Hackettstown, N.J., September 26, 2012 – The New York Times best-selling authors of The Nanny Diaries, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, will be returning to Centenary College for the third time to conduct a writing workshop at 5:30 p.m. October 23, 2012,  at the Writing Collaboratory in the Edward W. Seay Administration Building .  This event is funded in part by the Warren County Cultural and Heritage Commission and is free and open to the public.

In addition, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus will be conducting a reading from their two newest novels, Between You and Me and Over You at 7:30 p.m. that evening in the Front Parlours of the Edward W. Seay Administration Building. Light refreshments will be available at 7 p.m.

“We are so fortunate that Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus have become friends of the College, as it is the third time that they have done book signings in recent years,” says Dr. Barbara-Jayne Lewthwaite, President of Centenary College.  “I am so pleased that we have the opportunity to have them return and to open this event to members of the community who know and love their work.”

They will cover their own journey with writing and publishing, as well as read from their new novels.  They will also discuss how they came to write The Nanny Diaries, which was declared a “phenomenon” by Newsweek, as well as what inspired them to continue the heroine’s story in Nanny Returns.  Those who sign up for the writing workshop will have the opportunity to receive more in-depth insight from the authors on the writing process.

The Nanny Diaries is a New York Times best-seller and the longest-running hardcover best-seller of 2002.  It went on to become a major motion picture staring Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney and Alicia Keys.  McLaughlin and Kraus’ follow-up novels, Citizen Girl and Dedication, were also New York Times best-sellers.

McLaughlin and Kraus have appeared numerous times on CNN, MSNBC, The Today Show, Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight and in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Time, Elle, Town & Country and Harper’s Bazaar.

They have contributed to the London Times and the New York Times, as well as two short story collections to benefit the War Child Fund: Big Night Out and Girls’ Night Out.  In addition to writing for television and film, they travel around the country speaking to women and teens about gender issues, media literacy and professional collaboration.

In Between You and Me, Logan Wade hasn’t seen her cousin Kelsey in person since their parents separated them as kids. In the intervening years, Kelsey Wade has grown into Fortune Magazine’s most powerful celebrity. But their reunion is quickly overshadowed as Logan discovers that the secrets that caused them to be wrenched apart so many years ago have insidiously warped into a show-stopping family business. As Kelsey tries desperately to grasp at a “real” life, beyond the influence of her parents and managers, she makes one catastrophic misstep after another. When Kelsey unravels in the most public way, Logan finds that she will ultimately have to choose between rescuing the girl she has always protected and saving herself.

In Over You, a young adult novel, when seventeen-year-old Max Scott got her heart broken she didn’t just sit at home sobbing into her ice cream and obsessing over her ex-boyfriend, Hugo’s, latest Facebook postings. Well, actually, she did. But she also decided that no girl should have to be tortured like that, so she read through all the psychology books, Oprah transcripts, and historical precedents she could get her hands on and came up with a foolproof program to get over being dumped.

These days, Max is the go-to guru for heartbroken high-school girls all over New York City. But when Hugo shows up in her neighborhood, suddenly Max is so busy trying to avoid her own ex-boyfriend that she isn’t able to help anyone else with theirs. As Hugo invades her life all over again, Max’s carefully controlled world starts to unravel. With her clients’ hearts hanging in the balance, Max will have to do the seemingly impossible: get over her ex-boyfriend once and for all.

Books are available for purchase that evening.  If you are interested in attending the book signing, please R.S.V.P. to (908) 852-1400, ext. 2238.  If you would like to participate in the writing workshop, please call (908) 852-1400, ext. 2021 or e-mail adamoc@centenarycollege.edu to pre-register.  Space is limited for the workshop.

Founded in 1867 by the Newark Conference of the United Methodist Church, Centenary College’s academic program integrates a solid liberal arts foundation with a strong career orientation. This mix is designed to provide an educational experience that prepares students to succeed in the increasingly global and interdependent world.

Centenary College’s main campus is located in Hackettstown, N.J., with its equestrian facility in Washington Township (Morris County).  The Centenary College School of Professional Studies offers degree programs in three locations: Hackettstown, Parsippany and Edison, and at corporate sites throughout New Jersey.  The School of International Programs recruits international students for study at Centenary and Centenary students for study abroad.

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