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Annabelle Tometich (tomma-titch) went from medical-school reject to line cook to journalist to author. She spent 18 years as a food writer and restaurant critic for The News-Press in her hometown of Fort Myers, Florida. Her first book, “The Mango Tree: A Memoir of Fruit, Florida, and Felony” (Little, Brown; April 2024) was called “sweet, sharp” by The New York Times, and was named among the best books of 2024 by The Washington Post and NPR.

Tometich has written for The Washington Post, USA Today, Catapult, and many more outlets. In 2025, thanks to "The Mango Tree," she became the first Filipino American author to win the Southern Book Prize for nonfiction. Tometich – still – lives in Fort Myers with her husband, two children, and her ever-fiery Filipina mother.

All readings are free and open to the public.