“An Evening with Jasmine Guillory,” February 16

Wednesday, February 16, 7 p.m.

Presented by the Rock Island and Moline Public Libraries

Dubbed one of romance’s brightest new voices, acclaimed author Jasmine Guillory will discuss her most recent novel While We Were Dating and the modern rom-com in a February 16 virtual event co-presented by the Rock Island and Moline Public Libraries, the writer's beloved novel The Proposal lauded by NPR as "rollicking, charming, and infinitely zesty."

Before landing on the New York Times Best Seller list for paperback trade fiction, Guillory graduated from Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California in 1993. She then majored in history at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and after Guillory's 1997 graduation, she worked in Washington D.C. for two years before attending Stanford Law School. After graduating from the instution in 2002, Guillory clerked at a Federal District Court in San Francisco for two years before joining a law firm where she focused on security and intellectual property. In April of 2015, however, Guillory began transitioning to a career as an author. She participated in National Novel Writing Month, an annual writing project also known by the moniker NaNoWriMo, where she completed half of a book draft for her first published novel, 2018's The Wedding Date. The book was noted in publications by Target, Elle magazine, the Washington Post, and USA Today Bestsellers, and with a half-dozen novels having followed it in the years since, Guillory's work prominently features protagonists of color and addresses race throughout the storylines.

Ever since the publication of The Wedding Date, Guillory has released at least one book per year since, with her bibliography currently also boasting 2018's The Proposal, 2019's The Wedding Party and Royal Holiday, 2020's Party of Two, and last year's While We Were Dating, with a new publication titled By the Book due later this year. In addition to on the bestsellers' lists, Guillory's work has appeared in O, the Oprah Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Bon Appetit, and Time, and has earned her praise from reviewers nationwide, with Kirkus Reviews calling The Proposal "a charming book" in which "the whole thing is just so delightful." Guillory currently lives in Oakland, California, where she reportedly has towering stacks of books in her living room, a cake recipe for every occasion, and upwards of 50 lipsticks.

An Evening with Jasmine Guillory will be presented virtually on February 16, participation in the 7 p.m. author talk is free, and more information and registration is available by contacting the Rock Island Public Library at (309)732-7323 and RockIslandLibrary.org, or the Moline Public Library at (309)524-2470 and MolineLibrary.com.