Next Tuesday evening, October 16, from 6–8 p.m., at the Centreville Branch of the Queen Anne’s County Library, five regional writers will read from the recently published anthology Bay to Ocean 2018: The Year’s Best Writing from the Eastern Shore Writer’s Association.

David Healy lives in Chesapeake City, Maryland, and spent 21 years as a newspaper reporter and editor, mostly in Cecil County. He is the author of three nonfiction books on regional history, including Delmarva Legend & Lore, as well as several novels. David serves on the board of the Eastern Shore Writers Association and is a contributing editor for the International Thriller Writers magazine. His short story, Last Stand at Turkey Point Light is a historic adventure tale told with an Eastern Shore sense of character and humor.

Ann Hymes was born and raised in the Midwest. She graduated from Mills College in Oakland, California, with a B.A. in English. While living in St. Michael’s Maryland, she went back to graduate school and received an M.A. in English from Washington College. She has published creative nonfiction on the Christian Science Monitor Home Forum page, and her novel Shadow of Whimsy: A Cape Cod Love Story was published by Secant Publishing. Ann’s nonfiction piece in the anthology, Once Upon a River, is an ode to her daughter, and the lessons loved ones can teach us.

Brent Lewis is a native Eastern Shoreman with roots going back generations. He has written for magazines, newspapers, and newsletters, and for a decade oversaw the Kent Island Heritage Society’s Oral History Program. He’s a playwright who has also published two nonfiction books, Remembering Kent Island: Stories from the Chesapeake and A History of the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department. Brent’s short story contribution to the anthology is Churn Creek 1964, which is a prequel to his novel, Bloody Point 1976.

                 Photo Courtesy Delmarva Now

Barbara Lockhart uses the setting of the Eastern Shore for her novels, Requiem for a Summer Cottage and Elizabeth’s Field (Independent Book Publishers silver medal winner 2014) as well as her collection of short stories, The Night is Young (Indie Excellence Book Awards finalist, 2017). Her children’s books celebrate Shore life in such titles as Rambling Raft, Once a Pony Time, Mosey’s Field, and Will’s Tractor. Her first publication, Read to me, Talk with me, written during her teaching career, is a manual used nationwide to encourage parents to read to their children. Barbara is a highly respected author and poet, and has three works published in the collection, including Peaches and Alora, Ocean City.

Nancy McCloy has been interested in writing since her childhood in southwestern Pennsylvania. She moved to the Eastern Shore of Maryland after college and enjoyed a career as an educator. After retiring, she joined a writer’s group and was included in two self-published collections. She is a member of a small poetry salon and recently had three poems, one an honorable mention, accepted into a show at River Arts in Chestertown. She and her husband live in Still Pond. Nancy’s poem Counting Backwards is one of the highlights of the anthology’s poetry section.

This free event will be hosted by the Friends of the Queen Anne’s County Library as part of the National Friends of the Library Week. Copies of Bay to Ocean 2018: The Year’s Best Writing from the Eastern Shore Writer’s Association will be available for purchase, as will copies of other books written by the authors.

Remember: The holiday season is just around the corner, and as always, Books Make Great Gifts.