Friends of the Claire T. Carney Library to Host Annual Authors’ Brunch on October 4

Fundraising event will feature authors Norm Desmarais, Jane Healey, and B. A. Shapiro

The Friends of the Claire T. Carney Library will host its annual Authors’ Brunch fundraiser on Sunday, October 4, 2026, at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

The event will begin at 12 p.m. in the Marketplace. Parking will be available in Lot 5.

Click here to purchase tickets and sponsorships.

This year’s featured authors are Norm Desmarais, Jane Healey, and B. A. Shapiro. Guests will have an opportunity to hear the authors discuss their work and the historical events, people, and works of art that inspire their writing.

Proceeds from the Authors’ Brunch will benefit the Claire T. Carney Library. The Friends of the Library supports programs, resources, scholarships, and other initiatives that enhance the Library and its service to the university community.

Norm Desmarais is a professor emeritus at Providence College who devotes his time to researching, writing, and speaking about the American Revolutionary War. An active historical reenactor, he participates in Le Régiment Bourbonnais, the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment, and the Brigade of the American Revolution. He also serves as editor-in-chief of the Brigade Dispatch. Desmarais is the author of A Guide to the American Revolution, a multivolume series examining the war on land and at sea, and America’s First Ally: France in the American Revolutionary War. He also translated The Gazette Françoise, the French-language newspaper published in Newport, Rhode Island, by the French fleet that brought the Comte de Rochambeau and approximately 5,800 troops to America in 1780.

Jane Healey is a Washington Post and Amazon Charts bestselling author whose historical novels illuminate the lives and contributions of women who have often been overlooked by history. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire and Northeastern University, Healey left a career in technology to pursue her passion for writing. Her books include The Saturday Evening Girls Club, The Beantown Girls, The Secret Stealers, Goodnight from Paris, and her latest novel, The Women of Arlington Hall. Healey also hosts the Historical Happy Hour podcast, where she interviews fellow historical-fiction authors about their latest books. 

B. A. Shapiro is the award-winning and bestselling author of ten novels, screenplays, and a nonfiction book. Her novels include The Lost Masterpiece, Metropolis, The Collector’s Apprentice, The Muralist, and The Art Forger, which received the New England Book Award for Fiction. Shapiro holds a doctorate in sociology and has directed a research program at a residential substance-use treatment facility. She has also worked as a systems analyst and statistician and led the Boston office of a software-development firm.

The Friends of the Claire T. Carney Library, formerly known as Library Associates, supports the Claire T. Carney Library and its role as an academic and community resource. Previous fundraising efforts have helped establish a Veterans’ Reading Room, purchase exhibition display cases, and support student scholarships.

BayCoast Bank is a presenting sponsor of the Authors’ Brunch.

Tickets for the Authors’ Brunch are $65 per person. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. Click here to purchase tickets and sponsorships.

For questions about the event, contact Susan Ahearn, director of alumni relations, at sahearn@umassd.edu or 508-910-9534.