Galentine’s Day event celebrates female friendships
Ohio author Kerry Winfrey will hold a talk about her recent releases, “Waiting for Tom Hanks” and “Love and Other Alien Experiences,” on Feb. 13 from 6-8 p.m. at the main branch.
Grab your best gal pals and head over to the Tuscarawas County Public Library for a Galentine’s Day Celebration.
As shown on “Parks and Recreation,” the character of Leslie Knope holds a celebration of best friends on Feb. 13, the day before Valentine’s Day. Knope and her friends have brunch, give each other gifts and talk about why their friendship is special and what is going on in each other’s lives. It’s a day that celebrates female friendships.
Ever since the episode, Galentine’s Day events have started popping up, and the local library is now getting in on the fun.
Ohio author Kerry Winfrey will hold a talk about her recent releases, “Waiting for Tom Hanks” and “Love and Other Alien Experiences,” on Feb. 13 from 6-8 p.m. at the main branch.
“Galentine’s Day is about having fun and celebrating all types of love, and that’s the experience I want readers to have when they pick up my books,” Winfrey said. “My most recent book, ‘Waiting for Tom Hanks,’ is about a woman who’s so obsessed with romantic comedies that she’s essentially put her life on hold as she waits for her own Tom Hanks to come rescue her, which gave me plenty of opportunities to weave in lots of references to my favorite rom-com films. And what better way to celebrate love and have fun than talk about your favorite memorable, swoon-worth and/or ridiculous romantic comedy moments?”
Winfrey said response to the book has been positive. “Also, plenty of readers have let me know that they’ve shared ‘Waiting for Tom Hanks’ with their sisters, mothers, grandmothers and friends, so it’s a perfect book to read with the gals — or important people of any gender — in your life,” she said.
Winfrey, who lives in Columbus, has written the young adult novels, “Things Jolie Needs to Do Before She Bites It” and the aforementioned “Love and Other Alien Experiences,” published by Feiwel and Friends, which is about a house-bound teenager obsessed with aliens who gets nominated for homecoming queen at her school.
“Waiting for Tom Hanks” is her first adult romantic comedy, published by Berkley. “Love and Other Alien Experiences” was a Junior Library Guild selection, and “Things Jolie Needs to Do Before She Bites It” received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly. She also writes for many websites including HelloGiggles.
Winfrey said she has an upcoming release this year, “Not Like the Movies,” which is a companion novel to “Waiting for Tom Hanks,” coming July 7. “It’s about a character who hates romantic comedies, so it’s been a fun challenge,” she said.
Winfrey said during the program she will talk about what inspired her to write “Waiting for Tom Hanks,” as well as her lifelong love of romantic comedies, which led to her project, A Year of Rom-Coms, in which she watched a romantic comedy each week for a year and wrote about it online. “And of course my deep belief that Nora Ephron is one of the greatest writers of all time,” she said.
Winfrey said she will do a Q-and-A session as well. “Those are my favorite parts of author events, and luckily audiences usually have plenty to say about a fun topic like rom-coms,” she said.
In addition to the book program, the library also will have Galentine’s Day crafts and snacks for those that attend, as well as rom-com trivia.
The event is free and open to the public, but registration is encouraged by calling 330-364-4474. The Galentine’s Day Celebration is limited to 50 participants.