For immediate release | May 18, 2010

Twenty-three acclaimed poets and authors LIVE! at ALA Annual Conference

Reading stage features Laurie Halse Anderson, Roy Blount, Jr., Henri Cole, Heid E. Erdrich, Marilyn Johnson, Adriana Trigiani and more

CHICAGO – The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office will present 23 critically acclaimed and bestselling authors and poets on the LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage from noon - 4 p.m. on Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June 26 and from 10 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on Monday, June 27 in the exhibits hall at the upcoming ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. Attendees are welcome to take a break from their busy conference schedules and listen to some of their favorite authors and poets read from and autograph their recent works. Located in the back of the 2600 aisle in the exhibits hall, the LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage is free for all conference attendees.
Thanks to generous support from the National Endowment for the Arts, this year’s LIVE! Stage will feature a special focus on poetry, with readings from many award-winning, popular and up-and-coming poets representing the range of poetry from verse formed on the page to the rhythms of the spoken word.
Poets and authors to be showcased on the LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage are:
  • Saturday, June 26 (noon – 4 p.m.) – Henri Cole, Kwame Alexander, Gwendolyn Zepeda, Vicki Myron, Matt Dembicki, Sarah Blake, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, R. Dwayne Betts;
  • Sunday, June 27 (noon – 4 p.m.) – Nickole Brown, Adriana Trigiani, Laurie Halse Anderson, Heidi W. Durrow, Daphne Kalotay, Jay Varner, Jim Breuer, Roy Blount, Jr.;
  • Monday, June 28 (10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.) – Heid E. Erdrich, Ann B. Ross, Ellen Hopkins, Beatriz Rivera, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Marilyn Johnson, Jean Kwok.

Most readings will be followed by an autograph session, and the opportunity to purchase the authors’ latest works. For additional information about these programs, including reading times and author biographies, please see the full LIVE! Stage schedule. Additionally, look for program updates in the Literature Programs and Author Events brochure, mailed to all advance registrants, and onsite in the conference program book.

The ALA Public Programs Office promotes cultural and community programming as an essential part of library service in all types and sizes of libraries. Successful library programming initiatives have included “Let’s Talk About It” reading and discussion series, traveling exhibitions, film discussion programs, the Great Stories CLUB, Live! @ your library and more. Recently, the ALA Public Programs Office developed www.ProgrammingLibrarian.org, an online resource center bringing librarians timely and valuable information to support them in the creation of high-quality cultural programs for their communities. For more information on the ALA Public Programs Office, visit www.ala.org/publicprograms.

Contact:

Angela Thullen