Authors at JCPL is a program series that brings popular and award-winning writers from around the country right here to Johnson County, thanks to generous donations to The Johnson County Public Library Foundation. If you would like to help ensure that great programming like this continues at JCPL, please consider making a donation.
Upcoming Authors 2026
Mary Kubica
Sat • Feb. 7 • 3 p.m.
Franklin College's Branigin Room in the Napolitan Student Center
253 S Forsythe St, Franklin, IN
Park in the Hamilton Lot, northeast of the stadium
Registration opens on Fri, Dec. 12 at 1 p.m.
JCPL welcomes the New York Times bestselling author Mary Kubica to Authors at JCPL! The first 100 JCPL cardholders to register and attend will receive a free copy of "It’s Not Her". Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase through Wild Geese Bookshop.
Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of many suspense novels, including "The Good Girl", "Pretty Baby", "Don't You Cry", "Every Last Lie", "When the Lights Go Out", "The Other Mrs.", "Local Woman Missing", "Just the Nicest Couple", "She's Not Sorry" and "It's Not Her." A former high school history teacher, Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children. Her first novel "The Good Girl" was an Indie Next pick in August of 2014, received a Strand Critics Nomination for Best First Novel and was a nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards in Debut Goodreads Author and in Mystery & Thriller for 2014. "Local Woman Missing" was an Indie Next pick in May of 2021, a nominee in the Goodreads Choice Awards in Mystery & Thriller for 2021, and a finalist for an Audie Award.
Mary’s novels have been selected as Amazon Best Books of the Month and have been LibraryReads selections. They’ve been translated into over thirty languages and have sold over five million copies worldwide. She’s been described as “a helluva storyteller,” (Kirkus Reviews) and “a writer of vice-like control,” (Chicago Tribune), and her novels have been praised as “hypnotic” (People) and “thrilling and illuminating” (Los Angeles Times). She is currently working on her next novel.
Visit her website
Check out her books
She will be joined in conversation by author Rebecca McKanna, author of "Don't Forget the Girl". Rebecca McKanna was born and raised in Iowa. Her debut novel, "Don’t Forget the Girl", was nominated for the 2024 Lambda Literary Award in LGBTQ+ Mystery and the 2023 Strand Magazine’s Critics Award for Best Debut Mystery. It was awarded the 2024 Indiana Authors Award for Genre Fiction. Her short stories have been anthologized in The Best American Mystery Stories 2019 and recognized as distinguished in The Best American Short Stories 2019. She has been published in Colorado Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, The Rumpus, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Third Coast, Joyland, and as one of Narrative's Stories of the Week, among other publications. She is an associate professor of English at the University of Indianapolis. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband and a mini-schnauzer named Hans Gruber.
Visit her website
Check out her books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
Sadeqa Johnson
Fri • Feb. 27 • 6:30 p.m.
The Church on Jefferson Event Center
201 E Jefferson St, Franklin, IN
Registration opens on Tue, Dec. 16 at 10 a.m.
JCPL welcomes the New York Times bestselling author Sadeqa Johnson to Authors at JCPL! The first 100 JCPL Cardholders to register and attend will receive a free copy of "Keeper of Lost Children". Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase through Wild Geese Bookshop.
Sadeqa Johnson is the New York Times bestselling author of five novels. Her most recent novel, "The House of Eve", was an instant New York Times bestseller, Reese’s Book Club selection, NAACP Image Award nominee, Goodreads Choice Award finalist and Target Book Club pick. Her previous novel, "Yellow Wife", was the Library of Virginia’s Literary People’s Choice Award winner, Goodreads Choice Award finalist, Hurston/Wright Foundation Legacy finalist, BCALA Literary Award honoree and a Barnes & Noble Book Club selection. Originally from Philadelphia, Sadeqa currently lives near Richmond, Virginia.
Visit her website
Check out her books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
Past Authors 2025
Marissa Meyer
Tue • Nov 4 • 7 p.m.
The Historic Artcraft Theatre
57 N. Main St, Franklin
JCPL welcomes the #1 New York Times bestselling author Marissa Meyer to Authors at JCPL! The first 75 JCPL cardholders to register and attend will receive a copy of "The House Saphir." Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase from Wild Geese Bookshop.
Marissa Meyer is the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Renegades Trilogy, The Lunar Chronicles series, the Wires and Nerve graphic novels, and The Lunar Chronicles Coloring Book. Her first standalone novel, Heartless, was also a #1 New York Times bestseller. Marissa created and hosts a podcast called The Happy Writer. She lives in Tacoma, Washington, with her husband and their two daughters.
Visit her website
Check out her books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
Sophie Jordan
Thu • Oct 16 • 7 p.m.
Franklin College's Branigin Room in the Napolitan Student Center
253 S Forsythe St, Franklin, IN
Park in the Hamilton Lot, northeast of the stadium.
JCPL welcomes New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan to Authors at JCPL! The first 100 JCPL cardholders to register and attend will receive a free copy of "A Scar in the Bone." Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase from Wild Geese Bookshop.
Sophie Jordan grew up in the Texas hill country, where she wove fantasies of dragons, warriors, and princesses. A former high school English teacher, she’s the New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author of more than fifty novels. She now lives in Houston with her family. When she’s not writing, she spends her time overloading on caffeine (lattes preferred), talking plotlines with anyone who will listen (including her kids), and streaming anything that has a happily ever after.
Visit her website
Check out her books
She will be joined in conversation by New York Times bestselling author Lexi Ryan.
Visit her website
Check out her books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
Tiffany Jackson
Tue • Oct 7 • 7 p.m.
The Historic Artcraft Theatre
57 N. Main St, Franklin
JCPL welcomes New York Times bestselling author Tiffany Jackson to Authors at JCPL! The first 100 JCPL cardholders to register and attend will receive a free copy of "The Scammer". Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase from Wild Geese Bookshop.
Tiffany D. Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Allegedly, Monday's Not Coming, Let Me Hear a Rhyme, Grown, White Smoke, and The Weight of Blood and coauthor of Blackout and Whiteout. A Walter Dean Myers Honor Book and Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe New Talent Award winner, she received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University, earned her master of arts in media studies from the New School, and has over a decade of TV and film experience. The Brooklyn native is splitting her time between the South and the borough she loves.
Visit her website
Check out her books
She will be joined in conversation by award winning author Leah Johnson.
Visit her website
Check out her books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
David Rosenfelt
Tue • Jul 8 • 7 p.m.
Franklin College's Branigin Room in the Napolitan Student Center
253 S Forsythe St, Franklin, IN
Park in the Hamilton Lot, northeast of the stadium.
JCPL welcomes bestselling author David Rosenfelt to Authors at JCPL! The first 100 JCPL cardholders to register and attend will receive a copy of "Dogged Pursuit.” Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase from Wild Geese Bookshop.
David Rosenfelt is the nationally bestselling and Edgar-nominated and Shamus Award–winning author of almost 30 Andy Carpenter novels, including "Dog Day Afternoon"; several stand-alone thrillers; nonfiction titles; and several K Team novels, a series featuring some of the characters from the Andy Carpenter series. After years of living in California, he and his wife moved to Maine with twenty-five of the four thousand dogs they have rescued.
Visit his website
Check out his books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
Alison Espach--CANCELLED
Mon • June 23 • 7 p.m.
The Historic Artcraft Theatre
57 N. Main St, Franklin
Due to unforeseen circumstances, the publisher has canceled her upcoming visit. Thank you for your understanding.
JCPL welcomes Alison Espach, the New York Times bestselling author of “The Wedding People.” The first 100 JCPL cardholders to register and attend will receive a copy of "The Wedding People.” Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase from Wild Geese Bookshop.
Alison Espach is a New York Times instant bestseller, a TODAY Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club pick, a Barnes and Noble Book Club Pick, and the #1 Indie Next Pick for August 2024. She is also the author of "Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance", a Chicago Tribune and NPR “Best Book of 2022,” as well as "The Adults", a New York Times Editor’s Choice and Barnes and Noble Discover pick. Her fictional audio series In-Depth Market Research Interviews with Dead People is an Audible Original. She has written for McSweeney’s, Vogue, Outside, LitHub, Joyland and other places. She lives and teaches creative writing in Rhode Island. Alison received her MFA from Washington University in St. Louis. She has been a writer-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation for the Arts, Millay Arts, The Wassaic Project, the Cuttyhunk Writers Residency and the San Miguel Literary Sala.
Visit her website
Check out her books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
Jeffery Deaver
Mon • May 5 • 7 p.m.
Doors open at 6 p.m.
The Historic Artcraft Theatre
57 N. Main St, Franklin
JCPL welcomes Jeffery Deaver, the international number one bestselling author of “The Bodies Left Behind.” The first 100 JCPL cardholders to register and attend will receive a copy of "South of Nowhere.” Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase from Barnes & Noble.
Jeffery Deaver is the author of more than forty novels, three collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, and a lyricist of a country-western album, he’s received or been shortlisted for dozens of awards. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world. His books are sold in 150 countries and translated into twenty-five languages. He has served two terms as president of Mystery Writers of America, and was recently named a Grand Master of MWA, whose ranks include Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Mary Higgins Clark and Walter Mosely.
His book "A Maiden’s Grave" was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel "The Bone Collector" was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.
Visit his website
Check out his books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
David Baldacci--SOLD OUT
Wed • Apr 23 • 7 p.m.
The Historic Artcraft Theatre
57 N. Main St, Franklin
David’s philanthropy, Wish You Well Foundation, partners with Feeding America to have donation boxes available at his speaking engagements and events through the Feeding Body & Mind initiative. Through this initiative, event attendees can donate new or gently used books.
Donations will be collected at the event and given to Great Harvest Food Pantry in New Whiteland. If you'd like to bring a book to donate, you may drop it off in the donation box at this event.
JCPL welcomes David Baldacci, the #1 New York Times best-selling author of "Absolute Power" and "Memory Man". The first 100 JCPL cardholders to register and attend will receive a copy of "Strangers in Time." Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase from Wild Geese Bookshop.
Visit his website
Check out his books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
Patti Callahan Henry
Wed • Mar 26 • 6 p.m.
The Historic Artcraft Theatre
57 N. Main St, Franklin
JCPL welcomes Patti Callahan Henry, the New York Times bestselling author of “The Secret Book of Flora Lea.” The first 100 JCPL cardholders to register and attend will receive a copy of "The Story She Left Behind." Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase from Wild Geese Bookshop.
Patti Callahan Henry is a New York Times, Globe and Mail, and USA Today bestselling author of seventeen novels. She’s also a podcast host of original content for her novels, "Surviving Savannah" and "Becoming Mrs. Lewis". She is the recipient of The Christy Award “Book of the Year”; The Harper Lee Distinguished Writer of the Year and the Alabama Library Association Book of the Year for Becoming Mrs. Lewis. She is the co-host and co-creator of the popular weekly online Friends and Fiction live web show and podcast. Patti also was a contributor to the monthly life lesson essay column for Parade Magazine. She’s published in numerous anthologies, articles, and short story collections, including an Audible Original about Florence Nightingale, titled Wild Swan narrated by the Tony Award winner, Cynthia Erivo.
A full-time author, mother of three, and grandmother of two, she lives in Mountain Brook, Alabama with her husband, Pat Henry.
Visit her website
Check out her books
Patti will be joined in conversation by Susan Crandall. Susan Crandall is a critically acclaimed author of women’s fiction, romance, and suspense. She has written several award-winning novels including her first book, "Back Roads", which won the RITA award for best first book, as well as "Whistling Past the Graveyard", which won the SIBA 2014 Book Award for Fiction. Susan lives in Noblesville, Indiana, with her family.
Visit her website
Check out her books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
C.J. Box
Thu • Feb 27 • 7 p.m.
The Historic Artcraft Theatre
57 N. Main St, Franklin
JCPL welcomes C.J. Box, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 30 novels, including the Joe Pickett series. The first 100 JCPL cardholders to register and attend will receive a copy of “Battle Mountain.” Please, only one free book per library cardholder. Reciprocal Borrowers are not eligible for the free book. General admission tickets may be reserved by anyone; you do not need a library card to attend. Copies of the author's books will also be available for purchase from Wild Geese Bookshop.
C. J. Box has won the Edgar Alan Poe Award for Best Novel ("Blue Heaven", 2009) as well as the Anthony Award, Prix Calibre 38 (France), the Maltese Falcon Award (Japan), the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe Award, two Barry Awards, and the 2010 Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Award for fiction. He was recently awarded the 2016 Western Heritage Award for Literature by the National Cowboy Museum as well as the Spur Award for Best Contemporary Novel by the Western Writers of America in 2017. Over ten million copies of his books have been sold in the U.S. and abroad and they’ve been translated into 27 languages. Two television series based on his novels are in production (BIG SKY on ABC and JOE PICKETT on Spectrum Originals and Paramount+). He is an Executive Producer for both series.
"Three-Inch Teeth", the 24th Joe Pickett novel, was published in February of 2024 and debuted at #2 on the New York Times Bestseller list and #1 on the Apple eBooks Bestseller list.
Box is a Wyoming native and has worked as a ranch hand, surveyor, fishing guide, a small town newspaper reporter and editor, and he owned an international tourism marketing firm with his wife Laurie. In 2008, Box was awarded the "BIG WYO" Award from the state tourism industry. An avid outdoorsman, Box has hunted, fished, hiked, ridden, and skied throughout Wyoming and the Mountain West. He served on the Board of Directors for the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo and the Wyoming Office of Tourism. They have three daughters and four grandchildren. He and his wife Laurie live on their ranch in Wyoming.
Visit his website
Check out his books
*Please contact Kelly Staten (kstaten@jcplin.org or 317-738-9835) with accessibility or interpretive needs.
