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Reading Together

Events

2026 Reading Together Meet the Author

Kalamazoo Public Library is excited to welcome Take My Hand author Dolen Perkins-Valdez to Kalamazoo on Saturday, April 11, 3 pm at Chenery Auditorium. Join us to hear the author’s prepared remarks, followed by an audience Q&A session and book signing opportunity. Copies are available for checkout at all KPL branches and online at kpl.gov.

About the Author

Dolen Perkins-Valdez is the New York Times bestselling author of Wench (2010), Balm (2015), Take My Hand (2022), and most recently Happy Land (2025). Take My Hand was named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by Newsweek, San Francisco Chronicle, Essence, NBC News, and elsewhere. The novel was a finalist for a Goodreads Choice Award and named a Top 20 Book of the Year by the Editors at Amazon.  It was awarded the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work-Fiction and the 2023 BCALA Award for Fiction. The audiobook version of Take My Hand was named a Best of 2022 by Audible. Happy Land appeared on many “Most Anticipated” lists for 2025, including People, Elle, Reader’s Digest, Woman’s World, and elsewhere.

Events

There are no upcoming events at this time.