On Saturday, December 2nd, at 6:00 PM, Mayor Donna Deegan will read from her book, Through Rose Colored Glasses: A Marathon from Fear to Love, in the Main Auditorium F-128 at FSCJ Kent Campus.

The reading will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by Brad Kuhn, and then book sales by Chamblin’s Uptown & Bookmine, with a signing by Deegan.

From information posted online:

“Donna Deegan was only months from realizing her dream of launching the nation’s first national breast cancer marathon, when she was diagnosed with the disease for the third time. While still committed to the race, Deegan began searching for answers beyond the conventional. As she opened one door, it led to the next. What started as a quest for a cure became a physical and spiritual rebirth. Deegan takes us along on her journey with great candor and humor. From the creation of a race that now draws thousands from all over the coutnry and the world, to her very personal marathon from fear to love. This book is a must read for anyone who has ever struggled to overcome fear. Its simple yet powerful message contains the secret of life itself.”

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Delegal & Poindexter, Andres Rojas, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Babs’ Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.

On Friday, December 1st, at 6 PM, Nathanial Glover will read from his book, Striving for Justice: A Black Sheriff in the Deep South, in the Main Auditorium F-128, at FSCJ’s Kent Campus.

The reading will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by JaxbyJax Co-Director Erica Saffer, with book sales to follow from San Marco Books & More.

From the book description online:

“Nat Glover served in law enforcement for thirty-seven years, became the first Black sheriff in Jacksonville, Florida, and the state of Florida in over a hundred years post-Reconstruction, and chose—again and again—to do the right thing at the right time for the sake of justice, compassion, and truth.

In Striving for Justice, Nat recounts his history-making years in police reformation, the values that fuel him as a leader and American citizen, and what he believes will move this country forward toward hope and healing just as he once rose again…against all odds.”

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Delegal & Poindexter, Andres Rojas, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Babs’ Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.

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Michael Ray FitzGerald, PhD, is a musician, media scholar and former university instructor. He moved to Jax in 1968 and became an initiate of the city’s thriving electric-guitar cult. He started writing music criticism in the mid-1980s for Jacksonville’s Southeast Entertainer and went on to write for more than 30 publications including the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. He is the author of 4 books including Jacksonville and the Roots of Southern Rock.

FitzGerald will read his work on Saturday, December 2nd at 1:00 PM in the Art Gallery Auditorium E-112-F.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Delegal & Poindexter, Andres Rojas, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Babs’ Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.

JaxbyJax wishes to thank the Mellon Foundation and Ford Foundation for their support of Alternate Roots, and to thank Alternate Roots for its support of individual artists in Jacksonville. We’re also happy that an individual artist donated their grant to ensure that the 10th Anniversary of the JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival is a celebration to remember.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Delegal & Poindexter, Andres Rojas, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Babs’ Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.