Jennifer Chiaverini, author of The World's Fair Quilt, in-person!

Books & Company and the Oconomowoc Public Library presents a special evening with Jennifer Chiaverini, who will discuss her new book The World's Fair Quilt, an Elm Creek Quilts novel.

You can purchase a copy of The World's Fair Quilt from Books & Company
Jennifer Chiaverini returns to the well-loved circle of Elm Creek Quilters to illuminate a nearly forgotten jubilant moment in women’s history during the trying years of the Great Depression. In chapters alternating between 2004 and 1933, Chiaverini stitches together a story of sisterhood and sibling rivalry, guilt and resentment, forgiveness and peace.

In her eighth decade, Sylvia Bergstrom Compson is content to be back at Elm Creek Manor—the home she fled, in grief and despair, after her first husband and younger brother were killed in World War II, followed by an irreparable falling-out with her elder sister, Claudia.

When Sylvia receives a startling request from her young friend and colleague Summer Sullivan, curator of the Waterford Historical Society’s quilt gallery, she's not sure what to make of it. Summer would like to exhibit a quilt Sylvia and Claudia made together when they were in their early teens in 1933 and submitted to the Sears National Quilt Contest for the upcoming Century of Progress Exposition at the Chicago World's Fair.

Affirming the power of women’s friendship and the importance of quilting, THE WORLD’S FAIR QUILT is a heartwarming addition to a series described as “like a strong cup of tea—cozy yet hard-hitting” (Booklist). At one point in the novel, Sylvia reflects, “If she had learned nothing else in her eighty-plus years, it was that she should choose hope.” That’s a timely message for us all.

Jennifer Chiaverini is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including critically acclaimed historical fiction and the beloved Elm Creeks Quilt series, which she began in 1999 to capture everything she loves about quilting—the artistry, tradition, folklore, and, above all, wonderful community. Her works of nonfiction include seven collections of quilt patterns and original designs featured in Country Woman, Quiltmaker, Quilt, and other magazines.

In 2020, Jennifer received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association for her novel Resistance Women. In 2023, the WLA awarded her the honor of Notable Wisconsin Author for her significant contributions to the state’s literary heritage.

Jennifer graduated from the University of Notre Dame and earned her MA from the University of Chicago. She, her husband, and their two sons call Madison, Wisconsin, home.

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