NEWS RELEASE

What’s Your Rhode Island IQ? Find out at PPL’s 2009 Annual Meeting Oct 1!

PROVIDENCE, RI -- Are you a REAL Rhode Islander (pron: RO DI LIN DUH)? Providence Public Library (PPL) invites you to come and see just how much you know about Rhode Island at its 2009 Annual Meeting when we welcome Rhode Island 101 author Tim Lehnert on Thursday, October 1 at 7:00 pm at the Central Library, 150 Empire Street, Providence. Lehnert’s talk will be followed by a book signing until8:30 pm. PPL’s annual business meeting will be at 6:30 pm.

In addition, selections from PPL’s vast Rhode Island Collection will be on exhibit.

About the Book & Author
From Narragansett Bay, Roger Williams, the American Industrial Revolution and the Independent Man to the New England mob, the Big Blue Bug, the Newport Mansions, Family Guy and profiles of Buddy Cianci, H.P. Lovecraft and the Farrelly brothers, no book provides a more insightful lowdown on the Ocean State than Rhode Island 101: Everything You Wanted to Know About Rhode Island and Were Going to Ask Anyway. No book is more fun!

Well known Rhode Islanders weigh in on the nation’s smallest state. Investigative reporter Jim Taricani recounts his top stories, Mark Patinkin provides signs that you've been in Rhode Island too long, meteorologist John Ghiorse revisits the most memorable weather events of the last 40 years, Lincoln Chafee offers a Rhode Island treasure hunt and Rory Raven illuminates haunted Rhode Island. Other contributors include Bruce Sundlun, Arlene Violet, and Tony Petrarca, as well as labor historian Scott Molloy, restaurateur Josh Miller, funny man Charlie Hall, anthropologist Michael Bell and music producer Larry Bonoff. From fabulous beaches, historic cities, and dynamite cuisine to corrupt politicians, elite universities and a unique accent and slang, it's all here.

Tim Lehnert is a freelance writer and editor. He grew up in Montreal, lived in Los Angeles for 12 years and now resides in Cranston with his wife and two daughters. His articles and essays have appeared in publications including The Boston Globe, The Providence Journal, the Providence Phoenix, Rhode Island Monthly, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Montreal Gazette. His feature articles have won first-place awards from the New England Press Association and the Rhode Island Press Association. His short fiction has been published in a number of literary journals in the U.S. and Canada. For more about Tim Lehnert: www.timlehnertonline.com.