“Martha Hall Kelly was the perfect choice for our Assistance League of St. Louis Authors Brunch 2024. It was a sellout event! The resilient, female characters in her books align with the resilient volunteers and community members we serve in our organization. Her lovely, warm personality was refreshing to all who spoke with her. Martha was generous with her time and knowledge. Any organization would be proud to host this talented, dedicated, and inviting author to an event!” – Assistance League of St. Louis, 2024
“Everyone loved Martha’s talk. I had nothing but positive compliments at the end of the event. I would highly recommend her to any library looking for a speaker to draw a crowd.” – The Woodstock Academy, 2023
“A few months ago, I was driving the “back way” to a plant nursery in rural Connecticut. I am always on the look out for interesting places to visit in Connecticut for an annual get together with 5 of my high school friends, one of them now living in Mississippi. I went by the Ferriday-Bellamy House in Bethlehem and saw the sign that said House and Garden and an announcement of a Martha Hall Kelly event. A good candidate for our get together. By coincidence, the next day at work at the Lucy Robbins Welles Library in Newington, my co-worker was processing Martha’s recent book Sunflower Sisters and she was reading from the book jacket – Martha Hall Kelly lives in Connecticut. Oh, what a coup to have Martha Hall Kelly speak via a virtual author visit for our library. Virtual visits are not as widely attended as in-person visits, so we thought we would join forces with the surrounding libraries of Wethersfield, Berlin, Cromwell, and Rocky Hill to get the word out to as many people as possible. After many emails back and forth, and with much help and patience from Christie Hinrichs of Authors Unbound, we were able to host a virtual visit with Martha Hall Kelly on September 14. We had over 100 people attend the Zoom program – our best attendance ever for a virtual program. Martha was wonderful and gracious and so very enjoyable to listen to. She told us all a little bit about herself, her writing process, how she came to write about the fascinating Caroline Ferriday in her first book Lilac Girls, and then in her next books, Caroline’s ancestors. Martha’s blending of facts and extensive research, and her obvious love for her characters brought them to life during her presentation. I speak for everyone when I say we could have listened to her for hours! I am still receiving glowing comments from the people who visited with Martha Hall Kelly that night. I would jump at the chance to see her again.” – Lucy Robbins Welles Library
“Martha Hall Kelly was the Special Guest Speaker at The Friends of the Fairfield Public Library’s 10th Annual Literary Luncheon. With over 190 attendees, the luncheon was a fundraising success for the Library, and a literary treat for the audience. Personally, I am in awe of how Lilac Girls and Lost Roses came to be, and am amazed by the research Martha did and the passion with which she writes. I am grateful for the stories of her characters, and in today’s world, I appreciate even more that they are stories being told and history being shared from a female perspective. Not only is Martha a wonderful speaker, she is a very special person as well. Through her writing – in her books and on her blog – she reminds us of those we may have forgotten, calls attention to stories we may never have heard, and spotlights people worthy of the illumination. Through her actions and speaking, she shows compassion, demonstrates kindness, delivers humor, and conjures inspiration. Our guests were truly grateful for the opportunity to hear and meet Martha Hall Kelly in person.” – Friends of the Fairfield Public Library
“Martha Hall Kelly was the featured author at our first ever Prosser Public Library Author Luncheon. Our venue held 150 people and we were forced to close registration when the event sold out months before the date. We purchased 35 copies of Lilac Girls and put them out for display 5 months before the luncheon. Shortly after that we put out the flyer for the event. Given the response to registration, we were never able to send the announcement to the papers!! Martha was gracious, friendly and so appreciative to the staff and organizers of the luncheon. She spoke from her heart and shared many details about the way Lilac Girls came together for her and the intersection with life events for her personally. After her presentation, Martha signed copies of her book for the long line of people and also posed for photos with those who requested them. Library patrons are still talking about the day and how much they enjoyed hearing Martha speak. They are all anxiously awaiting her new book in 2019.” – One Book One Bloomfield
“We hosted Martha for an event in 2017, and couldn’t be happier with the result. Martha was marvelous, and attendees were so pleased with her presentation. Not only was she an excellent speaker, she was also a gracious visitor, making many new friends during her stay in Palm Beach.” – MorseLife Literary Society
“Martha Hall Kelly was our featured author for the 2018 Cold Spring Harbor High School Literary Luncheon. It was an amazing, SOLD OUT event! Our school community – students, parents, teachers and administrators – hung on Martha’s every word as she took us through her ten year journey of writing Lilac Girls. Martha is an engaging speaker who was incredibly generous with her time as she answered questions, interacted with students and signed books. Thanks to Martha, our Literary Luncheon was a tremendous success!” – Cold Spring Harbor Annual Luncheon
“We loved hosting Martha Hall Kelley at New Canaan Library! Martha’s unique storytelling abilities made her appearance a wonderful event where a sold-out audience learned about The Rabbits and the real-life horrors they endured. Martha’s passion for the project and subjects was evident in her sharing and research. She brought the LILAC GIRLS to life and the audience embraced the journey. We can’t wait to read the continuing story!” – New Canaan Library
“Martha Hall Kelly was a delight! Energetic and witty, she had the audience captivated from the beginning. Ms. Kelly took us on a journey through the lives of her characters and research that provided a fascinating look into how Lilac Girls came to life. A beautiful piece of historical fiction, Lilac Girls proved to be a perfect community read and Ms. Kelly a wonderful presenter.” – Forsyth Reads Together
“Martha was phenomenal! From the moment she walked in, until the moment she walked out, it was an honor and a pleasure to have her with us. I was captivated by her story. I loved hearing about how she started writing, the endless research, the rewrite process and how it all affected her personally. Even for attendees who have not read either of her books, her talk and question and answer that follows, was captivating and kept us all listening intently. Martha is funny, captivating, and enlightening. It was almost as if we were sitting and listening to a friend. I feel connected to her writing on a whole new level now and I would highly recommend her to speak to anyone who has enjoyed her books, or even thinks they might enjoy them.” – East Granby Library
