Centre County Reads
As part of the Center for American Literary Studies’ commitment to public reading, CALS proudly partners with the Centre County Library system to sponsor a joint CALS/Centre County Reads community read annually. Information about each year’s book choice and events can be found in the links below.
Shared texts constitute a key form of community building. Whether readers agree or disagree about the interpretation of a given text, the act of discussing a text, offering cogent arguments about a text, and negotiating what a text might mean brings them together.
2026 Centre County Reads
In 2026, the Centre County Reads/CALS Community Read featured Eileen Garvin’s novel Crow Talk. The novel follows Frankie O’Neill, an ornithology graduate student, Anne Ryan, a mother and wife who teaches Traditional Irish music at the Cornish College of the Arts, her son, Aidan, and a young injured crow. On a lake in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, Garvin crafts a story of intersecting lives, families, and species.
A virtual author visit from Eileen Garvin was held via Zoom on April 1.
Details for these and other events (all of which are free and open to the public) are summarized below and can also be found at the Centre County Reads website.
January 2026
“The Art of Observation” Writing Contest
All entries were due by Monday, March 16th.
This contest was part of the 2026 Centre County Reads/CALS Community Read of Eileen Garvin’s Crow Talk, a novel centered on the stories of two families (and a crow) learning to understand each other and the world around them. Frankie O’Neill is an ornithology graduate student working on finishing her thesis at her family’s caretaker cottage in the Pacific Northwest. The fall brings the arrival of another family, including Anne Ryan and her son, Aidan, who does not speak. Frankie takes in an injured crow and nurses it back to health, and when Aidan visits, to his mother’s surprise, he is adept at aiding in the care of “Charlie Crow.” As a child, Frankie tracked the birds she saw on the walls of an old hunting blind—as Frankie reorients herself in the place her love of birds began, she remembers how to observe, notice, and write about what is right outside her door.
Following the example of Garvin’s novel, the contest asked authors to send in a work of writing that centers on a space of observation—and what can be learned from the art of careful noticing.
Pieces of 7,500 words or less were considered for competition in one of the following categories: Best Short Fiction, Best Nonfiction, Best Poetry, Best Entry for a Writer under 18. $300 Grand Prize winner and additional prizes for winners in each category.
Congratulations to all of our contest winners! Winning entries are displayed at Schlow Centre Region Library and on the CALS website. Read the winning entries below.
Grand Prize: Pranshu Bhardwaj, “Between Pages and Pixels”
Short Fiction: Fiona Combs, “Before It Is Written Again”
Non-Fiction: Robina Rader, “Nature Notebook”
Poetry: Ashley Susko, “Looking Up”
Under-18: Grace Young, “The Water Is Calling”
Book Discussion
Wednesday, January 14, 12:15pm – 1pm, CR Active Adult Center, Nittany Mall
February 2026
Book Discussion
Tuesday, February 17, 5:30pm – 6:30pm, Schlow Library, Sun Room
March 2026
Youth Take and Make – (March 2-7)
Holt Memorial Library, Philipsburg
Film Discussion
Friday, March 6th at 1:00pm
Fly Away Home – PG 1h 47m
Centre County Library, Bellefonte
Take & Make – Craft (March)
Centre Hall Area Branch Library
Youth Take & Make – Craft (March 2-7)
Holt Memorial Library, Philipsburg
Youth Take & Make – Craft (March)
Centre County Library, Bellefonte
Book Discussions
Wednesday, March 4, 1pm – 2pm, Holt Memorial Library
Wednesday, March 18, 6:30pm Centre County Library, Virtual- Registration Required
Wednesday, March 25, 5:30pm – 6:30pm, Schlow Library, Sun Room
Storytimes
Wednesday, March 4, 10:30am, Holt Memorial Library Preschool Storytime
Monday, March 9, 10:30am, Centre Hall Area Branch Library Preschool Storytime
Flocked Together: Roosting Behavior of Urban Crows with Dr. Brittingham
Flocked Together: Roosting Behavior of Urban Crows with Dr. Brittingham
Hamer Community Room, Millbrook Marsh
Saturday, March 21 | 4pm – 5pm |
Dr. Margaret Brittingham, Prof. Emerita of Wildlife Resources, Penn State University, will share her corvid expertise with the community. Dr. Brittinghams’s research in avian ecology remains an invaluable help to Penn State as the campus still uses her techniques to relocate crow groups that have become troublesome. She is also the Centre County coordinator for the Pennsylvania Bird Atlas.
CALS Roundtable: “Ritual and Artistry”
This Event Has Been Cancelled
Eileen Garvin’s novel Crow Talk centers on two women educators—ornithologist Frankie O’Neill and music teacher Anne Ryan—who meet one another unexpectedly on the shores of June Lake in the Pacific Northwest in their respective family cottages during the fall when other residents have shuttered their cottages for the season. Both Frankie and Anne ultimately draw on their scholarly and teaching investments in art and ritual—ornithology and Irish music respectively—to address significant challenges in their families in order to heal and find friendship. The ritual calls of crows help them—not least of all Anne’s young son Aiden, who otherwise refuses to speak—bond and move forward in empowering ways. Using Garvin’s novel as a touchstone, the three invited panelists on this roundtable session will reflect on how art and ritual intersect in their teaching, scholarly, and/or artistic practices.
Featured Panelists:
TBA
Moderator:
Ella Campopiano, Graduate Student in English, Penn State
For more information, please see www.centrecountyreads.org.
April 2026
An Evening with Eileen Garvin
Wednesday, April 1, 7pm – 8pm | Schlow Library Zoom
Moderated by: Amanda Leigh Passmore-Ott
Associate Teaching Professor, The Pennsylvania State University; Penn State Faculty Affiliate, Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center; Faculty Advisor, Rince na Leon – Penn State Irish Dance