Events › Local Author Showcase

Celebrate National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the joy of reading with an author showcase at Hercules Library featuring five East Bay authors: Rev Valdez, Hayley Dennings, Margaret Lucke, Phelicia Lang and Ana Galván.

The event will kick off with short book readings by the authors, followed by an inspirational Q&A. Patrons will have the opportunity to talk to the authors and purchase copies of their works afterwards at a book marketplace in our large conference room.

Rev Valdez is the author of Bunso Meets a Mumu and Bunso Meets a Duwende (Paw Prints Publishing) -- a hilarious picture book series exploring the various monsters of his Filipino heritage. Rev is a Filipino-American illustrator based in San Francisco, CA. He’s passionate about introducing readers to the myths of Filipino culture through fun, funny and visual storytelling. His artwork draws inspiration from the comic books and manga he enjoys in his free time.

Hayley Dennings is the New York Times bestselling author of This Ravenous Fate (Sourcebooks Fire) -- the first book in a fantasy duology set in Jazz Age Harlem, where at night the dance halls come to life—and death waits in the dark. Hayley is a recent graduate from Loyola Marymount University, where she double majored in English and French with a concentration in diversity and inclusion. She loves stories centered on queer female characters and dedicates her writing to actively resisting misogynoir. She currently resides in the Bay Area, working as an editorial and marketing associate for Fable.

Margaret Lucke is a writer, editor, and teacher of fiction writing classes in the San Francisco Bay Area. She writes tales of love, ghosts, and murder, sometimes all three in one book. She is the author of two novels of paranormal suspense, House of Desire and House of Whispers, and two mysteries, Snow Angel and A Relative Stranger (an Anthony Award finalist). A former president of the Northern California chapter of Mystery Writers of America, she has been an instructor for the UC Berkeley Extension writing program since 1994 and works with businesses and individuals as a writing coach and editorial consultant. 

Phelicia Lang is the author of the Tay and Friends book series for budding young readers. A California native with roots in the Bay Area, she's a wife, a mother of four children and a grandmother to one. Her twenty years in education includes working for private, charter and public schools. She has a Masters in Reading Language Arts with a focus on Multicultural Literature and a Reading Specialist Credential. She writes to assure students see themselves in the literature. The Tay books are the first in her series of multicultural books for children.

Ana Galván was born in Madrid but is now based in the East Bay Area. She has published 17 books, including a Spanish Workbook, and titles including Meet Me at Chicote and One Spanish Night. She writes with the hope to empower women through various genres such as romance, science fiction, historical fiction and poetry. Ana is also a Spanish language teacher for Mt. Diablo Adult Education and often translates her own works from English to Spanish.