Please join Literary Lions Book Club at the Main Library to welcome Laura Lee Smith as she presents her latest work, “The Ice House”.

This novel, set in Jacksonville, Florida, tells the story of a man on the verge of losing his livelihood and his relationship with his son. Following a mysterious accident, the ice factory that Johnny MacKinnon has run for decades is facing OSHA fines and may have to close. In addition, his son’s life choices have devastated their relationship and sent the young man to the family’s homeland, Scotland. The story line develops aspects of family struggles, human frailty and brings in a bit of mystery as well.

Laura Lee Smith is also the author of “Hearts of Palm”. Her short fiction has been anthologized in Best American Short Stories (2015) and New Stories from the South; The Year’s Best (2010). Smith’s recent work has appeared in the New York Times, and this second novel was recently awarded the Gold Medal for Fiction in the 2017 Florida Book Awards. A writer who’s been praised for her “intelligence, heart and wit” (Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Empire Falls”), Smith has had her work translated into German and French. She lives in Florida, where she writes fiction and works as an advertising copywriter.

Literary Lions Book Club is sponsored by Friends of the Main Library St. Augustine. The meeting begins at 10:30 a.m. and is free and open to the public.

For more information contact Toni Siriani (Toni825@hotmail.com), the Main Library at the number listed, or visit the library website www.sjcpls.org.