“Marie/Heather was absolutely wonderful. She was on time, friendly, and so so kind. She is an eloquent and compelling speaker, and is excellent at audience engagement. She stayed to sign books and was very friendly and patient/conversational with her fans. Heather/Marie is not only a brilliant author but a very real and authentic person, and the Evans City Public Library was delighted to have the opportunity to host her—she also reduced her normal fee, which is a just a credit to her generosity and kindness.” – Evans City Public Library, 2024

“Marie Benedict is a must-have speaker for your event. She is warm, friendly, engaging and even funny as she shares the inspiration behind her well-loved historical fiction novels and the hidden histories of influential women. Our audience said she was their favorite author to hear speak to date – and we’ve had a great lineup of previous speakers (David Baldacci, Elin Hilderbrand, Louise Penny, for example). Book clubs were excited to meet with Marie, buy more books to share, and add more books to their discussion lists. The only other comment I heard was that community members are hopeful she will be inspired by the research started in the Lycoming County Women’s History Project and feature one of those women in a future book.” – James V. Brown Library, 2023

“We could not have been more thrilled with Marie Benedict and her book Her Hidden Genius. The author is so personable and so passionate about her mission to share the lives of so many women whose stories are hiding in the shadows. She is good-humored, answered questions with grace and signed books with enthusiasm. She was a delight.” – Lake Forest Library 2022

“Marie Benedict was AWESOME. THANK YOU so very much. I would love to see a TV series on Belle Greener.” – Bristol Public Library, 2022

“Our event with Heather was a success in every way – fascinating presentation, engaged audience, and an easygoing and friendly speaker. I would work with Heather again in a heartbeat!” – Fairfax Library, 2021

“Marie is an energetic, engaging speaker who draws readers into history through fascinating real-life characters. She is kind, easy-going, and a delight to work with. Her obvious love for the hidden women of history comes through in every conversation. We hope to host Marie live and in-person someday!” – Medina Library, 2020

“We absolutely loved hosting Marie for our virtual community reads program! She is a phenomenal speaker and lights up the (Zoom) room with her enthusiasm, kindness, and extensive knowledge. She showed a great multimedia presentation that added a whole other dimension to our conversation, and then was patient enough to answer almost an hour of questions and comments during the Q&A session. She answered each question so thoughtfully. Even though it was through a virtual platform, she was still able to connect so well to the audience. We have received many positive comments from attendees, saying how Marie was “engaging and truly down to earth” and “such a delight”. We couldn’t agree more! We are so thankful to have had Marie speak with our community.” – Ocean City Reads, 2020

“Heather was a delight to host. It felt like she was a part of the library as soon as she walked through the doors, offering to help with set up or anything else we would need. Her talk gave me goosebumps as she discussed her research in writing all of her books. Having the opportunity to host such a great author was like winning the lottery!” – Peters Township Library, 2019