The Community Library Lecture Room

UPDATE: We experienced technical difficulties with our Livestream during last night’s virtual conversation with author Mary Pauline Lowry. We apologize to everyone who tried to tune in. We did record the conversation, and it can be viewed now on our Livestream page. Mary read from and answered questions about her new novel, The Roxy Letters, with Library executive director Jenny Emery Davidson. They discussed Alice Walker and writing a rom-com novel, as well as Mary’s experiences in the BSU MFA program, releasing a book during a pandemic, and how she seeks a life that shelters her writing life. We hope you enjoy the recording!

Join The Community Library for a virtual conversation with Mary Pauline Lowry, author of The Roxy Letters. Lowry will be in conversation with the Library’s Executive Director, Jenny Emery Davidson.

This program will be live streamed from the Library’s Lecture Hall and can be watched on our LIVESTREAM page. The conversation will also be recorded for later viewing. The audience will be able to participate in the conversation and ask questions through the Livestream chat (free Livestream account required) or by emailing questions to mwilliams@comlib.org.

Bridget Jones penned a diary; Roxy writes letters. Specifically: she writes letters to her hapless, rent-avoidant ex-boyfriend—and current roommate—Everett. This charming and funny twenty-something is under-employed (and under-romanced), and she’s decidedly fed up with the indignities she endures as a deli maid at (the original) Whole Foods, and the dismaying speed at which her beloved Austin is becoming corporatized. When a new Lululemon pops up at the intersection of Sixth and Lamar where the old Waterloo Video used to be, Roxy can stay silent no longer.

As her letters to Everett become less about overdue rent and more about the state of her life, Roxy realizes she’s ready to be the heroine of her own story. She decides to team up with her two best friends to save Austin—and rescue Roxy’s love life—in whatever way they can. But can this spunky, unforgettable millennial keep Austin weird, avoid arrest, and find romance—and even creative inspiration—in the process?

Join The Community Library for an evening with Mary Pauline Lowry, author of The Roxy Letters, new from Simon and Schuster in April 2020. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Mary Pauline holds an MA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Texas and an MFA in Creative Writing from Boise State University. She’s also the author of the novel Wildfire and is a regular contributor to O Magazine. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, and The Millions, among other publications.