Monday, Feb. 5, the Key West Friends of the Library will welcome Cuban American author and educator, Chantal Acevedo as guest speaker. Ms. Acevedo’s appearance at the podium will be at the Key West Theater, 512 Eaton St. Admission is free. Her talk begins promptly at 6:00 p.m. Seating starts at 5:30 on a first-come, first-served basis.

Originally from Miami, Chantel Acevedo frequently utilizes Cuba as a backdrop for her prose and poetry. Her novels include Love and Ghost Letters from St. Martin’s Press, Song of the Red Cloak, a historical novel for young adults, and A Falling Star from Carolina Wren Press. The Distant Marvels and The Living Infinite are both from Europa Editions. She is also the author of a chapbook or pamphlet type collection of poetry from Finishing Line Press, En Otro Oz.

Acevedo’s most recent novel, The Living Infinite, is about the Infanta Eulalia and has been praised as “a gripping, irresistible novel” and “a vivid and enthralling tale of love and redemption.” Her fiction and poetry have received such recognitions as the Latino International Book Award winner, finalist for the Connecticut Book of the Year, the Doris Bakwin Award, the National Bronze Medal IPPY Award, one of Booklist’s Top Ten Historical Novels of 201, and Pushcart Prize nominations. Her work has appeared in journals such as Prairie Schooner, American Poetry Review, North American Review, and Chattahoochee Review.

While serving as writer-in-residence at Auburn University, Acevedo worked on the Southern Humanities Review and contributed to the local literary community by establishing the Auburn Writers Conference and the Creative Writing Studio for Teens. In 2012 she was named Literature Fellow by the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Acevedo completed both her BA and MFA at the University of Miami, where she currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing. For more information, go to http://friendsofthekeywestlibrary.org and click on lecture series.