In partnership with the Kentucky Center for Leadership, Warren County Public Library is pleased to co-host a luncheon presentation featuring motivational speaker Coach Sherri Coale Wednesday, July 10, 11am at the Capitol. Coach Coale has been widely recognized across the country for her career contributions to women’s basketball and is a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame and the FCA Circle of Champions. A dynamic speaker, she has inspired groups all over the country to inspire leadership, teambuilding, collaboration, and personal growth. In addition to a seat at her presentation, ticket holders will receive a signed copy of her latest book, The Compost File: Stories for the Striver in Us All, and a boxed lunch. Tickets are available for purchase at capitolbg.org/events.
Hailing from a small, rural Oklahoma town, Coale developed a passion for reading, writing, and basketball. After a successful playing career at Oklahoma Christian University, she transitioned to coaching, embarking on a Hall of Fame career. She spent seven years at Norman High School, securing two state championships before taking on the challenge of rebuilding the women’s basketball program at the University of Oklahoma. Over 25 years, she transformed the Sooners into a powerhouse, leading them to 19 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, 10 conference championships, and three Final Fours. Her contributions extended to USA Basketball, where she served as an assistant coach and later as head coach, guiding her team to a gold medal at the 2013 World University Games.
Since retiring from coaching, Sherri Coale has channeled her insights and experiences into writing and leadership consulting. She is the author of two books: the Amazon bestseller Rooted to Rise: The Redwood Legacies of Life-Anchoring People (2022) and The Compost File: Stories for the Striver in Us All (2025), which continues her exploration of growth and resilience. Coale also shares her reflections through a weekly blog, “A Weigh of Life.” Beyond her literary pursuits, she is a highly respected leadership consultant, contributing to Ryan Hawk’s Learning Leader Team, where she provides personalized coaching and strategic workshops to empower leaders with practical tools for success.
If you love art and nature, you’ll love meeting Jessica Roux at one of her two presentations this month: Tuesday, July 8, at 6pm at HOTEL INC or Tuesday, July 15, at 6pm at Lisa Rice Library. A bestselling illustrator, author, and gardener who resides near Nashville, Tennessee, Roux finds inspiration in nature. Her art, known for its subdued colors and intricate detail, evokes an old-world aesthetic in her images of flora and fauna. Roux’s notable works include her books Floriography, Ornithography, and The Wheel of the Year, as well as the Folklore Field Guide series and the Woodland Wardens oracle deck. Her illustrations have graced projects for clients such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Adobe, and The New Yorker.
Young readers and those who appreciate great children’s literature will enjoy meeting Newbery Honor award-winning author Rajani Larocca at the Bob Kirby Branch Wednesday, July 16, at 6pm. In addition to writing books for young readers, she is a practicing physician and a co-host of the STEM Women in KidLit Podcast. Born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now based in the Boston area, she brings a diverse perspective to her writing. A versatile storyteller, Larocca crafts everything from novels to picture books, fiction to nonfiction, and prose to poetry. Her work, including the Newbery Honor-winning novel in verse Red, White, and Whole, is inspired by her family, childhood, the natural world, and her background in math and science.
Join local (and nearby) authors Shelia Stovall, Tom Hunley, Alex Huntsman, and Fallon Willoughby Sunday, July 20, at 3pm at Lisa Rice Library at an Author Panel. From contemporary fiction and poetry to fantasy and science fiction, their work covers a variety of genres, and their insights will help you find and refine your voice. This panel of published authors will share tips that helped them get their work ready to submit for publication, which will be particularly helpful for aspiring writers who want to learn more about publishing as well as those who are in the midst of the editorial process themselves. Learn more about their background and publications here, then make plans to attend their panel:
•https://www.fallonwilloughby.com/
Tickets for Coach Sherri Coale can be purchased at capitolbg.org; tickets for the other free author events listed in this article can be reserved online through the library’s calendar of events.
To keep up with all the library’s offerings, check out our website (warrenpl.org), subscribe to our email newsletter, and follow us on social media. Hope to see you this sometime soon!
-by Ashley Fowlkes, Digital Content Manager, WCPL
