Emperor of Ocean Park author, Yale law professor and seasonal Islander Stephen L. Carter will discuss Why Democracy Needs Books, the subject of his next book, on Sunday, July 18 at 2 p.m. at the Vineyard Haven Public Library.

The event, with a reception following, is presented by the Friends of the Vineyard Haven Public Library.

Mr. Carter is the William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law at Yale University. In addition to dozens of articles in professional journals and the popular press, he has authored seven nonfiction books, among them The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion (1993) and Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy (1998).

Also a novelist, Mr. Carter’s debut novel, The Emperor of Ocean Park, has sold more than 600,000 copies, and has been followed by the bestsellers New England White, Palace Council, and, last year, Jericho’s Fall.