OPL Foundation to Celebrate with Molly Shannon & Susan Orlean

For the past nine years, the Omaha Public Library Foundation (OPLF) has brought a celebrated, best-selling author to Omaha to raise funds for and awareness of Omaha Public Library.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Between the Lines fundraiser, and OPLF is pulling out all the stops with not just one author, but two.

Hear from author/comedian/actress Molly Shannon and author Susan Orlean the evening of Tuesday, September 26, at the Holland Center.

The fundraiser will feature a conversation between Shannon and Orlean about the importance of public libraries and the varied, vital roles they play in our communities. Both speakers will discuss their favorite library memories and their work as published authors – most likely with a dash of humor.

Shannon has become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after talents on television and the silver screen. Shannon spent six seasons as a member of the repertory company on “Saturday Night Live,” primarily known for the eclectic characters she created, such as Mary Katherine Gallagher and Sally O’Malley.

In 2011, Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of ABRAMS, released Shannon’s first children’s picture book, “Tilly the Trickster.” The book tells the tale of Tilly, “a mischief maker of the best kind—one who learns her lesson but never lets the reader stop having fun.”

Shannon’s best-selling memoir, “Hello, Molly!” was released by HarperCollins in April 2022. Shannon also served as honorary chair of National Library Week in 2022. Her mother, Peggy, was
a school librarian.

Witty, winning, and told with tremendous energy and heart, “Hello, Molly!” sheds new and revelatory light on the life and work of one of our most talented and free-spirited performers.

In her 2018 book, “The Library Book,”Orlean reopens the unsolved mystery of the most catastrophic library fire in American history, and delivers a dazzling homage to a beloved institution – our libraries.

Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading with the fascinating history of libraries (and the sometimes-eccentriccharacters who run them), the award winning journalist and New York Times best-selling author presents a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling story. With her signature wit, insight, compassion and talent for deep research, she investigates the legendary Los Angeles Public Library fire to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives, and reveals how these buildings provide much more than just books, and are needed now more than ever.

Orlean has been called “a national treasure” by The Washington Post and “a latter-day Tocqueville” by The New York Times. Her deeply moving explorations of American stories both familiar and obscure have earned her a reputation as one of America’s most distinctive journalistic voices.

Shannon and Orlean both grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

The September 26 fundraiser will also feature the presentation of the 2023 Barbara Bock-Mavis
Leadership Award. The annual award recognizes longtime service from an OPLF volunteer. Previous honorees include Barbara Bock- Mavis (2017), Jim Kineen (2018), Eileen Wirth (2019), Freddie Gray (2020), Dick Kelley (2021), and Carol Wang (2022).

Tickets to Between the Lines with Molly Shannon and Susan Orlean go on sale soon. For details and sponsorship opportunities, please contact the OPLF at 402.444.4589 or foundation@omahalibrary.org.