“American-Made” author Nick Taylor rounds out Literary Tastes Breakfast lineup
Contact: Liz Markel
Marketing Specialist, RUSA/ASCLA
(312) 280-4398
NEWS
For Immediate Release
June 23, 2009
CHICAGO—Nick Taylor, author of “American-Made: The Enduring Legacy of the WPA: When FDR Put the Nation to Work” and a previous collaborator with astronaut John Glenn on his memoir, will join Mark Harris (“Pictures at a Revolution”), Toby Barlow (“Sharp Teeth”) and Peter Manseau (“Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter”) as presenters at the Literary Tastes Breakfast at ALA’s Annual Conference.
The breakfast, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Sunday, July 12 in the Red Lacquer Room of the Palmer House Hilton, 17 E. Monroe Street, Chicago, features authors from RUSA’s 2009 selections for the Notable Books List, The Reading List and the Sophie Brody Medal winners. Authors read from their work, ruminate on writing and sign books, while attendees enjoy a scrumptious breakfast. “American-Made” was one of 25 titles named to the 2009 Notable Books List, the purpose of which is to identify the best, most readable and at times most important fiction, nonfiction and poetry books for the adult reader.
With the publication of “American-Made”, Taylor provides the first comprehensive look at the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the eight-year program that provided employment for 8.5 million Americans, lifted their spirits and the economy out of the Great Depression of the 1930s and produced functional and memorable structures around the country, including LaGuardia Airport, Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle), the Camp David presidential retreat, Timberline Lodge (Mt. Hood, Ore.) and countless roads, stadiums, libraries and community pools. The WPA also contributed workers to service and consumer industries and invigorated the arts through grants.
In addition to its Notable Books selection, USA Today identified “American-Made” as “a must-read for history buffs and government wonks,” while the San Francisco Chronicle found it to be “a vivid, engagingly written book…there is something here for everyone to learn.” The Arizona Republic’s characterization of the book as “a lively and uplifting look at hard times—and a government program that worked” reminds readers of the significance of this program as it relates to President Obama’s current efforts to revive the country’s economy and infrastructure.
The breakfast is a ticketed event sponsored by the Collection Development and Evaluation Section of RUSA and is one of many CODES events at the Annual Conference. Those not attending the conference are invited to purchase tickets for the breakfast only. Visit the RUSA blog for
comprehensive information on how register for the breakfast, the conference and other RUSA ticketed events. Discover
the rest of RUSA’s collection development programming, as well as a list of
all conference events and programs offered by RUSA, at the RUSA website or in the downloadable
RUSA @ Annual Conference guide.
Not a member, but interested in discounted registration rates on conference, preconferences and other events? Join, renew or add RUSA and CODES to your ALA membership at
www.ala.org/membership.
The Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association, represents librarians and library staff in the fields of reference, specialized reference, collection development, readers advisory and resource sharing. RUSA is the foremost organization of reference and information professionals who make the connections between people and the information sources, services, and collection materials they need. Learn more at
www.ala.org/rusa.
