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A Slice of Literary Orange Logo
Literary Orange Logo

 

A Slice of Literary Orange is a series featuring keynote speakers throughout the year at various venues across the county, with no cost for attendees. These events take place at library locations or with the support of community partners.

We continue to celebrate literacy and promote books and reading!  

Click here to view previous year's authors. 

Upcoming events

Mary Alice Monroe

Author
Mary Alice Monroe

Tuesday, April 1 at 6:30pm

Mary Alice Monroe is the New York Times bestselling author of over 30 books, including the beloved Beach House series and her forthcoming novel, Where The Rivers Merge. Monroe has also published children's books which complement the environmental themes she is known for in her adult novels. More than 7.5 million copies of her books have been published worldwide, and she's earned numerous accolades and awards.

Books available for purchase, courtesy of Lido Village Books. No registration required, all ages welcome. Early arrival suggested.

Laguna Hills Community Center
25555 Alicia Pkwy
Laguna Hills, CA 92653

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

llyon woo

Author
Ilyon Woo

Wednesday, April 9 at 6:30pm

Ilyon Woo is the Pulitzer-Prize-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom, one of the New York Times's "10 Best Books of 2023" and People Magazine's "Top Ten Books of 2023," also named a best book of the year by The New Yorker, Time, NPR, and Smithsonian Magazine. Ilyon has been featured on such programs as NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and CBS Sunday Morning.

Books available for purchase, courtesy of Lido village Books. No registration required, all ages welcome. Early arrival suggested.

Crown Valley Community Center
29751 Crown Valley Pkwy
Laguna Nigel, CA 92677

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

Jennifer Weiner

Author
Jennifer Weiner

Monday, April 14, 2025 at 6:30pm

Jennifer Weiner is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, Mrs. Everything, and The Breakaway. She lives with her family in Philadelphia.

Complimentary books available, while supplies last. Books available for purchase, courtesy of Mysterious Galaxy. No registration required. Early arrival suggested.

Clifton C. Miller Community Center
300 Centennial Way
Tustin, CA 92780

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

Luis Alberto Urrea

Author
Luis Alberto Urrea

Tuesday, April 15, 2025 at 6:30pm

Luis Alberto Urrea is a prolific and acclaimed writer who uses his dual-culture life experiences to explore greater themes of love, loss and triumph. A 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for nonfiction and a Guggenheim fellow, Urrea is the critically acclaimed and best-selling author of 19 books, winning numerous awards for his poetry, fiction and essays.

Complimentary books available, while supplies last. No registration required. Early arrival suggested.

Curtis Theatre
1 Civic Center Circle
Brea, CA 92821

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

SLO Brad Taylor

Author
Brad Taylor

Monday, April 28, 2025 at 6:30pm

Brad Taylor, Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.), is a twenty-one-year veteran of the U.S. Army Infantry and Special Forces, including eight years with the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-­Delta, popularly known as Delta Force. Taylor retired after serving more than two decades and participating in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well as classified operations around the globe. His final military post was as assistant professor of military science at The Citadel. He is a New York Times bestselling author of eighteen Pike Logan thrillers. 

Complimentary books available, while supplies last. No registration required. Early arrival suggested. 

Tustin Library 
345 E Main Street
Tustin, CA 92780 

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

SLO Katherine Center

Author
Katherine Center

Wednesday, May 28, 2025 at 6:30pm

Katherine Center is the New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels, including The Rom-Commers, Hello Stranger, The Bodyguard, Things You Save in a Fire, and her summer 2025 book, The Love Haters. Katherine writes deep, nuanced rom-coms that brim with hope and healing. The movie adaptation of her novel Happiness for Beginners became a Netflix movie in 2023 and hit the Global Top Ten in 81 countries, and the movie of her novel The Lost Husband hit #1 on Netflix in 2020.

Complimentary books available, while supplies last. No registration required. Early arrival suggested.

Norma Hertzog Community Center
1845 Park Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

Past events

Viet-Thanh-Nguye LP

Author
Viet Thanh Nguyen

Thursday, March 6, 2025 at 6:30pm

Viet Thanh Nguyen is author of The Committed, which continues the story of The Sympathizer, awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, alongside seven other prizes. He is a University Professor and the Aerol Arnold Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California and recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur foundations.

Books available for purchase, courtesy of Mysterious Galaxy. No registration required, all ages welcome. Early arrival suggested.

Norma Hertzog Community Center
1845 Park Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

Jenifer Lewis

Author
Jenifer Lewis

Friday, February 21, 2025 at 6:30pm

Jenifer Lewis is one of Hollywood's most familiar faces, with more than 300 appearances in film and television. Her bestselling memoir, The Mother of Black Hollywood, was named "2018 Book of the Year" at the National Book Club Conference. Jenifer's accomplishments as an entertainer and community activist have been recognized by the NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award in Theatre, the American Black Film Festival Career Achievement Award, and the Human Rights Campaign Ally Award.

Complimentary books available, while supplies last. Books available for purchase, courtesy of Lido Village Books. No registration required, all ages welcome. Early arrival suggested.

Clifton C. Miller Community Center
300 Centennial Way
Tustin, CA 92780

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

This project is funded in part through a grant from the California Department of Aging and administered locally by the Orange County Office on Aging.

SLO Author Reshonda Tate

Author
ReShonda Tate

Thursday, February 13, 2025 at 6:30pm

ReShonda Tate is the national bestselling author of more than 53 books, she writes both adult and teen fiction, as well as nonfiction. A highly sought-after motivational speaker and award-winning poet, ReShonda is the recipient of an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literature. Considered one of the top African-American authors in the country, her books remain a staple on Bestseller's lists and have been featured in USA Today, The Washington Post, Jet, People, Essence, and Ebony Magazines.

Complimentary books available, while supplies last. No registration required, all ages welcome. Early arrival suggested.

Norma Hertzog Community Center
1845 Park Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

This project is funded in part through a grant from the California Department of Aging and administered locally by the Orange County Office on Aging.

SLO Author Alexis Daria

Author
Alexis Daria

Thursday, February 6, 2025 at 6:30pm

Alexis Daria is the award-winning and international bestselling author of You Had Me at Hola, A Lot Like Adiós, Take the Lead, and more. Her books have been featured on several "Best of" lists from outlets like Oprah Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, NPR, Buzzfeed, and Washington Post, and have received starred reviews from trade publications like Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal.

Complimentary books available, while supplies last. No registration required, all ages welcome. Early arrival suggested.

Clifton C. Miller Community Center
300 Centennial Way
Tustin, CA 92780

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

This project is funded in part through a grant from the California Department of Aging and administered locally by the Orange County Office on Aging.

Erika L. Sanchez LP

Author
Erika L. Sánchez

Monday, February 3, 2025 at 6:30pm

Erika L. Sánchez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her debut young adult novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter was a #1 New York Times bestseller, a National Book Awards finalist, and Tomás Rivera Award winner. Time has recognized it as one of the best YA novels of all time. Most recently, Sánchez published a critically acclaimed memoir-in-essays titled Crying in the Bathroom with Viking Books.

Books available for purchase, courtesy of Mysterious Galaxy. No registration required, all ages welcome. Early arrival suggested.

Clifton C. Miller Community Center
300 Centennial Way
Tustin, CA 92780

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

This project is funded in part through a grant from the California Department of Aging and administered locally by the Orange County Office on Aging.

Kevin Kwan

Author
Kevin Kwan

Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 6:30pm

Kevin Kwan is the author of Crazy Rich Asians, the international bestselling novel that has been translated into 40 languages. The film adaptation became Hollywood's highest-grossing romantic comedy in over a decade. Sex and Vanity, hit the New York Times bestseller list in its first week of release and is being adapted into a feature film by Sony Pictures. Kevin has been named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most Infiuential People in the World.

Complimentary books available, while supplies last. Books available for purchase, courtesy of Mysterious Galaxy. No registration required, all ages welcome. Early arrival suggested.

Norma Hertzog Community Center
1845 Park Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com

This project is funded in part through a grant from the California Department of Aging and administered locally by the Orange County Office on Aging.

SLO Author Robert Crais

Author
Robert Crais

Friday, January 17, 2025 at 6:30pm

Robert Crais is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-four novels, twenty of them featuring private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner, Joe Pike. Crais was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and has received numerous awards, among them an Anthony Award from the World Mystery Convention. His novels have been translated around the world and have received dozens of rave reviews and the highest praise.

Complimentary books available, while supplies last. No registration required. Early arrival suggested.

Laguna Hills Community Center
25555 Alicia Pkwy
Laguna Hills, CA 92653

For more information, call (714) 566-3034 or email ocpl.programs@occr.ocgov.com