Author Event: James Ponti in conversation with Jason Reynolds

We are thrilled to invite you to an unforgettable evening with bestselling, award-winning authors James Ponti and Jason Reynolds for the launch of Hurricane Heist, the second book in Ponti’s Sherlock Society series, a fast favorite with our middle-grade customers since the launch of the first last fall.

James Ponti will be in conversation with none other than Jason Reynolds, former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and a true legend in kid lit. The two will regale young and old with stories about their hugely popular books, their writing process, and their ardent commitment to getting kids to fall in love with reading.

The approximately 40-minute talk will be followed by a Q&A with the audience. At its conclusion around 7pm, attendees are welcome to make their way onto the stage where both authors will personalize and sign copies of their books and pose for photos. We ask that you bring no more than ONE book from home to be signed. You will receive a (pre-signed) copy of Hurricane Heist at the door with your admission ticket, and additional books from both authors will be available for purchase before and after the event.

Doors will open at 5:15pm for general seating in the beautiful auditorium at the Nannie J. Lee Recreation Center. Please allow plenty of time for traffic and parking.

Please note that only one companion ticket is available per order. Please place a separate order for each book-as-ticket and companion ticket set.

About Hurricane Heist:

When a hurricane uncovers new information in a cold case, the Sherlock Society investigates a decades-old heist in this second book in the action-packed and funny New York Times bestselling Sherlock Society middle grade series from Edgar Award–winning author James Ponti!

When a category three hurricane hits Miami Beach, it uncovers a body buried at the renowned Moroccan Hotel. The body is identified as the man who served as the hotel’s bell captain sixty years ago…and the presumed culprit of the million-dollar jewel heist that took place just before his disappearance. Since the bell captain clearly didn’t take off with the goods as had been long believed, the Sherlock Society sets their sights on uncovering the real culprit of the theft. But when the thief may also be implicated in the bell captain’s murder, even sixty years later, there are people who want the truth to stay buried.

About the Authors:

James Ponti is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of four middle grade book series, including City Spies, Framed, and The Sherlock Society. His novels have been named to forty-five state award lists, optioned by Hollywood, and translated into fifteen languages. He's a two-time Edgar Award-nominee, winning in 2018 for Vanished. He lives with his family in Orlando, Florida.

Jason Reynolds is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, recipient of the MacArthur Genius Grant, a Newbery Award Honoree, a Printz Award Honoree, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a 2024 MacArthur Fellow, a Kirkus Award winner, a UK Carnegie Medal winner, a two-time Walter Dean Myers Award winner, an NAACP Image Award Winner, an Odyssey Award Winner and two-time honoree, and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors, a Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award. He was also the 2020–2022 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His many books include All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely); When I Was the Greatest; The Boy in the Black Suit; Stamped; As Brave as You; For Every One; the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, Lu, and Coach); Look Both Ways; Stuntboy, in the Meantime; Stuntboy, In-Between Time; Miles Morales Suspended; Ain’t Burned All the Bright (recipient of the Caldecott Honor) and My Name Is Jason. Mine Too. (both cowritten with Jason Griffin); Twenty-Four Seconds from Now...; and Long Way Down, which received a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, and a Coretta Scott King Honor. His debut picture book, There Was a Party for Langston, won a Caldecott Honor and a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor. He lives in Washington, DC. You can find his ramblings at JasonWritesBooks.com.