Award-winning Maine novelists Monica Wood and Lewis Robinson will share the stage on Saturday, May 2 at 7 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick for a fundraiser to support literacy education. The evening will feature Wood and Robinson reading from their work and in conversation about their inspirations and writing craft. A reception and book signing with the authors will follow. All proceeds will benefit Midcoast Literacy, a non-profit organization that provides free literacy programs for people of all ages, including both native English speakers and multilingual families in midcoast Maine. Tickets can be purchased now at www.midcoastliteracy.org or by calling 207-443-6384.

“It’s an honor to support the work of Midcoast Literacy and to share a stage with fellow writer and close pal Lewis Robinson,” said Wood about the upcoming event. “I remember learning to read as a little child, even then understanding that it would be the great gift of my life.” Wood and Robinson are longtime friends who have been part of the same writing group in southern Maine for over a decade. Their conversation will include insights into how their influences and experiences shape their processes as writers.

Midcoast Literacy’s annual Author-to-Author series brings Maine writers together for engaging, onstage conversations. “Hosting authors like these two who know each other’s work very well and are sharing stories and readings that draw on that closeness is one of the things that makes this event special,” said Daniel Burson, Midcoast Literacy’s executive director.  

Wood is the author of three plays, a memoir, and six novels, most recently the bestselling “How to Read a Book,” which has been published all over the world. She is the recipient of the Sarah Josepha Hale Award for excellence in the arts in New England, the Constance Carlson Prize for contributions to the public humanities in Maine, and the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Distinguished Achievement Award for her contributions to the literary arts. She lives in Portland.

Robinson is the author of the novels ”The Islanders” and ”Water Dogs,” as well as the story collection, Officer Friendly. He is the recipient of a Whiting Award, the PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award, and an NEA grant. His short fiction and essays have appeared in Tin House, The Baffler, The Boston Globe, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times Book Review and on NPR’s program Selected Shorts. He is an Associate Professor of fiction writing at the University of Maine Farmington and lives in Portland.

Midcoast Literacy is a non-profit organization based in Bath that has been providing free tutoring and other literacy programs to people of all ages in Lincoln, Sagadahoc, and northern Cumberland counties for more than 55 years. To find out more about getting help with literacy skills or to become a volunteer, go to: www.midcoastliteracy.org