Vroman’s Bookstore hosts two Local Author Day events Sunday, with a morning children’s program about zodiac animals and an afternoon session featuring adult fiction from a Pasadena-based debut novelist.
The 131-year-old Colorado Boulevard bookstore, which hosts more than 400 free community events annually, will welcome children’s book author Peggy Hongduc Nguyen at 11 a.m. Nguyen will present “Zodiac Animals for Movers,” which the event description says “celebrates the creative expression of 12 animals and our collective power to move as one.” The book’s theme arrives during Lunar New Year season, when zodiac animals carry particular cultural significance.
At 4 p.m., Eddie Dovigi and C.A. River will discuss their respective novels “Scrubber” and “Sea of Waking Dreams.”
River, who resides in Pasadena and holds a master’s degree from USC, wrote “Sea of Waking Dreams” as her debut novel. Published by Archway Publishing, the 226-page book follows a woman who undergoes gastric bypass surgery and confronts childhood trauma while navigating personal transformation.
“I want readers to feel the emotional journey and to have a vivid visual of the events,” River said in a press release announcing the book.
Vroman’s, founded in 1894 by Adam Clark Vroman, has long served as a gathering place for authors and readers. The store has hosted writers ranging from Ray Bradbury to President Bill Clinton and received the Publishers Weekly Bookseller of the Year award in 2008.
The morning event offers families a chance to engage with themes of movement and collective action; the afternoon session gives readers direct access to writers grappling with identity and transformation on the page.
The events take place at Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd. For information, call 626-449-5320.
