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PAST NEWS ARCHIVE
October 9, 2001
Contact: Patricia Fraga, Austin Public Library, (512) 974-7528
Fax: (512) 974-7442

Award-winning and Middle Eastern writer visits Austin Public Library

Elsa Marston will be at the Howson Branch of the Austin Public Library, 2500 Exposition, on Tuesday, October 23, 2001 at 4:00 p.m. Ms. Marston is a freelance writer of children's books (nonfiction and fiction), an editor, and a teacher of writing. Some of her works include THE CLIFFS OF CAIRO (Hoopoe Books, l998); THE FOX MAIDEN (Simon & Schuster, l996); and FREE AS THE DESERT WIND (Hoopoe Books, l996). Her nonfiction works include books on the Middle East, where she lived in Lebanon and Egypt for many years: MUHAMMAD OF MECCA: PROPHET OF ISLAM (Franklin Watts, 2001); and WOMEN IN THE MIDDLE EAST: TRADITION AND CHANGE (with Ramsay M. Harik; Franklin Watts, l996).

She will be talking to children and parents about what it's like to be a writer, how a book gets made, and ancient Egypt—mummies and all, as well as reading a selection from her recent novel (very recently accepted by CricketBooks), THE UGLY GODDESS.

Marston received a "Best Children's Books of the Year" award in 1998 from the Bank Street College of Education's Children's Book Committee for THE FOX MAIDEN. A resident of Bloomington, Indiana, Marston will be in Austin visiting her son. "We are delighted and very thankful to Elsa for offering her program to the Austin Public Library. I am sure her knowledge of the Middle East will be highlighted with questions from our Library customers," says Brenda Branch, Director of Libraries.

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