{"id":264670,"date":"2026-05-09T10:25:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T10:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/264670\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T10:25:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T10:25:34","slug":"local-literary-lovers-enjoy-a-week-of-book-all-star-signings-free-press-of-jacksonville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/264670\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Literary Lovers Enjoy a Week of Book All Star Signings \u2013 Free Press of Jacksonville"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nShow is Attorney Ben Crump autographing and signing books.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville served as a powerful backdrop for a series of literary events highlighting justice, education, and personal transformation. Renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump made a featured stop on his national book tour promoting Worse Than a Lie at Northside\u2019s Legends Center. The event included a Q&A and book signing alongside moderator Florida State Representative Angie Nixon. Crump\u2019s debut legal thriller follows protagonist Beau Lee Cooper, a lawyer defending a Black former police officer wrongfully imprisoned after a racially charged shooting, continuing Crump\u2019s longstanding advocacy for justice and equity.<\/p>\n

\"\"Across town, Jacksonville native Sychnell Walker was featured in Nefertiti Books\u2019 Weekly Author Profile Series, celebrating her debut poetry collection,\u00a0Empress of the Soul: A Journey Thru Spirit & Verse. A 2000 graduate of Edward H. White High School, Walker draws from personal experiences with trauma, relationships, and healing to create a deeply reflective body of work centered on love, loss, identity, and rebirth. \u201cPoetry not only changed my life\u2014it saved my life,\u201d Walker shared. Joined by fellow spoken word artists during her book signing, she continues to inspire others to reflect, heal, and reclaim their inner strength.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, author Monica Knighton of\u00a0The Adventures of Josh and Monkey\u2122 Critical Thinking Series\u00a0hosted a \u201cMeet the Author\u201d conversation with renowned scholar Johnnetta Betsch Cole at St. John Knits Outlet. The event marked the re-release of\u00a0Big Trouble, Josh!, featuring a foreword by Dr. Cole. During the discussion, she\"\" emphasized the transformative power of education, echoing Nelson Mandela\u2019s words: \u201cEducation is the most powerful tool for change in the world.\u201d Designed as an interactive experience, Knighton\u2019s series encourages children to think critically and engage deeply, rather than passively absorb information. Reflecting on the work, Dr. Cole added, \u201cThis isn\u2019t ordinary learning\u2014it\u2019s a powerful and delightful process,\u201d referencing an African proverb: \u201cShe who learns must teach, and she who teaches must learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, these events underscore Jacksonville\u2019s vibrant literary and cultural landscape\u2014where storytelling becomes a vehicle for justice, healing, and the empowerment of future generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Show is Attorney Ben Crump autographing and signing books. Jacksonville served as a powerful backdrop for a series…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":264671,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-264670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/264671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}