Amy Goodman to Speak at Day of Education Lunch

Amy Goodman Photo: Michael Keel

Amy Goodman, co-host of the global news hour Democracy Now! and co-author with her brother, David Goodman, of Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times (Hyperion), will be the lunch speaker at the American Booksellers Association's Day of Education on Thursday, May 29.

Standing Up to the Madness, a timely and inspiring look at everyday people who take a chance and stand up for what they believe, offers advice on what the average citizen can do to help. The Goodmans traveled the country to tell the stories of people who have challenged the government and prevailed, including African-American residents of New Orleans who are fighting racism and City Hall to regain their homes; four Connecticut librarians who challenged the Patriot Act and refused to spy on their patrons; the first U.S. Army officer to publicly refuse orders to deploy to Iraq; and others.

Democracy Now!, which Goodman hosts with Juan Gonzalez, is broadcast on more than 600 radio and TV stations around the world and on Democracynow.org. Because it is the only national radio/TV news show free of all corporate underwriting, Goodman and Gonzalez are able to present a range of independent voices not often heard on the airwaves.

Goodman is the recipient of many prestigious journalism awards, including the George Polk Award, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, and the Robert F. Kennedy Prize for International Reporting.

The Day of Education lunch, from 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m., at Hotel ABA, in the Renaissance Hollywood's fifth floor Grand Ballroom, is open to all ABA member booksellers; however, booksellers planning to attend must have checked off the "lunch" box on the Day of Education registration form at BookExpoAmerica.com. ABA members who would like to attend the lunch, but who have not previously registered for the Day of Education or for the Thursday lunch, should contact Margaret Nafz at Margaret@bookweb.org by next Friday, May 23. (Please specify whether you are a new Day of Education registrant who would also like to attend the luncheon; or if you have previously registered for the Day of Education, but now would like to add lunch registration.)

As previously announced, actor, author, and environmentalist Ed Begley, Jr., will be the Day of Education's morning keynote speaker. Begley is the co-star of the hit HGTV series Living With Ed, a look at the day-to-day realities of "living green," and author of Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life (Clarkson Potter).

In a change of schedule, the keynote will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday in the Renaissance Hollywood's fifth floor Grand Ballroom, where coffee will be served (not breakfast as previously announced).