Town Meeting on Books
In October 1948, with the cooperation of Greensboro College, the Historical Book Club presented a Town Meeting on Books, the first of its kind, so far as research had disclosed. It was an experiment, but one so successful that the Town Meeting on Books became a permanent part of the Historical Book Club’s program.
Geraldine Brooks – October 7, 2026
Australian-born Geraldine Brooks is an author and journalist who grew up in the Western suburbs of Sydney, attending Bethlehem College Ashfield and the University of Sydney. She worked as a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald for three years as a feature writer with a special interest in environmental issues. In 1982 she won the Greg Shackleton Australian News Correspondents scholarship to the journalism master’s program at Columbia University in New York City. Later she worked forThe Wall...
Kate Quinn – November 30, 2025
The Historical Book Club of NC appreciated the opportunity to host Kate Quinn for our 2025 Town Meeting on Books (October 30, 2025). We had over 300 members and guests in attendance to hear Kate discuss her writing process and her latest book The Briar Club.Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written...
Marie Benedict – 2024 Town Meeting on Books
The 2024 Town Meeting on Books Featured Marie Benedict, a lawyer with more than ten years’ experience as a litigator at two of the country’s premier law firms. She found her calling unearthing the hidden historical stories of women. Her mission is to excavate from the past the most important, complex and fascinating women of history and bring them into the light of present-day where we can finally perceive the breadth of their contributions as well as the insights they bring to modern day...
Town Meeting on Books Participants
1948 – James Street, Chapel Hill, NC James Saxon Childers. Chapel Hill, NC William T. Polk, Greensboro, NC 1949 – Paul Green, Chapel Hill, NC Betty Smith, Chapel Hill, NC Sam Ragan, Raleigh, NC 1950 – Margaret L. Coit, West Newberry, MA Virginia Kirkus, New York, NY Jonathan Daniels, Raleigh, NC 1951 – Virginia Kirkus, New York, NY Burke Davis, Greensboro, NC Frances Gray Patton, Durham, NC 1952 – Frank Borden Hanes, Winston-Salem, NC Elizabeth Boatwright Coker,...