Doors 6:00pm, Show 7:00pm

Lara Love Hardin is a literary agent and bestselling author whose life story spans addiction, incarceration, and redemption. After struggling with heroin addiction and serving time in jail for identity theft, she rebuilt her life through publishing, becoming a leading collaborative writer, prison reform advocate, and the author of the Oprah’s Book Club–selected memoir The Many Lives of Mama Love.

Lara has built an acclaimed career in publishing as a literary agent, bestselling author, and collaborative writer. She is a five-time New York Times bestselling co-author, including the #1 bestseller Designing Your Life, and The Sun Does Shine, a 2018 Oprah’s Book Club selection co-written with Anthony Ray Hinton. Her memoir, The Many Lives of Mama Love, was named a 2024 Oprah’s Book Club pick and became a New York Times bestseller, further cementing her reputation as a powerful literary voice.

Her work has earned significant recognition, including a Christopher Award for affirming “the highest values of the human spirit,” as well as nominations for an NAACP Image Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. In addition to her writing, Love Hardin serves as president of True Literary Agency, where she represents authors and shapes influential nonfiction and memoir. She is also a leading advocate for prison reform and the co-founder of The Gemma Project, supporting incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women through storytelling, education, and reentry resources.

Lara’s talk focuses on the power of storytelling as a force for accountability, redemption, and social change. Drawing from her own experience with addiction, incarceration, and rebuilding her life, she explores how honesty—especially about shame and failure—can transform both personal identity and public perception. Her talk challenges audiences to reconsider who is deemed “worthy” of second chances and highlights how narrative access can open doors to healing, justice, and systemic reform. Through a blend of vulnerability and insight, she makes a compelling case for stories as tools that can restore dignity and reshape lives.