Author Susan Orlean will kick off the national tour for her highly anticipated new book, The Library Book, at Central Library with a presentation and book signing. David Ulin, former book critic of the Los Angeles Times, will join Susan in conversation on stage in the Taper Auditorium.

The Library Book reopens the unsolved mystery of the 1986 fire at Los Angeles Public Library's Central Library—the most catastrophic library fire in American history—and delivers a dazzling love letter to libraries as an institution.

Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading with the fascinating history of libraries and those who run them, Susan's new book presents a uniquely compelling story, investigating the library fire to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives. Ultimately, she reveals how libraries provide far more than books to the communities they serve and how they are needed now more than ever.

Susan is an award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author of The Orchid Thief.

As all Los Angeles Public Library programs are free of charge, it is our policy to overbook. In the case of a FULL program, your free reservation may not guarantee admission. We recommend arriving early. Space permitting, unclaimed reservations will be released to standby patrons at approximately fifteen minutes before the event starts.