Starkville native author and artist Laurie Parker will formally donate her collection of writing and art to Mississippi State University Libraries during ceremonies at 2 p.m. on Thursday [April 16] in the John Grisham Room at Mitchell Memorial Library.

A self-taught artist, Parker uses the medium of collage to create unique children’s books. She wrote and illustrated her first book, “Everywhere in Mississippi,” in 1996 and after authoring 13 children’s books, she debuted “The Matchstick Cross,” her first book for adults in 2013. In 2014, Parker wrote “Yonder Breaks the Morning.” Parker earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from MSU.

Her career began with the creation of a whimsical line of paper and epoxy pins that she continues to sell in galleries and at arts and crafts festivals. Parker is a member of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi and her work has been recognized by the Mississippi State Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She is currently at work on her third novel, “Hush, Swing, Hush,” to be published this fall.

Her collection consists of original illustrations and collages, and handwritten notes and manuscripts. The MSU Libraries Manuscripts Division, a part of Special Collections, will preserve and provide access to this collection for use by faculty, students and researchers. Some of the collection will be displayed at Thursday’s presentation and a book-signing will be held afterward.

Mississippi State University Libraries is a premier research library providing its communities of users an ongoing, creative, technologically advanced library program that provides new and emerging technologies; enhances and inspires teaching, research, and service of the highest caliber in an environment of free and open inquiry and with a commitment to excellence. For more information about MSU Libraries, please visit http://library.msstate.edu.