International number-one bestselling author Jeffery Deaver will be the featured speaker at a joint Friends of Hackney Library and Friends of Wilson County Library book signing and dinner/lecture, to be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2015, in Hardy Alumni Hall on the campus of Barton College.

The event will begin at 6 pm with a book signing and wine reception, followed by the program at 6:30 with dinner to follow immediately after the program concludes. (Please note that this is a change in the order of events followed at previous dinners.)

Jeffery Deaver's novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including the New York Times, the Times of London, Italy's Corriere della Sera, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Los Angeles Times. His books are sold in 150 countries and have been translated into over twenty-five languages.

A former journalist, folksinger and attorney, Deaver was born outside Chicago and holds a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Fordham University. He is the author of thirty-two novels, three collections of short stories and a nonfiction law book, and he's received or been shortlisted for a number of awards around the world.

His The Bodies Left Behind was named Novel of the Year by the International Thriller Writers Association, and his Lincoln Rhyme thriller The Broken Window and a stand-alone, Edge, were also nominated for that prize. He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and the Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Readers Award for Best Short Story of the Year as well as a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. The Cold Moon was named the Book of the Year by the Mystery Writers Association of Japan, as well as by Kono Mystery Wa Sugoi magazine. In addition, the Japanese Adventure Fiction Association awarded The Cold Moon and Carte Blanche their annual Grand Prix award.

Deaver has been nominated for seven Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America, an Anthony Award and a Gumshoe Award. He was recently shortlisted for the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Best International Author.

A frequent public speaker on the subject of books, literacy and writing, Deaver has delivered lectures and keynote addresses at hundreds of conferences and festivals around the world, including Harrogate, Left Coast Crime, Pikes Peak Writers Conference, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Crimefest and the Emirates Literary Festival.

His book A Maiden's Grave was made into an HBO movie starring James Garner and Marlee Matlin, and his novel The Bone Collector was a feature release from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. His novel The Devil's Teardrop was adapted for the screen and aired on Lifetime; it starred Tom Everett Scott and Natasha Henstridge. Not only have adaptations of Deaver's works appeared on the big and small screens; he himself played a corrupt reporter on his favorite soap opera, As the World Turns.

Deaver's latest novel is Solitude Creek, fourth in the Kathryn Dance series. Copies of this and other Deaver books will be available for purchase at the book signing and following the program.

Admission is $30 each for Friends of Hackney Library members; for Barton faculty/staff, students, and spouses; and, for this event only, for Friends of the Wilson County Public Library members. For all other guests, admission is $35 each.

For more information about invitations for the dinner, please contact Luann Clark at (252) 399-6329, or email the Friends at fohl@barton.edu. Space is limited, and after invitations have been issued, reservations for the dinner must be received by September 29, 2015.

This event is sponsored in part by BB&T.