The recipient ofThe Rye Free Reading Room’s 2021 Mayor’s Award for contributions to the Literary Arts is Annabel Monaghan. At the library’s annual meeting, February 15, Director Chris Shoemaker thanked and praised her for being a frequent moderator of author series, sharing her writing advice, supporting local writers, and helping to enrich community life.

In addition to stepping in and helping every nonprofit organization in town when they need a speaker or moderator, Ms. Monaghan is a longtime Rye Record columnist and the author of a young adult series. The talk of the town is her first and forthcoming adult novel, “Nora Goes Off Script”, which will be published this spring.

Shoemaker engaged her in a wonderful conversation about the written word, and in just a few sentences, she summed up the eternal importance of storytelling.

 “I think stories are critical to our survival, both in terms of collecting information and warning each other about potential mishaps. But stories are also critical to developing empathy and the easiest way to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.” 

Annabel’s name has been added to the permanent Mayor’s Award plaque on display in the Library’s main reading room.