Award-Winning Authors Hank Phillipi Ryan and Michael Blanding Come to Marlborough Library

The following was submitted by The Friends of the Marlborough Public Library:

Michael Blanding, award-winning author of “The Map Thief,” is appearing on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. at Marlborough Public Library for The Friends of the Marlborough Public Library’s “2015 McConnell Author/Celebrity Series No. 32,” hosted by Best selling author and Channel 7 Investigative Report Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Alison Grice, director of the Friends Author Series, is pleased to make this announcement as part of The Friends “45th Anniversary Celebration Season Events.” Mr. Blanding will be the First of Four Blockbuster timely authors to appear at this 32st year series in the Bigelow Auditorium, Marlborough Public Library.

Admission is free and open to the public and the auditorium is fully handicapped accessible. Ryan and Blanding will be autographing their books, which will also be on sale.

Blanding is a Boston-based investigative journalist whose work has appeared in The Nation, The New Republic, Slate, Salon, Consumers Digest, The Boston Globe Magazine, and Boston Magazine. His first book, “The Coke Machine: The Dirty Truth Behind the World’s Favorite Soft Drink,” was published by Avery/Penguin in 2010. His latest, “The Map Thief: The Gripping Story of an Esteemed Rare-Map Dealer Who Made Millions Stealing Priceless Maps,” was published by Gotham Books in June 2014 and named a New England Indie Bestseller by the New England Independent Booksellers Association. Blanding is currently a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University and a staff writer at Harvard Business School. He has also co-written several travel guides to New England destinations for Moon Handbooks, and taught journalism at Emerson College, Northeastern University, and Grub Street Writers. He has won multiple awards for his writing, including a 2012 Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications for best feature article (100,000-500,000 circulation); a gold medal in the 2011 EXCEL Awards from Association Media & Publishing; first place for best general circulation magazine article in the 2005 National Association of Real Estate Editors awards; and a bronze medal for reader service in the 2004 City and Regional Magazine Awards. In addition, he has three times been named a finalist for the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists, in 2006, 2004, and 2003.

This Ryan’s first year serving as Host of The Friends McConnell Author/Celebrity Series after having appeared at two previous Friends Author/Celebrity Series programs as Guest Author. The Friends are indeed honored to have Hank appear as Host and would like to express our distinct gratitude and thanks to her. She will be appearing as Host of all four programs of the 2015 Author Series.

Hank Phillippi Ryan is the on-air investigative reporter for Boston’s NBC affiliate WHDH-TV Channel 7. She’s won 32 Emmys, 12 Edward R. Murrow awards and dozens of other honors for her ground-breaking journalism. A bestselling author of seven mystery novels, Ryan has won multiple prestigious awards for her crime fiction: three Agathas, the Anthony, Daphne, Macavity, and for THE OTHER WOMAN, the coveted Mary Higgins Clark Award. National reviews have called her a “master at crafting suspenseful mysteries” and “a superb and gifted storyteller.” Her 2013 novel, THE WRONG GIRL, has the extraordinary honor of winning the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel and the Daphne Award for Mainstream Mystery/Suspense, and is a seven-week Boston Globe bestseller. Her newest hardcover, Truth be Told, is a Library Journal’s Best Book of 2014, Library Journal Editor’s Pick and RT Book Reviews Top Pick, with starred reviews from Booklist and from Library Journal, which raves, “Drop everything and binge read!” She’s a founding teacher at Mystery Writers of America University and 2013 President of National Sisters in Crime.

The Author Series programs are funded and sponsored in part by grants from the Ezra Cutting Trust-- Bank of American Trustee; the Marlborough Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; The Friends Memorial Fund; the Brigham Family Trust and a Gift from the Cumming’s Properties in Honor of Ginger Ryan. Major Media Sponsor once again will be the MetroWest Daily News and the Marlborough Enterprise courtesy of Gate House Media New England. Thanks to Richard Lodge, Editor-in-Chief of the MetroWest Daily News and Marlborough Enterprise and Kristen Mello of Gate House Media New England for their assistance in making the Series possible. Also thanks to the Tatnuck Bookseller of Westborough, Charlie Napoleon, Manager, for his assistance also. Thanks to Dan Guindon, General Manager, and Mike Lawton of WMCT-TV Channel 8-Marlborough for the taping of the Series and airing the programs on Channel 8.

The remaining three blockbuster authors to appear for The Friends Author Series are on Wed., March 18th --Archer Mayor, Author of “Proof Positive”; Wed., April 15th –Elizabeth Graver, Author of “The End of the Point” and Wed., May 13th—Lois Lowry, Author of “The Giver.” The May 13th program will be held at the new Marlborough Senior Center in Ward Park, Marlborough.