Ilana Stewart will speak at the Gathering at Given Thursday, Feb. 5, at 3:30 p.m. at the Given Memorial Library, Pinehurst.

Stewart grew up in Russia during the Soviet days and moved to the U. S. at the age of 19. She is a flight attendant and makes many trips to Russia each year. She will speak about her youth in the Soviet Union and what Russia is today and how Russians now view the United States.

This is free and open to the public.

Sandhills Writers

Sandhills Writers hosts a creative roundtable, including reading and critiques, every third Tuesday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Weymouth Center, and every first Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Land Owners Office in Seven Lakes North.

For information, call 400-5060.

Montgomery Library

Montgomery County Library announces that February is "Love Your Library Month."

"Visit our branches in Biscoe, Candor, Mt. Gilead, Troy and Star to register for a prize drawing by writing a sentence or two about the topic 'Why I Love My Library," says a spokesman.

February events include

Preschool Story Time, Troy Library, each Thursday at 10 a.m.

Youth Games, Troy Library, each Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Conference Room. Playstation 2 games include sports and action games like NFL Madden and NBA Live. Board, card and other games include Monopoly, Pictionary, Uno and Connect 4.

The Montgomery County Public Library Knitting Club meets Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 4 p.m. in the Troy Library Conference Room.

Romance novelist Leigh Greenwood, who writes historical fiction with a Western flavor, will speak at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7, in the Troy Library Conference Room.

Greenwood, a resident of North Carolina, is a rather unusual writer in the romance genre -- a man.

The event is free.

The Montgomery County Public Library Book Club meets Thursday, Feb. 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the Troy Library Conference Room.

An art display featuring the work of Montgomery Community College students, appears at the Troy Library through Feb. 13. A reception will be held Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 2:30 p.m. in the Troy Conference Room. Call (910) 572-1311 to RSVP to meet the artists.

Chatham Writers' Series

The annual Writers' Series hosted by the Chatham County Arts Council, in partnership with Central Carolina Community College, started its third season in September.

This monthly series features workshops by local and regional writers. Each three-hour, interactive workshop is for writers of all skill levels. The Writers' Series is held from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays at Central Carolina Community College, Pittsboro campus. Each workshop is $25.

On Saturday, Feb. 7, the speaker is Tim McKee, associate editor for the Sun Magazine. He will be teaching "Whittling Words: On Editing the Essay." Participants will learn how editors sharpen a piece of writing. McKee will focus both on the specific (micro-editing) and the grand (macro-editing).

Participants will learn how to correct errors, trim excess, pump up language, rearrange sequence, and navigate sensitive topics so that the piece maximizes its impact on readers. At the end of the session, participants will see a final piece they have crafted as it will appear in the magazine.

"These workshops unite writers with local professionals who enjoy sharing their knowledge and love of writing and literature," says Molly Matlock, executive director of ChathamArts. "This type of programming offers skills development to both our emerging and experienced writers, including high school students. This is especially important to our young writers in Chatham County.

"Our Writers' Series is a recent addition to our community arts programming, and we are pleased that interest has grown for this opportunity over the last two years."

For more information about the Third Annual Writers' Series, contact ChathamArts at (919) 542-0394 or at info@chathamarts.org.

'N.C. Bookwatch'

D.G. Martin will interview Eleanora Tate on 'N.C. Bookwatch' today (Sunday) at 5 p.m. on UNC-TV.

Eleanora E. Tate's middle-grade books reveal the hopes and humor, trials and triumphs of America's families and communities.

In addition to being a children's book author, she's also a folklorist, short story writer, creative writing instructor and former newspaper reporter.

Her 11th book, "Celeste's Harlem Renaissance," is an American Association of University Women's 2007 North Carolina Book Award winner in Juvenile Fiction. This novel of historical fiction takes place in Raleigh and in Harlem, N.Y., in 1921. It also is a 2008 International Reading Association (IRA) "Teachers' Choice Award" winner.

In addition to writing children's books and stories she is an instructor with the Institute of Children's Literature, West Redding, Conn., and teaches children's literature at North Carolina Central University in Durham. She is a frequent featured author in schools, conferences and writers' forums.

Among Tate's other award-winning books are "The Secret of Gumbo Grove," "Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.!" and "A Blessing in Disguise."