Meet Leigh Ann Henion, author of “Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark,” released in 2024 from Algonquin Books. A Kirkus starred review called it “[a] lyrical, fascinating story about exploring the secret world of darkness and the remarkable creatures within it…Henion writes with poetic grace, blending her journey of discovery with the natural wonders in our own backyards.”

Henion lives in Boone. In “Night Music,” Henion explores the nocturnal world surrounding her in western North Carolina, making the reader ponder what rare and precious joys we are missing in nature, even while we sleep–and how we can foster and protect this delicate balance that survives, sometimes precariously, under cover of darkness.

Henion is also the author of “Phenomenal: A Hesitant Adventurer’s Search for Wonder in the Natural World” and has been published in Smithsonian, National Geographic, The Washington Post, Backpacker, The American Scholar, and Garden & Gun.

The Sunday with Friends author series is sponsored by the Friends of the Washington County Public Library, a volunteer, non-profit organization whose purpose is to help strengthen the resources of the library and to make it a dynamic force in the community.

The event is free and open to the public. There will be refreshments as well as book sales and signings following the program.