Huntsville, Ala – Three extraordinary public figures will visit Huntsville beginning this month to participate in the Huntsville Museum of Art’s popular Voices of Our Times lecture series. The three-part series will begin Thursday, November 13, with a special talk and book signing by bestselling author Frances Mayes at 7 p.m. The talk will take place at the museum in Loretta Spencer Hall.

Born and raised in Fitzgerald, Georgia, Mayes received much critical acclaim for her chart topping 1996 memoir Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy, which was adapted in 2003 into a popular film of the same title. Her latest book Under Magnolia: A Southern Memoir is a lyrical and evocative memoir about coming of age in the Deep South, exploring the region’s powerful influence on her life.

“The Museum is delighted to welcome Frances Mayes to Huntsville to be a part of our Voices series,” Christopher J. Madkour, Museum Executive Director, said. “Her stories of living in the colorful countryside of Tuscany with its rich food, culture and heritage are sure to delight her audience.”

Mayes is also an accomplished poet, having published several books of poetry. She has written travel memoirs and a Tuscan cookbook with her husband, the poet Edward Mayes. She formerly taught and chaired the Department of Creative Writing at San Francisco State University. Mayes divides her time between Cortona, Italy and Hillsborough, North Carolina.

Tickets to the event are $25 for Museum members and $45 for non-members. Mayes will also be signing her books Under the Tuscan Sun and Under Magnolia. Seating is limited, so early registration is encouraged. A reception will follow Mayes’ presentation.

On Saturday, January 24, 2015, at 7 p.m. the Museum will welcome renowned New York Times National Security Correspondent and bestselling author David E. Sanger. Guests will not only enjoy his presentation, but may also purchase Sanger’s books and have him sign them. A reception will follow.

A 30-year veteran of The New York Times and a regular guest on CBS’ Face the Nation, Sanger has become known as one of the nation’s leading analysts of geopolitics, national security, and globalization. He has been a member of two Pulitzer Prize-winning teams and has been awarded numerous honors for national security and foreign policy coverage.

Sanger is also the bestselling author of Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power. His previous bestseller, The Inheritance: The World Obama Confronts and the Challenges to American Power, is an in-depth examination of American foreign policy successes and failures. TIME called it a “behind-the-scenes account…laced with scoops and secret conversations about a world spinning out of America’s control.”

Ticket prices for Sanger’s talk, which will also be held in Loretta Spencer Hall, are $25 for Museum members and $45 for non-members. Advance tickets for all Voices events may be purchased by calling 256-535-4350 ext. 208 or online at www.hsvmuseum.org.

The series will conclude on Thursday, April 23, 2015 at 11:30 a.m. with interior designer Charlotte Moss. Since 1985, Moss has designed private residences and executive suites all over the United States and the Caribbean and has authored eight books. A Visual Life: Scrapbooks, Collages, and Inspirations, her most recent, is devoted to gleaning design inspiration from the personal scrapbooks and notebooks of great women of style—including her own. She was also named to Traditional Home magazine’s list of “The World’s Top 20 Interior Designers.”

At 11:30 a.m. Moss will serve as the Voices luncheon guest speaker and will sign her books following the program in Loretta Spencer Hall. Tickets for the luncheon are $75 for Museum members and $100 for non-members. At 7 p.m., the designer will participate in a second talk and book signing. Tickets for the evening event are $25 for Museum members and $45 for non-members.

Voices Series sponsors include Colonial Printing, Dorothy Davidson, and PNC. Sponsors for Mayes include Donny’s Diamond Gallery, Chef James and Suzan Boyce, Ellen Chorba and Bill Stender, Joyce Griffin, Patsy Haws, Jane Hays, Shelbie King, Betsy Lowe, Jean Penney, Linda Smith and Jean Wessel Templeton. Sponsors for Sanger include Donny’s Diamond Gallery, Renasant Bank, Alabama Media Group/al.com/The Huntsville Times, and Barbara O’Connor and Steve Williams. Sponsors for Moss include Mullins Special Occasions, Suzanne Barnes and Anne Pollard.

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