HEY LOCAL WRITERS!  QuadCities.com is starting up the QuadCities.com Virtual Writers Gallery, featuring local authors and their works! If you’re interested in being a part of it, email Sean@QuadCities.com with up to three .jpgs of your book covers and 1-2 paragraph descriptions of the books, a picture of you, a short 3-4 sentence bio of yourself and your website, facebook page or patreon link ASAP! Also, if you’re interested in doing a podcast reading of up to five minutes of your work, let us know, because we’re going to include those as well in a NEW podcast called As Read... Read More

Local author Connie (Corcoran) Wilson was notified this week that her latest release, BEE GONE: A POLITICAL PARODY is a Gold Medal winner in the eLit Book Awards. The category for the win was Graphic Novel/Drawn Book – Humor/Cartoon. The book was published by Quad Cities’ Press.   The E-Lit competition, which is highly competitive, offers awards in 65 categories, solely to e-books, world-wide.   E-Lit awards are dedicated to honoring the best e-books published each year for the North American market and also from overseas publishers who publish English-language books designed for... Read More

They say every dog has its day. Well, starting last July, Harley – a beloved 10-year-old Golden Retriever owned by Kim Findlay and her husband, Rick Brackey — had quite a year. Findlay, 60, retired last June 30 as president/CEO of the Putnam Museum & Science Center, which she led for 12 years. She also was formerly president of United Way of the Quad-Cities, for nine years. With Harley, Findlay and her husband set out July 7, 2019 in their new RV for a cross-country adventure, all west of the Mississippi. They put 12,000 miles on the motor home, gave Harley the time of his life, mourned... Read More

Sept. 30, 2016 was one of the best nights of my life. At the Boho Chic Gallery in downtown Davenport’s Bucktown Center for the Arts, I was surrounded by friends, samples of Front Street beer (including its Bucktown Stout), and copies of my first book, “A Brief History of Bucktown: Davenport’s Infamous District Transformed.” It was because of this quirky collection of art galleries and studios – which had a brief, busy, vital life from 2005 to this past March – that I was commissioned in August 2014 by The History Press to write the definitive story of the colorful east end of downtown... Read More

Despite its title, there’s not a ton of burlesque in “Burlesque River,” a new romance novel set in the Quad-Cities, penned by veteran burlesque performer Kitty Bardot. There are key club scenes — at the start and near the end of this beautifully written book (part of a planned series) — that reflect the raunch, playfulness, camaraderie, the yearning to be someone different and glamorous, and the ecstatic high you get on stage with an appreciative audience. But the bulk of the 173-page debut novel, released in April by Boroughs Publishing (which specializes in romance fiction),... Read More

Children leaving their homes due to domestic abuse or financial instability are being given the chance to turn to a brighter chapter in their lives by the Muscatine Center of Social Action, and local author and artist Christopher Anderson is helping them to turn the pages on their lives in a more friendly and colorful way. Muscatine’s Anderson, 35, is the creative force behind the new book “Boots,” which will be given to children entering the shelter. The tome offers kids a virtual tour of the establishment through the eyes of a colorful cartoon cat. “It helps to make the transition a little... Read More

Hold on to your hats! Jason Platt is back, with a brand new book for tweens, Middle School Misadventures: Operation Hat Heist! The book is the second on Little, Brown for Platt’s Middle School Misadventures series, and is available in online bookstores worldwide. The book follows a boy, Newell, on the cusp between tween and teen years, navigating his way through the strange and funny misadventures of junior high. It’s an evolution of Platt’s popular long-running comic strip Mister and Me. For more info from Jason, check out our conversation on the podcast QCUncut. Fans can also... Read More

It’s like rain on your wedding day…Isn’t it ironic? During National Library Week, the Moline Public Library, 3210 41st St., temporarily laid off all its 29 employees Wednesday. It’s been closed to the public since March 17 because of Covid-19, but Tuesday the library board and city council agreed to remove $450,000 from its 2020 budget of $3.9 million, board president Sue Blackall said. “We’re just gonna adjust to find out how we can recoup the cost of that,” she said, noting the city recommended furloughing employees last Sunday, and the board met at noon Tuesday. The library... Read More

Although more than 60 years have passed since the first National Library Week celebration, the original goals of celebrating libraries, promoting reading for leisure, improving incomes and health, and developing strong and happy family life are still relevant today. National Library Week began Sunday, April 19, and though the celebration looks different than in any previous year, the goal is the same: to educate about what libraries offer, and to inspire use. Due to social distancing restrictions, this year’s theme has shifted to “Find the Library at YOUR Place.” That theme recognizes the... Read More

My son Jackson turned twelve this week. He is undeniably the best person I’ve ever had the honor of meeting, and I’m looking forward to continuing to experience the adventure of his life with him. And as that time goes by, he may ask me for the advice I’ve gained in my years before him and since he’s been born. That’s why I started writing this list of things I’ve learned and I wish my parents had told me. I started it shortly after he was born, and I’ve added to it and published it every year on his birthday since, and, now, I’ve published it in... Read More