! At this informal talk and Q&A, Andrea will share the inspiration for her theme, “At Home in Nature,” preview her upcoming library events, and talk about her experiences writing nature-based books for children and adults including her new Madison-area hiking guide, Urban Trails: Madison. Afterward, participants have the option to join Andrea for a short scenic walk around the park.
![A civilian man interviewing a veteran, a picture of a book titled "1000 Words: Stories from the VA’s My Life, My Story Project"](/sites/www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/files/styles/small/public/2025-06/1000wordsweb.jpg.webp?itok=Xg77ekU9 "A civilian man interviewing a veteran, a picture of a book titled "1000 Words: Stories from the VA’s My Life, My Story Project"")
Since 2013, writers from the VA's My Life, My Story Project have asked more that 9,000 Veterans at VA hospitals around the United States to tell their life stories. With the Veteran's permission, those stories go into the Veteran's medical record so that VA health care providers can read them and get to know their patients better.
Our panel will feature:
Join memoir writing coach Sarah White and a community of people who read and write about life for this FREE read-and-share event. Sign up on arrival to read on a first-come, first-served basis, and receive group feedback on your nonfiction/memoir from like-minded people. Readings should be about 5-7 minutes long, true, and yours to tell. Listeners welcome as well as readers. Contact Sarah White if you have questions: sarah.white@firstpersonprod.com or 608-347-7329.
Join memoir writing coach Sarah White and a community of people who read and write about life for this FREE read-and-share event. Sign up on arrival to read on a first-come, first-served basis, and receive group feedback on your nonfiction/memoir from like-minded people. Readings should be about 5-7 minutes long, true, and yours to tell. Listeners welcome as well as readers. Contact Sarah White if you have questions: sarah.white@firstpersonprod.com or 608-347-7329.
Join memoir writing coach Sarah White and a community of people who read and write about life for this FREE read-and-share event. Sign up on arrival to read on a first-come, first-served basis, and receive group feedback on your nonfiction/memoir from like-minded people. Readings should be about 5-7 minutes long, true, and yours to tell. Listeners welcome as well as readers. Contact Sarah White if you have questions: sarah.white@firstpersonprod.com or 608-347-7329.
Join memoir writing coach Sarah White and a community of people who read and write about life for this FREE read-and-share event. Sign up on arrival to read on a first-come, first-served basis, and receive group feedback on your nonfiction/memoir from like-minded people. Readings should be about 5-7 minutes long, true, and yours to tell. Listeners welcome as well as readers. Contact Sarah White if you have questions: sarah.white@firstpersonprod.com or 608-347-7329.
