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New London (Oct. 24, 2022) – The Garde Arts Center, together with Bank Square Books of Mystic and Title IX: A Bookstore of New London, are pleased to announce an author talk with Timothy Bella about his new book, Barkley: A Biography. The event will feature Timothy in conversation with Garde resident author Jeff Benedict on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. in the Garde’s Oasis Room, at 325 State Street, New London. The event is free and open to the public (limited seats available). Free tickets are available at https://gardearts.org/events/timothy-bella/. Barkley: A Biography is the definitive biography of former professional basketball player Charles Barkley, exploring his early childhood, his storied NBA career, and his enduring legacy as a provocative voice in American pop culture. He’s one of the most interesting American athletes in the past fifty years. Passionate, candid, iconoclastic, and gifted both on and off the court, Barkley has made a lasting impact on not only the world of basketball but pop culture at large. Yet few people know the real Charles. Raised by his mother and grandmother in Leeds, Alabama, he struggled in his early years to fit in until he found a sense of community and purpose in basketball. In the NBA he went toe-to-toe with the biggest legends in the game, from Magic to Michael to Hakeem to Shaq. But in the years since, he has become a bold agitator for social change, unafraid to grapple, often brashly, with even the thorniest of cultural issues facing our nation today. Informed by over 370 original interviews and painstaking research, Timothy Bella’s Barkley is the most comprehensive biography to date of one of the most talked-about icons in the world of sports, and is a LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2022. Hardcover copies of Barkley: A Biography are available for preorder at https://www.banksquarebooks.com/book/9781335484970. Author Timothy Bella is a staff writer and editor for the Washington Post’s General Assignment team, focusing on national news. He was previously the deputy editor of Morning Mix. The author talk will be moderated by Jeff Benedict, the bestselling author of seventeen nonfiction books. He is the co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Tiger Woods. The book was the basis of the Emmy-nominated HBO documentary Tiger. The Dynasty, the definitive inside story of the New England Patriots under Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick, and Tom Brady, was a New York Times bestseller. The book is the basis of a forthcoming ten-part documentary series for Apple TV+. His critically acclaimed book Poisoned is the basis of a Netflix documentary. Benedict has served as an executive producer on all aforementioned projects with HBO, Apple TV+, and Netflix. His legal thriller Little Pink House was adapted into a motion picture starring Catherine Keener and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Benedict wrote Steve Young’s New York Times bestselling autobiography QB, which was the basis of an NFL Films documentary. Benedict’s upcoming biography of LeBron James will be published in 2023. “The Garde enjoys launching new books with celebrated authors and moderators, especially with our neighbors Title IX: A Bookstore and bestselling author Jeff Benedict, both in residence at The Cottage by the Garde marquee,” said Steve Sigel, Executive Director of the Garde Arts Center. Free tickets are available at https://gardearts.org/events/timothy-bella/. After the author talk, attendees are invited to attend a free showing of the Warner Bros. movie Christmas in Connecticut on the Garde’s giant screen and a preview of a new Goodspeed musical, which begins at 7:30 p.m. This free event on November 9 is in collaboration with Goodspeed Musicals. Learn more at https://gardearts.org/events/christmas-in-connecticut/. ABOUT THE GARDE ARTS CENTER The Garde Arts Center, founded in 1985, is Southeastern Connecticut's nonprofit home for the performing arts, cinema, and education. Its diverse presenting program includes touring Broadway musicals, dance, opera, symphony orchestra, contemporary music, variety acts, school time performances, film, and civic events. In 2022, the Garde singly received the Outstanding Historic Theater in America award by the League of Historic American Theaters. Located in the heart of downtown New London, the Garde Arts Center saved, restored, and now operates the historic 1425-seat Moroccan-designed Garde Theater, built in 1926 as a movie place and vaudeville theater. The Garde owns a city block of adjacent buildings which include the 100-seat Oasis Room, the Garde, Mercer, and Meridian Buildings, and a cottage that houses the Title IX Bookstore. Learn more at https://gardearts.org/ ABOUT BANK SQUARE BOOKS Bank Square Books in Mystic, Connecticut, and Savoy Bookshop & Café in Westerly, Rhode Island are two locally owned, fiercely independent bookstores committed to serving its community and providing quality books, ebooks, and audiobooks for all types of readers in addition to gifts, toys, and cards. Title IX is a third sister-store under Bank Square Books and is located at 345 State Street in New London, CT, in a building known as The Cottage on The Garde Arts Center property. Title IX’s focus is social justice, and queer lit and looks to provide literary access to the community of New London. In addition to providing a welcoming space for author events, children’s storytimes, book clubs, and workshops, our stores strive to support our community by carrying books from local authors, sourcing the majority of Savoy's food and beverages from local vendors, donating money and books to local nonprofits, and hosting author events at local schools. Our communities comprise a wide range of backgrounds, identities, and beliefs, and all are welcome in our store. Learn more at https://www.banksquarebooks.com/.