The Transylvania County Library Foundation and Brevard College are proud to co-host the 2025 Looking Glass Rock Writers' Conference, taking place May 15–18. As part of this annual celebration of literature and place, the conference will feature two public author events on Friday, May 16, and Saturday, May 17. Free and open to all, these evenings provide the community with a rare opportunity to hear the nationally acclaimed authors who are this year’s conference faculty. Each event will feature live author readings, audience Q&A and book signings.

On Friday, May 16 at 7:30 pm, award-winning novelist Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle will read from her work the Porter Center for Performing Arts on the Brevard College campus. Clapsaddle is the author of “Even As We Breathe”, the first novel published by an enrolled citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. A finalist for the Weatherford Award and named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020, the novel marked a powerful literary debut. In addition to writing, Clapsaddle is a dedicated educator and advocate for Appalachian and Native American storytelling. She lives in Cherokee, NC, where she works to uplift the next generation of writers and thinkers.

Highland Books will be on-site at both events with books available for purchase. Authors will be available to sign copies following their presentations.