Meet Jay Asher, 2011 Teen Read Week Spokesperson!

Jay Asher, best-selling author of

Thirteen Reasons Why , has been named the 2011 Teen Read Week™ Spokesperson. Teen Read Week is an annual literacy initiative of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), aimed at encouraging teens to read for the fun of it. Teen Read Week 2011 will be celebrated Oct. 16-22 with a theme of Picture It @ your library®.

“YALSA is thrilled to have the enthusiasm and support of such a well-known author for Teen Read Week,” Kimberly Patton, YALSA President said. “Asher’s first book captured the attention of today’s teens and got thousands of them reading. That’s what Teen Read Week is all about—getting more teens to pick up a book and make it a regular habit.”

Asher, whose debut novel,
Thirteen Reasons Why, spent 65 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List, has co-authored a second book with award-winning author,
Carolyn Mackler called

The Future of Us , which will be published this fall by Razorbill, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group.

As Teen Read Week spokesperson, Asher will visit select libraries during Teen Read Week, as well as judge a teen photo contest where teens are challenged to capture an image that portrays a book title.