With novels such as “No Exit,” “The Last Word” and “Hairpin Bridge,” bestselling thriller author Taylor Adams will take the stage at the Mishler Theatre to talk about his writing career.

Partnering with the Altoona Public Library, Adams will be the first featured speaker in their new Storytellers on Stage series on Oct. 28.

“This is the biggest event we’ve ever done,” library Executive Director Jennifer Knisley said.

This past summer, Knisley said the library was in search of an author for their upcoming fundraising event. The staff found that adult fiction suspense novels were their most checked-out book genre.

After learning of the results, she said “(Adams) immediately came to mind.”

She finished Adams’ most popular novel, “No Exit,” a few years ago, stating that she read it “in one sitting.” She added that she recommended the book to her friends, who “loved it” as well.

“No Exit” takes place at a rest stop caught in the middle of a blizzard, where college student Darby Thorne finds a young girl trapped inside a vehicle.

While in college, Adams said he would pass various rest stops while driving across Washington, sparking his interest in the concept.

“I thought a rest stop was a cool setting for a thriller,” he said.

Out of five books, Adams said his favorite is his most recent novel, “The Last Word.”

Classified as a “horror comedy,” Adams said this story incorporates his “sense of humor.”

“I had to lean into the humor because it’s a scary and absurd idea if I went for straight horror,” he said. “It has the most tone change, and I’m happy to see how sweet the story turns out.”

Adams plans to release his sixth novel, “Her Last Breath,” in February 2026.

The Storytellers on Stage event is also a fundraiser for the library, Knisley said.

Because the “cost of everything continues to climb,” she said the library has to start raising money on their own. The funds raised from this event will go towards operating costs.

She said public libraries are one of the only places that provide accessible resources to community members, stating that these facilities “not only need to survive but to thrive.”

“If public libraries aren’t strong places in the community, then it hurts people that don’t have internet access,” she said. “If the resources go away, there is no other entity in a community that can pick that up.”

The Blair County Arts Foundation is “happily supplying” the Mishler Theatre for the library’s event, foundation Executive Director Kate Shaffer said.

She said they “consider the library to be our partner in the arts, our literary partner.”

Although Adams has never heard of Altoona, he said he is looking forward to the event.

He hopes the advice he will give to aspiring writers will “hopefully work for them,” such as creating and following a writing schedule.

Don’t “wait until feeling inspired but force yourself to open your computer and have time blocked out,” he said. “A book is accumulated work, and when you set aside time each day, that really adds up.”

Knisley said she is excited for Adams to come to the Mishler.

The event is going to offer local community members the “opportunity to listen to someone who creates intense and suspenseful novels that people would have to go to Pittsburgh or Harrisburg to see,” she said.

If you go

What: Storytellers on Stage: Featuring Taylor Adams

When: 7 p.m. Oct. 28

Where: The Mishler Theatre

Price: $25; visit https://mishlertheatre.vbotickets.com/events