We're pleased to be co-hosting lots of great Festival of the Book events this month. Please make one or two or three of them part of your Festival plans!
The Festival of the Book is proud to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Voices of Adult Learners.This program features a sampler of the thousands of stories written by adult community members who have gained literacy, academic skills, GED completion, and/or literacy in English as a second language. 20th anniversary participants will include some readers who have had their writing featured in previous years, as well as local friends and supporters of area adult education and literacy programs.
Adult learners from area adult education and volunteer literacy programs will share their stories. Audience members will receive a copy of the Voices of Adult Learners book.
Author Tom Gjelten (A Nation of Nations: A Great American Immigration Story), Cuban-American author Gustavo Pérez Firmat (A Cuban in Mayberry), and photographer Lloyd Wolf (Living Diversity: The Columbia Pike Documentary Project) present a combination of stories, data, and images related to Virginia’s changing demographic and the faces, cultures, and voices of non-Anglo and non-white immigrants. Attendees will gain a more complete understanding of the evolving makeup of the Commonwealth residents and their extensive contributions to the state’s and nation’s culture and story.
Authors Sara Farizan (Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel), Lamar Giles (Endangered), Meg Medina (Burn Baby Burn), and Wendy Shang (The Way Home Looks Now) share stories featuring American immigrant lives. Moderated by Gustavo Pérez Firmat (Life on the Hyphen and A Cuban in Mayberry: Looking Back at America’s Hometown).
Spring Tutor Trainings: We have experienced incredible demand for tutors and so are adding another training to our spring schedule. If you or someone you know wants to become a tutor, please sign up for our March 12, April 2, or May 21 tutor training by calling 434-977-3838 or emailing Amie.
For more information about any of these events, email Amie.
Students after last year's Voices. This year, our student stories will be included in Voices instead of Joy of Writing.