Orange’s cultural precinct will swarm with family history detectives this week brushing up on all the latest genealogy skills as Orange hosts the annual NSW & ACT Association of Family History Societies Conference. Conference organisers are expecting 300 family and local historians to attend the series of presentations, workshops and exhibitions in the Orange Civic Theatre, Orange City Library Orange Regional Gallery and the Orange Regional Museum on September 22 – 24, 2017.

Highlights include opening the cage on your gaolbird ancestors, telling your family story through food, keynote speaker Christina Henri about her Roses from the Heart project and guest speaker well known author and actor William McInnes.

Registrations can still be made via the conference website: https://yourfamilystoryinorange.wordpress.com/

Friday is devoted to the Family History Fair at Orange City Library from 9am to 4pm where societies and organisations will ‘set up shop’ and talk to you about what’s new in the Family History world. There will be a range of exhibitors and lots of information to tempt new and experienced family historians. This fair is open to everyone – you don’t have to be a conference delegate to attend.

Please be aware that during the conference regular library services will still be available but the Orange City Library space will be disrupted. The library will not be a quiet place and likely not suitable for study. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

This may be the night you take a new literary partner to bed! Speed dating books is an event where you are invited to spend 5 minutes blind dating a variety of books of different genres. After each book you will be asked to rate the book based on your brief encounter. You never know, you may discover a new favourite book or author to take home with you…This event is open to all ages. For your refreshment we are providing mocktails, cheese and bikkies with tim tams for the romantics among you. This is part of the Australian Reading Hour nationwide event encouraging everyone to read for at least an hour on Thursday 14th September. All happens at Orange City Library from 5pm – 6pm.
#brbreading

Congratulations to our Librarian Julie Sykes who has completed the Children’s Book Council of Australia Awards Judges’ Presentation training about this year’s winning books in the Awards. Julie is now more knowledgeable about the judging process, about the nominated books and why particular books won prizes. Well Done Julie!

We are so looking forward to actor and writer William McInnes speaking at the NSW & ACT Family History Societies Conference 2017 next month 22 – 24 September. William McInnes is one of the most accomplished and popular actors on the Australian landscape today. He was most recently seen in SBS drama series Deep Water. And he is the author of nine books: Full Bore, A Man’s Gotta Have a Hobby, Cricket Kings, That’d Be Right, The Making of Modern Australia, Worse Things Happen at Sea; co-written with his late wife Sarah Watt, The Laughing Clowns, The Birdwatcher and Holidays. We can’t wait for his talk. We are taking registrations on the Conference website: https://yourfamilystoryinorange.wordpress.com/

Bestselling author John Grisham stirs up trouble in paradise in his endlessly surprising new thriller.  Priceless F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts stolen in a daring heist; a young woman recruited to recover them; a beach resort bookseller who gets more than he bargained for, all in one long summer on Camino Island. This is the book for discussion at the Pageturners Book Discussion Club meeting on Wednesday 13th September at 5.30pm. All interested people welcome.