Newbery Honor author Gary Schmidt’s Jenison library talk was Thursday; Winnie the Pooh turns 100 there Saturday

JENISON, Mich. — Gary D. Schmidt, the West Michigan writer whose novel The Wednesday Wars earned a Newbery Honor, was scheduled to talk about how he wrote it Thursday at the Georgetown Township Public Library. Two days later, on Saturday, the same library throws a 100th birthday party for Winnie the Pooh.

Schmidt’s visit was set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15, in the library’s lower-level program room at 1525 Baldwin St. It was open to tweens, teens and adults, with registration required, according to the library’s calendar.

Schmidt is a professor emeritus of English at Calvin University. The library’s October newsletter said he would cover his writing process for the book and his life as an author, then take questions from the audience.

He was to sign books after the talk. No copies were for sale that night; the library asked readers to bring a copy they already owned or buy one through the library for $10 to pick up at the event.

The Pooh party is from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, in the children’s program room, with games and crafts and possibly a Pooh story or an episode of the show. The library notes that A.A. Milne published the first Winnie the Pooh book in October 1926. It is aimed at children up to fourth grade. Registration is now closed because the event is full, according to the library’s event page.

Later in the month, the library’s Fall Fest runs from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, and the building closes at 5 p.m. that day to set up. A Halloween storytime and costume parade follows at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 29.

The library is open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and is closed Sunday. Registration is at gtpl.org or by phone at 616-457-9620.

Updated Oct. 16, 2026: Gary Schmidt’s talk was scheduled for Thursday evening, Oct. 15, so this story’s headline and the talk details are now in the past tense. The library’s event page now says registration for Saturday’s Winnie the Pooh party is closed because the event is full.

Sources:
Georgetown Township Public Library, Day Calendar, Oct. 15, 2026 (Author Event with Gary D. Schmidt), https://georgetownpl.librarycalendar.com/events/day/2026/10/15
Georgetown Township Public Library, “Happy 100th Birthday Winnie the Pooh!” (registration closed, event full), accessed Oct. 16, 2026, https://georgetownpl.librarycalendar.com/event/happy-100th-birthday-winnie-pooh-19289
Georgetown Township, October 2026 Newsletter (library calendar and programs), https://www.gtwp.com/DocumentCenter/View/10119/October-2026-Newsletter
Photo: Gpwitteveen, “Georgetown Township Public Library.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), cropped; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Georgetown_Township_Public_Library.jpg

Georgetown Township

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